# Do you have a middle name? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 11, 2019, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936 "2019-07-11T23:20:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/21 "2019-07-12T02:33:37Z")
Unrelated given name. My _first_ name is that of a friend of my father’s who died before I was born. I don’t know of any source for my middle name, other than they all seem to kind of “fit” together. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/22 "2019-07-12T02:54:30Z")
My middle name could be related to either grandfather but somehow I doubt that explanation. It’s “Thomas” by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/23 "2019-07-12T02:54:57Z")
My middle name is my father’s first name. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/24 "2019-07-12T03:33:05Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > My father had a middle initial. He never learned what it stood for. Perhaps because of that neither I nor my brother has either a middle name or initial. > I attribute my success in life to this fact. Can you imagine how much extra time I had on tests not having to write a middle name. A great advantage. > My wife does, so both of my kids do. My kids have two middle names. True story. > [@FairyChatMom](#): > > My parent didn’t give any of the 5 of us middle names. Dunno why… Well, with 5 of you, who has time for that type of thing? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/25 "2019-07-12T03:58:08Z")
My middle name is my grandfather’s first name. He died before I was born. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/26 "2019-07-12T04:08:07Z")
_Danger_ is my middle name. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/27 "2019-07-12T04:10:49Z")
No middle name. Nor my sisters. The brothers have family related middle names. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/28 "2019-07-12T05:48:19Z")
I don’t see an option for “I have more than one middle name”, which is the case with myself, as my first and middle names are the full name of a 1920s celebrity my grrat-grandparents worked with. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/29 "2019-07-12T05:58:29Z")
My middle name is my maternal uncle’s first name. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/30 "2019-07-12T08:25:47Z")
I don’t have a middle name. Once in a great while this causes someone to get flustered, but officialdom is OK with it. Apparently some people believe having a middle name is a _legal requirement_. No, it’s not. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/31 "2019-07-12T08:49:04Z")
My first and middle names are from two popes, Paul Telesphorus. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/32 "2019-07-12T09:28:27Z")
I have my paternal Grandfather’s first name as my middle name. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/33 "2019-07-12T10:20:36Z")
my entire name was my grandfathers who was jr and his dad was sr so occasionally I have to add “the third” then III became common in the 90s … i just dont like saying my full name out loud because it sounds pretentious as hell ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/34 "2019-07-12T10:23:18Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I don’t have a middle name. Once in a great while this causes someone to get flustered, but officialdom is OK with it. > > Apparently some people believe having a middle name is a _legal requirement_. No, it’s not. Is your family Catholic, by any chance? See my second comment in Post #4 above. Maybe you were supposed to pick a middle name later, but this never happened for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/35 "2019-07-12T10:30:11Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > my entire name was my grandfathers who was jr and his dad was sr so occasionally I have to add “the third” then III became common in the 90s … > i just dont like saying my full name out loud because it sounds pretentious as hell Something like [Thurston Howell III](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thurston_Howell_III)? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/36 "2019-07-12T10:52:40Z")
My middle name is a relatively common women’s given name. One big survey (n- 1000) places it just barely in the top 10 most common, which suggests it’s actually a lot more popular as a middle name than first. My brother’s middle name, on the other hand, is Dad’s first name. Mom suggested naming him after dad, but he didn’t want a junior. So the middle name was their compromise. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/37 "2019-07-12T11:49:20Z")
My middle name is a standard given name, as is my sisters. The best middle name comes from ‘How I met your mother’ 😃 In case the clip doesn’t work, the middle name is … waitforit 🆒 i.e. Marvin Waitforit Eriksen ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/38 "2019-07-12T12:03:09Z")
I have a rather boring middle name. However, my grandmother was Naomi, my mother was Naomi, my sister’s middle name is Naomi, my niece’s middle name is Naomi, and my great niece’s middle name is Naomi. Five generations. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/39 "2019-07-12T12:38:25Z")
My middle -and first and sur - names are the same as my dad’s, his dad’s, his dad’s, and - I’m pretty sure - his dad’s. I’m descended from a pretty uncreative bunch! My wife, OTOH, has no middle name. Which is kinda weird, as she is the youngest of 3 sisters, and both of her older sibs have middle names. Guess they ran out of ideas - or couldn’t afford one! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/40 "2019-07-12T12:38:28Z")
My middle name was my Uncle’s name. And he was named for [a significant ancestor](https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/ti-kouka-whenua/te-ruahikihiki/). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936.md?page=3)