In Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the alien’s commonly used name is E.T.
The title is an abbreviation of “extraterrestrial,” the general term for a being from beyond Earth. The film follows a stranded alien who is discovered by a boy named Elliott and secretly sheltered by Elliott and his siblings.
E.T. does not receive a conventional personal name in the story. The children and other characters use “E.T.” as a descriptive name, and it became the character’s universally recognized identity in popular culture.
The film was released in 1982 and became one of the decade’s biggest box-office successes. It was written by Melissa Mathison, with Spielberg directing, and its emotional focus is the friendship between Elliott and the visitor rather than an invasion or battle. The creature was designed by Carlo Rambaldi.