Anyone else go by their middle name?

[Merkwurdigliebe]

I do. I have no IDEA why my parents decided to do it that way, but that's what they decided to do. My dad even suffers this same affliction. My brothers and sisters were all called by their first names, except for me, they decided to make my given name my middle name!

For those who don't have to deal with this, we all have to live in a world with a split personality. The life of Firstname Lastname and the normal way you'd introduce yourself as Middlename Lastname.

Every class I go to, I always have to answer to Firstname Lastname. That's not even ME! I hate it. In my recent foray in the return to university, I barely even correct them. I am not interested in making friends with the people in my classes (most are 18 years old) so who cares? Maybe I'll do that later on but for now, I just cringe and accept Firstname Lastname as what it is.

Now, I had been really frustrated with this for a long time, it's quite annoying, but I've dealt with it. Then I thought. You know? I could legally change my name to just Middlename Lastname and be done with all of this garbage. But on the other hand Firstname is still somewhat a part of me too. Mainly I like the way the initials work out. It sort of rolls well off the tongue in a JFK or FDR kind of way. Secondly, my email addresses. Every email address I've ever had has started with firstinitial middleinitial lastname in that fashion. Now that would screw that up, and I've had this email address for 4 years and its a good one at gmail, so I don't think i'll find a better one.

But I've just registered for a new email address.. FirstnameXLastname@gmail.com

I kind of think it's cool, really. What do you guys think? Also this means I could possibly change other accounts too, if I got this name at gmail.

Would you go through with it?

[Loach]

Just want to clarify. Your parents named you but insisted on calling you by your middle name? I know a few people like this and I never could understand it. Why not just name you that in the first place? I know a few people who hate their first name and go by the middle one but that was a choice they made when they were old enough to make the choice.

[Merkwurdigliebe]

Yes, I never had any choice in the matter. I never decided to go by my middle name. It's just the way it's always been.

But I've been looking into the idea of actually changing my name and it seems like a logistical nightmare, plus I'd feel a bit weird about getting rid of the John. I don't mind the John when getting mail. Plus it's a very good way to screen out telemarketers and the like.

BTW, it might be a Southern thing.

[C3]

My half-brother is one of you. His first name is the same as his father. He goes by (and always has, from birth) his middle name. Professionally, he uses the form of FirstInitial. Middlename Lastname. He must not mind it too much, because he did the same set-up for his oldest son (passing down his father's first name, as well).

[Ludy]

My brother and my Dad both suffer from that affliction as well . The theory was that the first name was a traditional family name that is passed on from father to son (apparently the last name is not enough). The middle name is the name that the parents wanted to name the kid without the tradition.

[HazelNutCoffee]

I don't use my first name because it's Korean, and I get tired of people having trouble remembering it/pronouncing it wrong. But it's always a pain in the ass in certain situations because my first name is what's used on formal documents and such. I should get a legal name change, but I'm not a citizen yet, so I can't.

[Merkwurdigliebe]

Yeah with tradition I can understand, that's probably why my father has the first name he doesn't use. It's been in the family a long time as far as I know. But me? Nope. I'm the first in my family to bear my first name. I wish I had the idea to get rid of it earlier, so I wouldn't have grown more accustomed to it when I went out on my own. When I was a kid I was responsible for very little, so it was always Middlename Lastname. But now i've got various responsibilities that have made the use of my full name annoying.

I've tried the Firstinitial, Middlename, Lastname thing, and I guess it's okay. I'm not entirely happy with it though.

[askeptic]

I go by my middle name. I cannot fricken believe how fricken hard it is for some people to grasp the idea. My first name is Michael. My dads name is michael, my step dads name is michael and I have an uncle named michael. So I have always used my middle name. It drives me nuts. Even though my first middle and last name is on my ID people still say but it says your name is Michael. I point to the middle name which is right there in plain sight but they still get this confused look and say "But it says your name is michael". Aaaaggghhhh.

[Katriona]

Yes, I never had any choice in the matter. I never decided to go by my middle name. It's just the way it's always been.

But I've been looking into the idea of actually changing my name and it seems like a logistical nightmare, plus I'd feel a bit weird about getting rid of the John. I don't mind the John when getting mail. Plus it's a very good way to screen out telemarketers and the like.

BTW, it might be a Southern thing.

Could you just make it your first inital, middlename, lastname? That's what my mom does. Very few people who knew her after high school know her real first name. On official documents, she's K. MiddleName MarriedName. Well, it's really more K. NicknameOfMiddleName MarriedName.

Then it's not like you're not completely dropping your first name.

ETA, I didn't read the whole thread and didn't note that you've though of this and weren't happy with that solution, either.

[rucciface]

Both of my siblings (one older than I, one younger) have always gone by their middle names because our parents always called them that way. There is no established tradition of this, and they aren't handed-down family names.

I remember my mother trying to call me by my initials, but that never caught on, thank God. So I'm the only sibling known by her first name. This is good for me, as my middle name isn't even a word, much less a name you would ever dream of. Mom must have been smoking something.

My middle-name-going-by siblings have never mentioned it being a problem for them, and my brother was in the army for years.

[SmartAleq]

I'm a Middlename too... So's my dad, you'd think he'd have put up a fight for me or something. My Realname is one which is most commonly used as a middle name, and since it's monosyllabic I guess it sounds more euphonious as a middle name than as a first name. At any rate, I REALLY hate the first name they saddled me with--it was to cringe at the beginning of every school year.

So, when I turned 18 and got my driver's license I just didn't put the official Firstname-I-Hate down on the form, just dropped it entirely and put in the name I've always used as the first name, no middle initial, last name. It's been perfectly okay for thirty plus years.

[Savannah]

I'm Elizabeth Jane in real life, and my parents always called me Jane. It gets confusing sometimes, because in official documents I am Elizabeth J. Lastname, but the person making the appointment or whatever is Jane Lastname.

They're both deceased now, so I can't call them up and ask them, but I think the idea was that a wee five-pound baby just didn't fit being called "Elizabeth". (Then, why not Beth? Liza? Lisa? Betty? Eliza? Liza Jane? We will never know now...)

My husband also was called by one of his names. Let me try and recall... I married Raymond Leo Joseph Ernest Marc Lastname.

He goes by Marc, as that's what they called him growing up.

[Chessic Sense]

My dad's dad's dad was Stephen Middle. My dad's dad is Stephen Middle and he hated living w/ the same name. He named his son (my dad) Stephen Middle2. My dad hated it, always being confused w/ his father. So he named me Stephen Michael and now I'm Mike. Let me be the umpteenth to testify, that's a terrible solution!!

1) THE argument- "Why do you use Mike?" "Cuz that's my name. Why do you use John?" "But my parents named me John." "My parents named me Mike." "No they didn't, they named you Stephen." GRRRRR. How hard is it to understand?! I'm MIKE!! Stephen is an idle name I don't use, just like your second name. No, I didn't choose it any more than you did!

2) Filling applications- "Hmm, let's see. First name: Mike. Middle initial...shit." [erase erase erase].

3) Mail- I get my father's mail all the time. Funny thing is, it's usually a bill for my mother, with dad's name on it from when they were married. It's been like 6 years! Change the name, mom! There's no way out of this. If I change the bill names, my credit report gets screwy. If I use a middle initial, it won't stop my dad's mail from coming.

4) School- [roll call] "Stephen..." "Here. Call me Mike." "Smart ass, eh?" I can't tell you how many fights I've had w/ teachers over this.

Name some famous people w/ this syndrome. H. Ross Perot. J. Edgar Hoover. Any others?

[askeptic]

Name some famous people w/ this syndrome. H. Ross Perot. J. Edgar Hoover. Any others?


G. Gordon Liddy

[Danalan]

Alan is my middle name, but I only use it online in concert with my first name.

[Sierra Indigo]

My great-grandmother (recently passed away) was Daphne Ellen Lastname, but always went by "Nell".

Nobody in the family could every prise out of her the reason for doing so.

[Larry Mudd]

This is me, too. (Middle name is "Lawrence," have never been called by my first name.)

What I hate is the occasional paranoid types who assume that I must be hiding something because I don't use my "right" name. I had one landlord who agreed to rent to me but then got completely squirrelly when it became clear that I went by my middle name - taking care to put quotes around "Larry" on rent receipts, etc., and making insinuations that I was planning to turn his house (completely unsuitable for the purpose) into a grow-op.

Sometimes I think I should have wallet-sized prints of photos from my first few birthdays printed up, with cakes & banners and such clearly marked "Larry." "My god, not even out of diapers and already using an alias! Watch out for that one!"

[Hilarity N. Suze]

Here's another one. It's weird, both my parents went by Firstname M. Lastname, so why did they think I might like doing it differently?

My parents also did not agree on now to spell my nickname. My mother spelled it Susie and my father spelled it Suzy--since the name is actually Suzanne, my father's way made more sense to me.

Then I had to learn how to spell my first name in kindergarden and have people think I was weird because I didn't already know how to spell my name. When I actually knew quite well how to spell the name I was called by, in two different variations.

About junior high I finally gave up to being called one thing in class and another by my friends, and tried to adapt to being called by my first name, but it was too late. The result of this, though, is that although everybody that matters to me thinks my name is one thing, people from that era who did not know me well think it's something else.

My actual first name appears on my birth certificate and my driver's license. With the advent of stupid homeland security I am now getting flak for all the things that don't have it. That would be--everything else. So I may end up having to change it legally, although after all these years I don't particularly want to. (Stupid fucking homeland security the terrorists have won.)

[askeptic]

My great-grandmother (recently passed away) was Daphne Ellen Lastname, but always went by "Nell".

Nobody in the family could every prise out of her the reason for doing so.

Bolding mine. Really? You couldn't figure it out?

[Sierra Indigo]

Bolding mine. Really? You couldn't figure it out?

No, we can't figure out why she went by Nell and not her first name. We know where Nell came from thankyouverymuch.

[ETA]: Nell is also a diminutive of Ellen, it's got nothing to do with her first name, Daphne.

[Omega Glory]

BTW, it might be a Southern thing.
This runs rampant on the Southern side of my family. Only with the males though. I have no idea why, and I have asked.

[askeptic]

No, we can't figure out why she went by Nell and not her first name. We know where Nell came from thankyouverymuch.

[ETA]: Nell is also a diminutive of Ellen, it's got nothing to do with her first name, Daphne.

Sorry. That came out snarkier than it sounded in my head when I was typing it.

[Sierra Indigo]

Sorry. That came out snarkier than it sounded in my head when I was typing it.

No probs. Already forgotten.

[rocking chair]

also nell is a common nick for ellen. they may have thought daphne was to hoity-toity for every day use. or there may have been another daphne in the family.

we have lots of doubles and triples in my family. thankfully some of the women in the family got their points across during labour. the theory being hubby would agree to whatever name they wanted while they crushed which ever body part was available during a contraction.

[pprgrl]

I'm a middle name too. Two of my great-grandmother passed right before I was born, so I got a name from each of them. Except my parents really dislike Firstname (I'm not a fan of it either) so I've always been Middlename. I asked them why they didn't just switch the order, so the name they actually liked was my first name, and they said that Middlename Firstname Lastname didn't sound as nice as Firstname Middlename Lastname. :rolleyes: I've never had too much of a problem with it, I just tell teachers and other official-type peoples that I go by my middle name, and it's pretty much a non-issue. I'm slowly switching over to F. Middlename Lastname, but it's taking a little time.

The only person who has a serious problem with it is this one ancient cashier at my campus bookstore. She simply cannot believe that F. Middlename Lastname on my debit card is the same person as Firstname Middlename Lastname on my driver's license. Even though the signatures are identical. Three times this semester I've had to explain it to her, slowly and using small words, while the line behind me backed up into the aisle.

[jjimm]

I was baptised Hieronymous Q. Cheezburger, which is why I go by my middle name Terrence. (But everyone knows me as Cholmondeley-Farquhar, or The Rt. Hon. Fortestcue-Smythe for short.)

[Gala Matrix Fire]

My brother has always gone by his middle name. Neither of my parents will confess to why they decided to do this.
My dad and my brother have the same first name, but my dad has always gone by a nickname, so it's not to distinguish one from the other.
And we're not southern.

[Ephemera]

I'm John Robert and none of the issues any of you are posting about has ever been a problem with me. The only time it's ever been a problem was when my aunt and cousins lived with my family when I was a kid and she insisted on calling me John because her husband's name was Bob and her only son was Bobby. I never did understand why the hell she wouldn't call me by my preferred name when her husband and son went by diminutives thereof but she's the only idiot to ever make an issue of my name. Everyone else has always called me Robert.

[Lanzy]

Yes, I go by my middle name on all discussion boards. Including this one.

[fishbicycle]

My wife and her brother are called by their middle names, and they're southern. However, my wife started asking to be called hers while still in her single digits because she hated her first name, and when we married, she dropped it altogether. It's been almost ten years, and we still cannot get the utility company to send our bills addressed to the woman who lives here. They insist on calling her a name by which she is unknown everywhere else in the universe. My brother in law has reverted to his first name. So his family calls him one thing, but everybody else in the world calls him something else. Pretty weird, if you ask me!

[Public Animal No. 9]

There are (were) several in our family who go by their middle names. I go by my middle name, and it's often a hassle, but one I'm used to by now. All my credit cards and official IDs are under my first name, so reservations and etc. sometimes get mixed up, but I've never run into a situation that wasn't resolved within a minute or two (knock wood). In professional situations, I go by P. Animal No.9 (F. Middle Last).

My father was called by his middle name by family and friends until he set out on his own, after which everyone called him by his first name. You could always tell who knew him way back when. I've known a couple of other people who were the same way and would answer to either name (I usually look around when people speak to me using my first name).

My niece goes by her middle name. My sister named her in honor of our deceased mother, but liked the middle name better, so always called my niece by her middle name. I have a cousin who was called by her middle name until she was about 16, when she decided she wanted to go by her first name. That was a little confusing for a while, but now everyone uses her first name.

[Ferd Burfel]

Both my brothers go by their middle name, even though there is no one else in the family with either of their first names (or middle names for that matter). I go by my first name as do my sisters.

[Hypno-Toad]

I went by my middle name until the 1st or 2nd grade. Due to three other kids with that name in my homeroom, they asked if Firstname was ok. I said yeah and switched seemlessly over to that. You can tell if someone has known me a long, long time, if they call me by my middle name.

My sister went by her first name until she went off to college, then switched to her middle name. I'm the only one who calls her by her first name anymore. I like it that way since it's like calling her by a secret, tribal name.

[jsgoddess]

My brother is known to the family by his middle name, and to the world at large by his first name.

In school, I'd say something about my brother Joe. My classmates knew I had a brother Mark who was two years older than I, so they thought I had both a brother Joe and a brother Mark.

When I told Joe that, he thought it was hilarious, so he decided to be his own twin brother. He'd randomly introduce himself to people twice, once as Mark and once as Joe.

My brother is really weird.

[Shagnasty]

I have gone by middle name since birth. My middle name is ultra-rare and it is the only name that I identify with. My first name is the most common boy's name (James) and it makes me very uncomfortable when people call me that out of the blue. OTOH, I use James in situations where I want to remain semi-anonymous like in doctors offices and store lines. My middle name that I go by (Maverick) starts up too many conversations and I don't always want that although I love it overall. The name James actually originates from the first colony at Jamestown and all first born sons are named that in my family but most don't go by it and most go by their middle name like I do. I would be obligated to name my son the same but I don't think I will be having a son at this point.

I doesn't cause me that many problems but I do have to correct people that I might meet again right off the back. I also have to arrange for the correct e-mail addresses and phone book listings wherever I work. I could be worse. My youngest brother has both an honorary first name and middle name as well as an unofficial nickname that he has gone by since birth. My mother knew that he would be the last so she used up his real names with the honorary ones and the gave him a designated nickname that she wanted to to be known by.

[China Guy]

My father hates his first name, goes by his middle name, really disliked being called first name in the Army.

Parents named all three kids by a first name that was never intended for use. Have no family meanings. The three first names have no special meanings. Nor are they related in any way except all three are made up of only 3 letters. Better yet, my first name in this day and age is usually feminine. so, I get lots of stuff address to Ms firstname lastname. That shit all goes straight into the garbage or deleted.

None of my brothers nor I use our first name. I do use the first initial on my business cards or for something formal.

Its much worse in the internet age as far as first name middle initial last name goes. It is the very rare exception you can register for anything that is related to a computer, where you can specify the name to use. Sometimes for events you can specify the name for your name card. However, I can't remember a site or official form that allows for what you want to be called. It's always a default. Heck, many forms are first name middle initial only.

It's a pain. My current company, I am known as middlename lastname. Yet, for social security, options, etc it's first name middleinitial lastname. right pain in the ass.

There is an unofficial "law" or "regulation" that you have to go by your legal first name.

Parents, for your kids sake, if you want to get "Kr8iv" with naming, do it with the middle name and not the first.

I dislike my first name, but it's also part of me so I don't want to officially change it. But a giant FUCK YOU to any asshole out there that insists I have to use my first name.

[Paul in Qatar]

Yep. The next door neighbor had a kid called "Firstname."

[blondebear]

Some people used to call me "Stewie". Until I killed them all.

[GingerOfTheNorth]

My step-dad and my father-in-law both go by their middle names. FIL uses J. Middle as his professional name (he is a doctor), Dad just uses Middle, but signs things as H. Middle Last.

[Eliahna]

My uncle is known by his middle name. His parents wanted to call him Stephen, and also name him after his father (whose name began with E). Stephen E. W____ has the initials SEW, and they wanted to avoid initials that spelt a word so they named him E. Stephen W____ and called him Steve.

I have no idea why four of the six children in my grandmother's family are known by their middle names. My Nan didn't even know she was using her names in the wrong order until she was nearly 60 and finally got a copy of her birth certificate. As their initials are FER, KDR, FJR and EFR, they don't even have the "justification" of avoiding initials that spelt a word. There's also no explanation for why the other two children (JGR and LIR) weren't called by their middle names like the rest of them.

[ninevah]

My maternal grandmother was always known by her middle name, even when she was quite young. She always maintained that her first name, Mary, was a cow's name (she grew up on a dairy farm).

Similarly, her father (who was a twin) was given the first and middle names, Graham Berry (named after a Premier of Victoria). He was always known as Berry. His son (and my Nanna's brother) had the first and middle names Graham MacFarlane, and he's always been known as Mac.

This tradition hasn't really continued on in the generations that followed.

[DMark]

In our family, everyone is supposed to go by their "middle" name.
It worked for my older and younger brothers, but for whatever reason, my middle name just didn't "stick".
I am the only one in several generations called by his first name...and the only reason my mother could give me was that nobody liked my middle name much and kept insisting on calling me by my first name until she and my father finally gave up and joined in.

I actually like all three of my names (first, middle and last)...so it is not a big deal for me.

[Siam Sam]

My maternal grandmother did all her life. I was surprised when I learned what her first name was, as I thought what turned out to be her middle name WAS her first name.

My father was a "Junior," so when he was growing up, everyone called him by his middle name and his father by his first name. He started going by his first name after he grew up and moved away, but I still remember his brothers and sister calling him by his middle name even in adulthood.

[chowder]

I go by my middle name, allow me to explain why.

I was born in 1941 and at that time births had to registered within 24 hours.

My uncle was at home on leave so my mother asked him to register my birth, he wandered off to the registry office stopping en-route for a few? pints.

The registrar said to him "Name?"
Uncle, being a bit pissed gave his own name.
Registrar wrote it down on birth certificate, which at the time could not be altered being wartime
Uncle then realised he meant MY name and blurted out the name my mother wanted me to be known as.

FWIW my uncles name was Clarence :(

[Mona Lisa Simpson]

Im Firstname Middlename Lastname, go by middle name...
My middle name is the same as my greatgrandmother, who my parents wanted to name me for. My firstname is the name of my godmother, who my parents didnt want to name me for.
Somehow, Godmother (who was never in my life after the first 2 years or so) got it ito her head my name was going to be Godmothersname, Middlename Lastname. Went and got me a silver bracelet with that engraved on it. My parents went with it.

I hate my first name, not because its a bad name, but its got some problematic nicknames. Also the initials created have unplesant conotations.

Always been called by middlename. Always. Never was a problem until everything became computerized. Sometimes Im Initial Name Lastname. Sometimes Im Middlename First Initial last name. My house has to be in Firstname Middle Initial Lastname. (and Im registered as Alias Middlename Lastname...I have a registered Alias! )

I agree its a huge pain in the butt to go by the middle name. I keep thinking about changing it, but Middlename Firstname doesnt sound right. Too many vowels or something.

Now my son is named Firstname Mylastname Fatherslastname. I want to change it to Firstname (family middlename) Mylastname. But first I would have to find his dad and get a signature etc. Ick what a mess.

[Mona Lisa Simpson]

oh and the worst part of it is


You are in the hospital emergency room, writhing in pain and someone calls out.. "Nickname of firstname". Not Firstname Lastname, which I can remember (sometimes) but Nickname. I ignored the calls... Passed the kidneystone before I ever saw anyone.... Puhleeze! If you are calling a total stranger a name, dont use the nickname, use the fullname unless you are told otherwise!

[Flutterby]

I go by my middle name.

I was named after both of my Grandmother's, and the reason I was called by my middle is we lived in the same city as Firstname while Middle lives across the country. They didn't name me middle first because it didn't flow (it REALLY doesn't flow).

Even more confusing was when I lived with my Grandma, and I was at the same bank as her.. which required the use of my first name. So until we convinced them to add middle initial to it, we'd open each others mail.

What really annoys me is I was told it's perfectly legit to sign things as R. Middle Lastname, but I've had to add in cramped space my first name in full. I was told it's legit because it acknowledges my first name while making it clear that I go by my middle.

As for online forms, I don't give a shit and so a lot of forms end up with my name as Middle F. Lastname. My current bank has no problem with this. My work has no problem with me using my middle name either, though my paystubs show first and last.

I'm content with my name now actually. I have no problems answering to either first or middle, or even initials which I started going by online (and practically all my internet friends know me as and call me though the close ones do know my real name).

Juliefoolie - That's crazy! Nicknaming gone too far..

[Merkwurdigliebe]

A question for those of you who go by Firstinitial Middlename Lastname. How do you do that on forms that only allow for one middle initial?

After a bit of deliberating, I'm thinking of possibly dropping the first name legally, but still keeping it personally, like maybe for formal situations. What do you guys think of that? For example, I can still sign my initials with three letters (Which I like) but when i sign my name I can leave off the first initial? Or is that dodgy?

[LucyInDisguise]

'Nuther middle namer here. Wow. I had no Idea there were so many of us! I'm a little overwhelmed.

I've kinda told my story before (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6816836&postcount=187). It's actually much longer and more involved than that but at least that hits most of the high points and satisfies most of those that are curious about the guy going around in a uniform with Lucy embroidered on his shirt ...

A question for those of you who go by Firstinitial Middlename Lastname. How do you do that on forms that only allow for one middle initial?

After a bit of deliberating, I'm thinking of possibly dropping the first name legally, but still keeping it personally, like maybe for formal situations. What do you guys think of that? For example, I can still sign my initials with three letters (Which I like) but when i sign my name I can leave off the first initial? Or is that dodgy?

On all things legal (except payroll and things dealing with Homeland inSecurity) I use FirstInitial. MiddleInitial. LastName

My Legal signature has degenerated into an indecipherable scrible composed of my initials followed by a scriggely line, so that don't matter much.

My bank refuses to allow just initials on the account, so I'm kinda forced to use full name. Same with Homeland inSecurity.

To everyone else, I'm Lucy.

Or Firstinitial Lucy LastName.

And, for those who still refuse to accept it, I also have to explain how this guy ended up with a name like Lucy. :D

Lucy

[LouisB]

I am a junior although I steadfastly refused to identify myself that way. Everyone who knew us called my father by his first name and me by my middle name. New acquaintances usually call me by my first name; now that my father is dead I know longer correct them.

[Sarahfeena]

Name some famous people w/ this syndrome. H. Ross Perot. J. Edgar Hoover. Any others? Paul McCartney is one...his first name is James.

My husband goes by a diminutive of his middle name, and it's not that common of a nickname, either, causing endless confusion. What's really weird about it, though, is that he now goes by his first name at work. He didn't want to, but he works at a large consulting company, and since he's working with different teams all the time, it was too difficult to keep explaining bout his name all the time. I have a tendency to forget and call him by his "real" name when I'm around his co-workers, which causes them to give me very strange looks!

[Hokkaido Brit]

I don't have a middle name at all, which has caused trouble in the past. In JHS, I was sent to the principal's office for refusing to tell the new teacher my middle name.The teacher was going through the class list, calling out everyone's full names and having them identify themselves. This was causing a lot of hilarity/resentment as all the weird middle names were broadcast ("Stuart EUGENE?????!!"). When my name came up, it looked like there'd been a mix-up in the office and my middle name had been left off. "Please tell me your middle name so I can record it", and sat there, pen poised.

"I don't have a middle name."
"Now come on, don't be shy, just tell me."
"I don't have a middle name."
"Nobody likes their middle name but you are wasting my time here, hurry up and tell me."
"I really don't have a middle name."
"ARE YOU GOING TO TELL ME OR NOT?"
"I can't tell you what I don't have."

And off to the office I was packed, where the secretary laughed, wrote a note and sent me back. Never got an apology. Humph.

As a kid I missed having a middle name the same as everyone else, and somehow felt lonely and left out when they were all bemoaning their horrible names. However now that I live in Japan it is very convenient because middle names are illegal here and they cause no end of trouble as there's nowhere on any form to put the thing, yet you have to have your name recorded exactly as in your passport. My kids also have no middle name; we never had to consider it, and it made the whole process of naming them so much easier. Now as a family we all fit the same pattern (except that as a foreigner my surname is different from theirs, despite being married - sigh....)

[Flutterby]

A question for those of you who go by Firstinitial Middlename Lastname. How do you do that on forms that only allow for one middle initial?

Unless it's something official (ie government paperwork) I just go with Middle F. Lastname.

Funny thing is, I found out my Grandma whose first name I share.. well, that isn't her first name after all. If I'd been named using her first name, it flows better with my current middle first, and there would be no confusion at all!

[thirdwarning]

My SIL is named for her grandmother, but she hates the name, so she goes by her middle name. She used to use it on checks and official things as F. Middle Lastname, but I notice she isn't doing that anymore. I think she just dropped the first name. I didn't know that her oldest brother also uses his middle name until I read her mother's obituary, where I noticed that her first name wasn't listed. Of course, I know who wrote the obit.

My nephew has my grandfather's name for a first name, which is also his father's middle name. So he has always been called by his middle name. When his mom first registered him for school, they insisted he had to be called by his first name, to the next year, my SIL (not the one above) signed him up as F. Middle Lastname. No problem after that, I hear. That was a long time ago, so it was probably easier to do that.

Chowder, my father's name was Clarence, but his middle name was even worse, so he used the first, but at work he used a nickname that wasn't related to either one, which led to some confusion sometimes.

[williambaskerville]

My mother found out at the wedding altar that my father was legally John Gerard, known to all and sundry (including his fiance) as Gerry. No idea how it started, but we put "John Gerard (Gerry)" on his gravestone. No one would be sure it was him otherwise.

[The Blue-Sighted Shadow]

I went by a nickname of my middle name until junior high. My mother has some convoluted explanation for calling me by my middle name, but I think they just thought my first name was too much for a baby, and they didn't like the nickname of my first name. My middle name is old fashioned, and the nickname is worse. When I started high school, I announced that I was going to go by my first name instead. I miss it sometimes, because the name is pretty unusual these days, but it brings to mind some problematic images, so I doubt I would use it in a professional setting anyway.

[Pushkin]

Reminds me of something that happened in my old workplace.

The office manager asked another employee, by email, to use her second name as the two of them shared a forename and a similar surname. Said email was quietly ignored and as a bonus, much later we discovered that the office manager wasn't even using her first name at all :dubious:

[Dung Beetle]

I call both my kids by their middle names. I didn't intend to do it that way, but that's how the names I chose flowed best. My mother and uncles also go by middle names, but we're a Southern family, so there ya go.

My son (David Paul) answers to first, middle, or both names combined, and seems to switch between them all easily.

My daughter (Victoria Alexandra) went by first name at school for years, then by a diminutive of it, which I hated. Now she goes by a diminutive of her middle name, and says she doesn't like it "because it's a boy's name, and everybody has it." I'd do her name over if I could, but I still haven't come up with the perfect girl's name and she's just too old now. She'll probably change it to something I hate when she's grown.