# Who is the first person we know as FI - Middle Name - Last Name? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 7, 2024, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226 "2024-05-07T13:23:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226/41 "2024-05-08T17:11:37Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > T. Herman Zweibel Shouldn’t that be _Zwiebel_? ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226/42 "2024-05-08T18:35:01Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > That’s not his name. It’s not even his stage name. Are you sure? It sure sounds it might be. L. Al-Khool Jay? And, getting in front of tomorrow’s thread: Name Initial Initial. Rundy M. C. > [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Shouldn’t that be _Zwiebel_? Oops, I, um, must have used the spelling from before the 1807 Treaty of Tilsit when the House of Zweibel sought to distance itself from the Prussians. I wonder if something similar happened to the Al-Khool’s. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226/43 "2024-05-08T19:57:46Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > J.P. Morgan 1837 > A.A. Milne 1882 > T.S. Eliot 1888 > E.E. Smith 1890 > E.E. Cummings 1894 > Y.A. Tittle 1926 G.E. Mixmaster (That’s one of my unsuccesful rap names.) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226/44 "2024-05-08T20:15:45Z")
A.C. Swinburne 1837 H.H. Asquith 1852 ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226/45 "2024-05-08T22:29:25Z")
Certainly not the first, but there’s **A. Whitney Brown** , a _Saturday Night Live_ writer and cast member in the mid-'80s. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226/46 "2024-05-08T22:48:47Z")
Diabetes guy used to be **A.** Wilford Brimley, but dropped the A after **The Thing** , so eat yer oatmeal, dammit! ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226/47 "2024-05-08T22:53:03Z")
How about a woman? > **[E. Charlton Fortune](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Charlton_Fortune)** > > Euphemia Charlton Fortune (1885–1969) was an American Impressionist artist from California. She was trained in Europe, New York and San Francisco. She painted many portraits as well as landscape views of California and European sites. In midlife she turned to liturgical design. She signed her paintings "E. Charlton Fortune," which helped conceal her gender. > Fortune was born in Sausalito, Marin County, California, on January 15, 1885. Her father was a Scot, William Ranken Fortune, and her mother ... ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226/48 "2024-05-08T22:55:13Z")
D.B. Cooper ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226/49 "2024-05-08T22:58:41Z")
[A. Clyde Roller](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._Clyde_Roller) (who, AFAIK, never rolled a clyde in his life) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226/50 "2024-05-08T23:04:28Z")
G. Julius Caesar. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226/51 "2024-05-08T23:10:25Z")
This is both a really good point (because initial + second name + third name is really common for Roman names) and invalid (because “Julius” is a family name, not a give name). ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226/52 "2024-05-08T23:47:55Z")
D.W. Griffith - b. 1875 J. M. Barrie - b. 1860 H. G. Wells - b. 1866 ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226/53 "2024-05-09T00:05:32Z")
Some people are interpreting the OP differently from me. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226/54 "2024-05-09T00:50:06Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > This is both a really good point (because initial + second name + third name is really common for Roman names) and invalid (because “Julius” is a family name, not a give name). Doesn’t really make a difference. It’s how we, today, refer to the person. And he’s known as Julius Caesar, not G. Julius Caesar. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226/55 "2024-05-09T00:51:44Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Certainly not the first, but there’s **A. Whitney Brown** , a _Saturday Night Live_ writer and cast member in the mid-'80s. And yet someday he hopes to be The Whitney Brown. How about J. R. R. Tolkien (1892)? Or is that another thread? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226/56 "2024-05-09T01:40:08Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > How about J. R. R. Tolkien (1892)? Or is that another thread? Damifino. I didn’t think of the possibility of a three-initial person. Maybe he should go into his own list, unless there’s another out there. Thought of another 2-initial person: **A.E. van Vogt** 1912 ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226/57 "2024-05-09T01:55:25Z")
C. P. E. Bach? ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226/58 "2024-05-09T02:00:48Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I didn’t think of the possibility of a three-initial person. Maybe he should go into his own list, unless there’s another out there. S.L.A. Marshall ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226/59 "2024-05-09T02:48:25Z")
In early science fiction we also have L. Sprague de Camp, C. L. Moore, F. L. Wallace, H. Chandler Elliott, E. M. Hull, and, most famously, L. Ron Hubbard. Mystery writers of that era include D. B. Olsen, H. F. Heard, A. A. Fair, H. W. Roden, E. M. Hull (a different one), C. W. Grafton (Sue’s father), A. B. Cunningham, W. A. Swanberg, E. B. Mann, M. V. Heberden, A. I. Bezzerides, and B. M. Bower. Some of them are pretty obscure but were famous enough then to get reprinted in a Dell mapback paperback and I have them all in my collection. And then there’s P. G. Wodehouse and H. G. Wells, who both would have been more famous than any of those guys and both had a Dell reprint. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226/60 "2024-05-09T11:36:35Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > How about J. R. R. Tolkien (1892)? Or is that another thread? What is it about fantasy authors and the double R middle initial? We’ve got George R. R. Martin and E. R. Eddison (which I always added an extra “R” to, long before Martin. Maybe it was the double “D” in “Eddison”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-first-person-we-know-as-fi-middle-name-last-name/1001226.md?page=4)