He's mentioned in more than one sourcebook--who is he?

IIRC, he is an AmerInd shaman who is knowlegeble about bug spirits, I think he dealt with them in South America before the whole UB thing. I don't know if anything more is known.

He dealt with a hive of Ants in Aztlan or Amazonia. He's in UB or MiTS.

He gives an interview about insect shamans in Univeral Brotherhood, but I could've sworn I read about him elsewhere...

He's mentioned several times in Bug City, having predicted events there a year ahead of time, then gathering survivors together during the events of that book. It was never clear in the book how he knew, or what his plans were. I don't think there was mention of him after that.

he's also in the BBB lol... i know that

IIRC, the first mention is in PoNA, under the Man of the Woods entry.

He's the first to reference the incident in Gilroy as being related to bug spirits in UB IIRC. This of course, is hastily overlooked for it's true importance, as controlling Gilroy, CA, gives the bug spirits control over the worlds garlic supply. Keading in to how the bugs get in to Italy, and therefore the mafia families there, and then moving on to the rest of Europe. As goes the saying "Tonight Gilroy, tomorrow.... the world."

Now ask your self if I'm kidding or not?

He also appears in several entries on Paranormal Animals of North America.

So what are his names? (Or is the joke that we're not answering that part of the question?)

While we are at it, does anyone know the identity of "He who howls under a moonless sky"???

Not one of his names I think...

Quote from the Ancient files (http://ancientfiles.dumpshock.com/invae.html)

Man-of-Many-Names reveals that years ago he encountered and destroyed an Ant hive in Amazonia.

So he appears in Universal Brotherhood, Bug City and Paranormal Animals of North America. Is he anyone significant? I mean, aside from a shaman who knows a lot about insect totems?

Many AmerInd names are a reflection of a person or some quality they have, I wonder if man-of-many-names means that he has been known as several different people. Combined with his unusual knowledge of Insect spirits, it's possible he was supposed to be an IE or maybe a free spirit or something. But I think the current crop of writers has either forgotten about him or ignores him, because I haven't seen his name pop up in any semi-recent publications.

He's definitely not forgotten.

Good to hear, I think he had potential. BTW DE I'm a fan of your work, I hope you're going to be doing some things in 4ed.

Man of Many Names also knows quite a bit about toxic spirits. From further reading in PANA he is a Wolf Shaman who has probably initated several times maybe even into the double digits. Has conjured Man of the Woods, greater City Spirits and has Nightfire deathly afraid of his capabilities. Several of the top shadowrunners know of him and are impressed. That says a lot right there.

Maybe he's a Covert Ops Specialist for one of the Amerind nations and his handle (and yes, his handle) is just a -- at least to him -- clever play on his occupation.

Don't you rescue him in the SNES SR game from a ghoul vault? Or is that someone else?

Man of Many Names does not appear in any strictly fiction Shadowrun work, but appears in a number of sourcebooks (Universal Brotherhood, Paranormal Animals of North America, etc...) and in at least one block of example text in SR3 (Conjuring example; Many Names apparently has Charisma of 8, which is pretty high if he's a human). I figure he's an older Amerind shaman, maybe one of the ones that were part of the Great Ghost Dance, who has developed pretty significant power and mystical knowledge over the course of his life.

Sounds to me like he is Howling Coyote himself. The old trickster coyote is that would be nice trick.