# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2019, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/81 "2019-07-13T04:40:32Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > It seems so ubiquitous to me in the United States, but maybe that has just been confirmation bias on my part. The poll didn’t ask if we were American. ---
**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 13, 2019, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/82 "2019-07-13T04:43:48Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > I go by my middle name, and always have. It’s one of the books in the bible. My first name, on the other hand, is almost exclusively a female name. The explanation thereof from my parents is they “thought it sounded nice.” Never used it and never will except on formal documents. Even weirder, my father hated his first name of Harold. And hello to you Vivian Ecclesiastes McGillicuddy. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2019, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/83 "2019-07-13T05:00:36Z")
> [@robby](#): > > Something like [Thurston Howell III](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thurston_Howell_III)? 🙂 lol that would of been cool as giligans island was still on 50 channels as a kid … ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2019, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/84 "2019-07-13T05:17:28Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > And hello to you Vivian Ecclesiastes McGillicuddy. i was thinking it was Vivian or Evelyn my self ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2019, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/85 "2019-07-13T06:48:08Z")
I’m a Dawn. I think it was popular at the time. Lots of Dawns my age. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2019, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/86 "2019-07-13T10:08:13Z")
Mine’s a family first name: my dad’s. They had considered having it be my first name, but decided against it for the same reason they gave me a more unique name: both my parents hated being one of several people with the same name in any situation. My dad’s full name is so common he has to include his middle initial just in our little town. With my sister, they used my mom’s middle name as part of her first name, and gave her the middle name “Grace” because they almost lost her, and considered her surviving an act of divine grace. (In that context, I’m not sure it counts as a name or a word, if she were to vote.) Mom’s middle name is one carried down the family, being the same as her mom’s and her maternal grandmother, as she was the firstborn. Dad wasn’t–neither firstborn child or son, so both his names are just names his parents liked. Though his mom has the same middle name as my mom and maternal grandmother. (Both of my grandpas had maiden name middle names.) And that I think is far enough. I figured it was okay to go up the tree a bit since the question was geneology inspired. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2019, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/87 "2019-07-13T10:15:36Z")
> [@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. Legal, no. But I’d not be surprised if any forms or software or something freaked out. When it comes to naming conventions, you really can’t take ANYTHING for granted. Not even that you’ll have a consistent name at any given time. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2019, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/88 "2019-07-13T10:17:03Z")
Oh, and I forgot: my first name is a last name of one of my dad’s friends. Uncommon, yet people would know how to pronounce it. Except it turns out there’s one other pronunciation, and most people seem to pick that one. And if I say it, the misspell it. But I love it anyways. ---
**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 13, 2019, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/89 "2019-07-13T10:25:46Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Legal, no. But I’d not be surprised if any forms or software or something freaked out. Yes, but it’s not as much a problem as it used to be. Government type stuff has always accommodated that in my lifetime. So have airlines and banks. Where I tend to have problems is private business, particularly smaller companies. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2019, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/90 "2019-07-13T13:57:51Z")
I’ll take Lee. Suntanlotion Lee ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2019, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/91 "2019-07-13T14:19:31Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Yes, but it’s not as much a problem as it used to be. > > Government type stuff has always accommodated that in my lifetime. So have airlines and banks. Where I tend to have problems is private business, particularly smaller companies. I’m kind of surprised that businesses give you a hard time- although I have a middle name, I never use it or the initial except on things that either 1) have to match my birth certificate, like my passport 2) or have to match my passport, like plane tickets or 3) theoretically, something might need to match my driver’s license, which has only my middle initial. I’ve never had any private business give me a hard time about not using my middle name/initial. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2019, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/92 "2019-07-13T14:43:48Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > i was thinking it was Vivian or Evelyn my self Courtney is another one that abruptly went from a pretty uncommon boy’s name to a popular girls name all at once. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2019, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/93 "2019-07-13T17:42:34Z")
Anne is my middle name. I’m a direct descendant of Anne Lucy Howard, one of the founding people of Boston. The three names have been carried by every generation of my mother’s familyl ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2019, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/94 "2019-07-13T21:30:34Z")
I’m another with none. My brother got a family one from Dad’s side, but my mother declared that she didn’t see the point in them, so I didn’t get one. I’m not quite sure why she didn’t see the point, seeing as both her and her sister use a\* middle name as their preferred name, but there you go. \*My Aunt has _three_ middle names: two she was given at birth, then one Catholic one she added when she converted, as none of her existing names were Catholically acceptable, which she does use. Both her kids and both her grandkids also have two each. I feel that side of the family is somewhat hogging the names, they could easily spare me one. ---
**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 13, 2019, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/95 "2019-07-13T21:34:46Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I’m kind of surprised that businesses give you a hard time- although I have a middle name, I never use it or the initial except on things that either 1) have to match my birth certificate, like my passport 2) or have to match my passport, like plane tickets or 3) theoretically, something might need to match my driver’s license, which has only my middle initial. I’ve never had any private business give me a hard time about not using my middle name/initial. Not as a customer so much as an employee. HR Drone: “Hi, I’m calling about your personnel file in the new computer system. I need your middle name.” Me: “I don’t have a middle name.” HR Drone: “What do you mean? Everyone has a middle name!” Me: “I don’t.” HR Drone: "I’ve never heard of that! Me: “Well, now you have.” In the early 1990’s I had an employer set up a new e-mail system where everyone’s address was based on their name. The contractor who had set it up hardcoded that a middle initial was required. That’s when the company found out that not one but thirty-six employees working for them did not have a middle initial and no, you are not allowed to assign one to them. Things like that. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/96 "2019-07-14T00:09:05Z")
I only skimmed the thread and did a search for “Catholic”, but obviously the German (I don’t know if it’s restricted to Germany, but I’m surprised that it didn’t come up yet in this thread) Catholic tradition by which I got my middle name wasn’t yet mentioned: my middle name is my godfather’s (who’s also my uncle) given name, as well as my sister’s middle name is her godmother’s (our aunt). This was custom at least in the sixties in Germany among Catholics. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/97 "2019-07-14T00:14:26Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > My parent didn’t give any of the 5 of us middle names. Dunno why… That means you’re all clones. My parents used the grandparent’s given names as middle names for my two oldest brothers, and then just made stuff up for the next two. ---
**Author:** ![Time\_Like\_Tears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df705f/32.png) [@Time\_Like\_Tears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Time_Like_Tears)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/98 "2019-07-14T01:28:36Z")
I was named after both my grandmothers. There’s a girl with my first name in each generation on my mother’s side, usually the first born girl, but in my case I’m the second. I’m also the only one who actually goes by it, the rest all went by their middle names. My parents modified my father’s mom’s name of Bettie to give me Elizabeth for my middle name. Strong tradition of both keeping traditional names in the family, and of naming kids what you intend to call them - even if it does cause kids the need to argue with authority figures. My mom used to have to shout down school administrators that her name was “CATHY, not Catherine, for the last time!” ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/99 "2019-07-14T11:50:45Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > **I don’t have a middle name, not even an initial.** Neither did either of my parents, and neither does my brother. I’m British – re the part which I have bolded, the same goes for me. However: so far as I can tell, I’m unique in my family in just having the one forename and no middle name. My two brothers (significantly younger than me) both have middle names; my parents both had middle names, so did my mother’s several siblings (father’s side, I don’t know about). Have no idea why I’m the exception; and nobody who might have known, is still alive. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936/100 "2019-07-14T14:14:45Z")
My middle name came from our neighbor, who they thought very highly of and who died not long after I was born. I’ve always gone by my middle name, which is sometimes a pain. My parents both go by their middle names as well. Both my names were common as dirt when I was a kid, but less so now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-middle-name/836936.md?page=6)