# Have you changed your name (besides for marriage)? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 9, 2017, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-changed-your-name-besides-for-marriage/795872 "2017-09-09T05:39:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2017, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-changed-your-name-besides-for-marriage/795872/21 "2017-09-11T21:35:34Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Kind of. > When I was young my family and friends always called me by my middle name which is pretty unheard of outside my ethnicity. I didn’t mind all through out school but once I got out of college and got a real job it just became a pain in the ass so I started going by my first name which is much more common. > [@hajario](#): > > What ethnicity is that? It’s not nearly as unheard of as you are imagining. I’ve known several people who go by their middle name, all of whom are standard Caucasian. I believe **zoid** means that the specific middle name is basically unique to the ethnicity, not the practice in general. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2017, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-changed-your-name-besides-for-marriage/795872/22 "2017-09-13T05:04:57Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Try not having a middle name at all. > > I have had people insist that I MUST have a middle name, they won’t let the baby leave the hospital without one! Nope, not true. > > I have no middle name and a hyphen in the surname. While I occasionally have had issues with computer systems I find human beings with odd notion of what MUST happen, or what they THINK is the law, to be far more troublesome. The wife, like almost all Thais, does not have a middle name. But spare a thought for many of those Indonesians who have a single name. I was acquainted with one researcher who could not get himself published internationally due to his lack of a surname. He finally just adopted a surname to use for international journals. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2017, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-changed-your-name-besides-for-marriage/795872/23 "2017-09-13T05:36:54Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > The wife, like almost all Thais, does not have a middle name. But spare a thought for many of those Indonesians who have a single name. I was acquainted with one researcher who could not get himself published internationally due to his lack of a surname. He finally just adopted a surname to use for international journals. Or current Afghanistan CEO (basically a co-President), Abdullah Abdullah, born Abdullah. Lots of Indonesians have more than one name, but the second (or third etc.) names aren’t necessarily a family name and their kids may have a different name. Including patronymics (like Iceland), or just two given names. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-changed-your-name-besides-for-marriage/795872/24 "2017-09-14T04:32:33Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Lots of Indonesians have more than one name, but the second (or third etc.) names aren’t necessarily a family name and their kids may have a different name. Including patronymics (like Iceland), or just two given names. Yes, a lot of them do have more than one name. The single-name phenomenon is not universal, but it’s not uncommon there either. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-changed-your-name-besides-for-marriage/795872/25 "2017-09-14T18:57:04Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > I believe **zoid** means that the specific middle name is basically unique to the ethnicity, not the practice in general. That makes much more sense. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-changed-your-name-besides-for-marriage/795872/26 "2017-09-14T19:28:30Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Try not having a middle name at all. > > I have had people insist that I MUST have a middle name, they won’t let the baby leave the hospital without one! Nope, not true. > > I have no middle name and a hyphen in the surname. While I occasionally have had issues with computer systems I find human beings with odd notion of what MUST happen, or what they THINK is the law, to be far more troublesome. For some reason, Judge Judy absolutely refuses to address people with hyphenated last names by their full names. She insists that they choose one portion of it to be addressed by in her courtroom. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-changed-your-name-besides-for-marriage/795872/27 "2017-09-14T19:30:04Z")
Nope not even after I was married. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-changed-your-name-besides-for-marriage/795872/28 "2017-09-14T19:32:14Z")
My family called me Ricky from the day I was born till I decided I was too old to be called Ricky, so I insisted that everybody call me Rick. My grandmother could never be brought around, but, okay. But then when I was in sixth grade there were three Richards in class and the teacher arbitrarily ruled that one would be Rick, one would be Ricky, and I would be Richard. I use Rick in all cases except for when I sign up for things, and then I use Richard. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-changed-your-name-besides-for-marriage/795872/29 "2017-09-14T19:56:51Z")
> [@Reddy\_Mercury](#): > > If so, what part of your name was it (like first or last) and did it effect you in any negative way as far as employment and such? Not changed per se, but what folks call me has changed. My first name is Charles and I went by that until I moved to Austin in 1966. Somehow, I became C. R. and stayed that until I moved back to Houston in 1979 and people started calling me Chuck. Been that ever since. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-changed-your-name-besides-for-marriage/795872/30 "2017-09-14T20:29:48Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > My family called me Ricky from the day I was born till I decided I was too old to be called Ricky, so I insisted that everybody call me Rick. My grandmother could never be brought around, but, okay. But then when I was in sixth grade there were three Richards in class and the teacher arbitrarily ruled that one would be Rick, one would be Ricky, and I would be Richard. I use Rick in all cases except for when I sign up for things, and then I use Richard. At least your teacher didn’t decide you were being a Dick. 😃 ETA: I’m sure that’s the first time anyone’s made that joke to you. You’re welcome. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-changed-your-name-besides-for-marriage/795872.md?page=1)