# Needs help choosing a name **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 5, 2012, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220 "2012-06-05T23:25:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220/21 "2012-06-06T14:20:28Z")
> [@Dpsnz](#): > > I haven’t made it too well known as of yet, was more testing the water but point taken. > > I was told, “you missed the Doug boat by some 50 years” was all! Based upon an assumed DOB of 1980, I’m going to say you’re only missing it by 20 years [http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager#prefix=doug&ms=false&exact=true](http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager#prefix=doug&ms=false&exact=true) ETA: and if your friends are all about popularity of names, you wanna guess where Khan ranks? I think you already know. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220/22 "2012-06-06T15:14:32Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > Don’t go without a middle name, it has the potential to make government forms more difficult to fill out in the future. Not true, I have no middle name and it has never caused me any trouble. I like having no middle name. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220/23 "2012-06-06T15:21:45Z")
Whilst I think James Douglas Richards sounds better than Douglas James Richards, in real life we very really refer to ourselves by our full name, and Doug Richards sounds like a fine way to introduce yourself. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220/24 "2012-06-06T15:36:37Z")
It has been proven by teams of scientists that Doug is the kick-assingest name in the history of mankind, so you should definitely stick with Doug. Your friend, Doug ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220/25 "2012-06-06T15:43:22Z")
I also vote for Doug. I’m not sure where you are, but I’ll tell you as someone who legally changed her name, it’s going to be more expensive and take longer than you think. And your family will give you shit. It’s worth it though. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220/26 "2012-06-06T15:51:06Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > Don’t go without a middle name, it has the potential to make government forms more difficult to fill out in the future. Nonsense. I’ve never had a middle name and I’ve never had difficulty in filling out forms of any kind. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220/27 "2012-06-06T16:34:06Z")
I have two middle names, as it happens (I was named after a cousin who died shortly before I was born, and then my parents just tagged our different-from-his family last name after his three), but most forms only give you space for one, so I usually leave it blank. No problemo. ---
**Author:** ![AqualungBats5th](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@AqualungBats5th](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AqualungBats5th)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220/28 "2012-06-06T17:30:25Z")
Doug is a fine name, and I knew a few growing up (born 1981 FTR). It’s not ridiculously uncommon. Go with whatever makes you happy, not other people. It’s your name after all. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220/29 "2012-06-06T17:40:51Z")
There are forms online and forms for things like immigration that require something be entered in the middle name/middle initial field. If you don’t have one, that field can become a pain in the ass. It’s not something that happens often or to everybody, and usually it’s just a minor inconvenience. But someone in this thread mentioned skipping a middle name, and this is why I don’t think that’s a good idea: [My father has no middle name. When he enlisted during the Korean conflict, the recruiter used the word ‘none’ on his forms. The initial “N” followed my father throughout his naval career - his name was ‘John N. Doe’ even on his dog tags.](http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/65477-what-if-no-middle-name/) [No Middle name causing problem in I131 efiling](http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/forum70-self-filing-documents-forms-directions-mailing/19380-no-middle-name-causing-problem-in-i131-efiling.html) [Neither of my parents have middle names; it just wasn’t the usual thing in the part of Europe they were born in. Here in the U.S. it has only very rarely been an issue; there are a few government forms on which (NMI) for “No Middle Initial” was used.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=557803) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220/30 "2012-06-06T18:25:40Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > There are forms online and forms for things like immigration that require something be entered in the middle name/middle initial field. If you don’t have one, that field can become a pain in the ass. Having actually processed these kinds of forms, I can tell you that it’s no kind of pain at all. You just leave it blank or draw a line through it. I have never witnessed any negative consequence to doing this. > [@](#): > > It’s not something that happens often or to everybody, and usually it’s just a minor inconvenience. But someone in this thread mentioned skipping a middle name, and this is why I don’t think that’s a good idea: If someone doesn’t want to have a middle name, this is a ridiculous reason to discourage that choice. These “inconveniences” are rare and minor and likely no longer existing. There are far more serious inconveniences in life. This one is likely to be as inconvenient – if at all – as an untied shoelace. [My father has no middle name. When he enlisted during the Korean conflict, the recruiter used the word ‘none’ on his forms. The initial “N” followed my father throughout his naval career - his name was ‘John N. Doe’ even on his dog tags.](http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/65477-what-if-no-middle-name/) This anecdote happened about _sixty years ago_ and this particular topic has been the subject of countless jokes and urban legends. The story is that the Army puts “NMI” (“no middle initial”) if you don’t have one. It’s not actually an inconvenience of any kind; it’s just funny. > [@](#): > > [No Middle name causing problem in I131 efiling](http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/forum70-self-filing-documents-forms-directions-mailing/19380-no-middle-name-causing-problem-in-i131-efiling.html) If you actually read the thread linked, you see that _this doesn’t actually cause any problems or delays of any kind_. Citizenship and Immigration Services isn’t as idiotic as it’s often made out to be. > [@](#): > > [Neither of my parents have middle names; it just wasn’t the usual thing in the part of Europe they were born in. Here in the U.S. it has only very rarely been an issue; there are a few government forms on which (NMI) for “No Middle Initial” was used.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=557803) Three links and zero actual problems. There is no reason to advise someone to not have a middle name. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220/31 "2012-06-06T19:27:41Z")
In case there was still any doubt in your mind, please visit [The Page of DOUGs](http://www.dougs.org/), and your course of action will be clear. ---
**Author:** ![Dpsnz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5e9695/32.png) [@Dpsnz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dpsnz)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220/32 "2012-06-07T01:43:39Z")
> [@benbo1](#): > > I gotta wonder if every1 in the 60s was dropping acid. Touche. Albeit I was born in the 90’s ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220/33 "2012-06-07T02:29:16Z")
As someone who has legally changed their name in real life, I’d say go with it if it is in keeping with who you are. On my side, it’s been the surname issue. The “correct” surname to go with my patrilineal lineage is a mess and an item of debate and has been changed several times. I was also very much not happy with the surname that my father thought was a good idea, which was one he adopted as an adult. I took the earliest patrilineal surname of which there is record and also the surname of an ancestor who actually accomplished something in his life and ended up a minor historical figure of a midwestern settlement/town (now a small city) in the mid 1800’s. In that city today, there is a street as well as an elementary school that are named for the family, and while that’s not much, it’s a lot more to me than a name that has no connection with the past. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220/34 "2012-06-07T02:46:58Z")
I hear that WaitForIt has become a popular middle name. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220/35 "2012-06-07T02:51:13Z")
Douglas K. Richards ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220/36 "2012-06-07T02:54:15Z")
I like the idea of Doug, but with an edgy, updated spelling. Ladies and Gentlemen, introducing: Dug. ---
**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:** [June 7, 2012, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220/37 "2012-06-07T02:58:16Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > (And incidentally, I’d go with Douglas Adams Richards, myself. Or maybe Douglas MacArthur Richards if you want to really freak people out). How about Ernie Douglas Kim Richards? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220/38 "2012-06-07T04:51:06Z")
The obligatory _Far Side_ link: [http://1.bp.blogspot.com/\_LY-9PTRzghw/SLaYe7FxYxI/AAAAAAAACcQ/6t\_F-5HRVIo/s400/Far+Side+Beware+of+Doug.gif](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LY-9PTRzghw/SLaYe7FxYxI/AAAAAAAACcQ/6t_F-5HRVIo/s400/Far+Side+Beware+of+Doug.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Dpsnz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5e9695/32.png) [@Dpsnz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dpsnz)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220/39 "2012-06-11T09:36:28Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > I like Douglas James, but have you considered Douglas Khan? OTOH if you really hate it you should just drop it. > > How do you pronounce Dpsnz? 🙂 DPS is an acronym for a work project, use it as a username, NZ because i’m a Kiwi. ---
**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:** [June 11, 2012, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220/40 "2012-06-11T10:08:13Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > How about Dougall? 🙂 Dougall always makes me thing of _Father Ted_. I suppose Richard Richards would be out of the question. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needs-help-choosing-a-name/624220.md?page=3)