# What’s the third finger of the non ring hand called? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 12, 2020, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-third-finger-of-the-non-ring-hand-called/917883 "2020-08-12T14:52:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-third-finger-of-the-non-ring-hand-called/917883/1 "2020-08-12T14:52:52Z")
(I know the hand in which the wedding ring is worn varies amongst cultures) Thumb, Index/forefinger, middle finger, ring finger, little finger. Other hand would be Thumb, Index/forefinger, middle finger, _what finger_?.. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-third-finger-of-the-non-ring-hand-called/917883/2 "2020-08-12T14:57:25Z")
In my (Canadian English language) experience, the same finger is called “ring finger” on both hands. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-third-finger-of-the-non-ring-hand-called/917883/3 "2020-08-12T15:14:27Z")
I’ve only known it as “ring finger” (US English) for both hands. I can’t think of any alternate name for it. Like you note, index finger is also forefinger (and also pointer finger at least in my dialect) and little finger is also “pinky” but I can’t think of any other colloquial names for thumb, middle finger, or ring finger. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-third-finger-of-the-non-ring-hand-called/917883/4 "2020-08-12T15:14:59Z")
Yes, my mid-Ohio dialect calls it the ring finger on either hand. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-third-finger-of-the-non-ring-hand-called/917883/5 "2020-08-12T15:16:00Z")
I’ve never heard any term but “ring finger” used for the third finger on both hands. (And, FWIW, when I wore a college class ring, I wore it on the ring finger of my right hand.) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-third-finger-of-the-non-ring-hand-called/917883/6 "2020-08-12T15:23:04Z")
I an not so sure it counts as the third finger. You might refer to it as the fourth finger or fourth digit. Maybe to be more specific you could distinguish between _digitus quartus manus dextrae_ and _digitus quartus manus sinistrae._ ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-third-finger-of-the-non-ring-hand-called/917883/7 "2020-08-12T15:24:50Z")
WIkipedia has an article on that, of course. It does say it can be called the third finger, but it’s usually called the fourth finger: > **[Ring finger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_finger)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > The ring finger, third finger, fourth finger, leech finger, or annulary is the fourth digit of the human hand, located between the middle finger and the little finger. > Sometimes the term ring finger only refers to the fourth digit of a left-hand, so named for its traditional association with wedding rings in many societies, although not all use this digit as the ring finger. Traditionally, a wedding ring was worn only by the bride or wife, but in... ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-third-finger-of-the-non-ring-hand-called/917883/8 "2020-08-12T15:32:52Z")
Now if I were a surgeon, and the medical record said ‘digitus IV’ (or ‘digitus III’), I would want it to be crystal-clear exactly which finger they meant before doing anything important. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-third-finger-of-the-non-ring-hand-called/917883/9 "2020-08-12T15:41:00Z")
Ring finger. It’s where you wear your college or engagement ring. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2020, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-third-finger-of-the-non-ring-hand-called/917883/10 "2020-08-12T15:46:14Z")
Thumb, index finger, driving finger, ring finger, pinkie. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-third-finger-of-the-non-ring-hand-called/917883/11 "2020-08-12T16:06:41Z")
The SDMB being US centric, where the custom of wearing a wedding ring is worn on the left hand, I can see how the OP could get confused, but there are plenty of countries, regions of the world where wearing a wedding ring on the right hand is the prevailing custom. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-third-finger-of-the-non-ring-hand-called/917883/12 "2020-08-12T16:20:51Z")
Another name is the medical finger (digitus medicinalis) and synonyms. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-third-finger-of-the-non-ring-hand-called/917883/13 "2020-08-13T02:57:44Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Thumb, index finger, driving finger, ring finger, pinkie. So called because of the frequency drivers exhibit it to other drivers? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-third-finger-of-the-non-ring-hand-called/917883/14 "2020-08-13T04:54:05Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Thumb, index finger, driving finger, ring finger, pinkie Lol! I’m stealing this. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-third-finger-of-the-non-ring-hand-called/917883/15 "2020-08-13T05:23:29Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > The SDMB being US centric, where the custom of wearing a wedding ring is worn on the left hand, I can see how the OP could get confused, but there are plenty of countries, regions of the world where wearing a wedding ring on the right hand is the prevailing custom. Plus, there are rings other than wedding rings. Class rings, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-third-finger-of-the-non-ring-hand-called/917883/16 "2020-08-13T08:20:21Z")
Indeed. And there are countries where, within the same country, custom differs as to the hand on which to wear a ring, depending on the type of ring. In some European countries it is traditional to wear an engagement ring on the left hand but a wedding ring on the right hand, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-third-finger-of-the-non-ring-hand-called/917883/17 "2020-08-13T08:45:35Z")
Annular. Because of _anulus_, Latin for ring. ---
**Author:** ![tavaritz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@tavaritz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavaritz)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2020, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-third-finger-of-the-non-ring-hand-called/917883/18 "2020-08-14T07:01:56Z")
I’m not a driver so driving finger is not to me. Also as I’m finnish you know (after you read the wikipedia article) that in finnish ring finger is called “nameless”. So to me they would be: Thumb, index finger, social finger, nameless and pinkie. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2020, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-third-finger-of-the-non-ring-hand-called/917883/19 "2020-08-18T00:52:20Z")
In my limited exposure to such, many European folks who wear a wedding band do so on the right-hand ring finger. I used to be married into a family of well-known string players. To the last, they wore their wedding bands on their right hand so that it was on the Bow hand not the Fingering hand.