What’s the purpose of a middle name or do you even have one?

40 comments

1. I have two.

2. It’s just a thing that happens, sometimes people go by both names I knew a dude named John Paul. I actually know a few people that only go by their middle name. It’s rare but it happens.

3. My middle name is my preferred name.
   Many Catholic baby girls are named Mary after Jesus’ mother. I have never been known by that name

4. Most people have one. The only purpose it really serves is to further differentiate you from somebody else with the same first and last name.

5. My middle name is my first name and my first name is middle name lol. It’s pretty common from where I’m from. I really don’t like it though when people call me by the first part of my name.

6. The tradition of middle name stems form Roman tradition. So definitely not exclusively an American thing. But at least in English speaking countries middle names serve a similar purpose to last names. It gives less a chance of two people having the exact same name and gives parents a chance to give their kid a second name.

7. Some people choose to be called by their middle name.

   Additionally, sometimes the middle name is a parent’s last name. So the pattern might be Name, Paternal surname, Maternal surname. Paternal and maternal might be flipped.

8. I have one but I don’t use it for anything. I know a few people who go by their middle name instead of their first just because they like it more.

9. I have a middle name. I suspect it’s a strong tradition, as well as a way of distinguishing yourself from other people with the same name, especially in a bureaucratic society where names on paper can be critical to living.

10. I have 2, one is a family name, one is Biblical.

11. It’s so that your parents can yell it and let you know you’re really in trouble.

12. Couldn’t tell you what the purpose is but I’ve only ever met 2 people who didn’t have one

13. [Source](https://www.rd.com/article/why-do-we-have-middle-names/)

    “The way we use middle names today originated in the Middle Ages when Europeans couldn’t decide between giving their child a family name or the name of a saint. They eventually settled on naming their children with the given name first, baptismal name second, and surname third. The tradition was spread to America as people started to immigrate overseas.”

14. I don’t have one my mom never gave me one. So my kids don’t have one either. But I think if I had a girl I would’ve given her one

15. It’s so that children know when they’re in really big trouble. When your mom calls you by all 3 names, you better watch out.

16. You use your full name on legal documents, or when being announced at big formal occasions, for extra gravitas. Otherwise, sometimes it’s useful to distinguish you from other people with the same given and family names.

17. I have a given name, two middle names, and a family name! Plus my confirmation name (in the Catholic Church), although that’s not an official government recognized name.

18. My name is William Edward Woody.

    My father’s name was William Claude Woody.

    The middle name differentiates me from my father. It’s why I’m not a “junior.”

    In my family the first born male child is named after the father, and then the mother’s father. My mother’s father’s name was Edward.

    My father was not a first-born child. He was named after the comedian [W. C. Fields.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._C._Fields) Just as well; my father’s father’s first name was Gaius. (My great grandfather was fascinated by classical history.)

    —-

    I once told people my wife and I couldn’t have children because if we had a son, I’d be obligated to name him after me and my wife’s father.

    His first name was Clinton.

    And I’d have to explain why my child was not named after the President.

    —-

    As a footnote, I have no problem sharing my name or even my father’s name, because it’s a surprisingly common name in the United States. G’figure.

19. I see you are not from Latin america

    In some countries they are an aspect of a more formal language, in others it has to do with your family heritage.

20. I know for my family it is either just traditional or based on religious beliefs… I joke we keep doing it to give us a great place for unique names. My sons Greek culture family does it to different between all the shared names… the whole first son after the paternal grandfather, second son after the maternal grandfather.

21. I use my middle name professionally because my first and last names are short and I think it looks nicer when my full name is attached to documents. That’s the only reason, I never cared for it before.

22. My dad has a two-part first name. My brother and I both got one of his first names as a middle name.

23. I actually prefer to be called by my middle name. My first name is the same as my father’s so I was called by my middle name as a kid and it stuck. However my legal name is the first one.

24. I use my middle initial to sound more formal on my email signature

25. In my family, we often choose the name of a respected family member as the middle name of a child. Someone like an uncle or grandparent. My son has the name of a great grandfather of his middle name, my oldest daughter has the name of her great grandmother as her middle name, and my youngest daughter has the maiden name of my maternal grandmother as her middle name. In other words, you can freestyle it.

    Edit: my middle name is the first name of a great grandfather.

26. In my culture, your middle name is your father’s name, or your husband’s name if you are a married woman

27. I look at it as you have three names:

    First is a given name that people call you by. In the U.S., that’s normally your first name, sometimes your middle name, and in some cases (usually sports or the military) your last name.

    Second is your family ancestry, commonly derived from your father’s side. That’s usually our last name.

    Third is differentiation (and sometimes further family relevance). There’s a lot of people in the world today, and a lot of people here. Chances are you’ll meet a ton of people here with the same first name as you. Unless you have a rarer last name, you’ll likely meet others with the same last name as well. Middle name can set you apart.

    Even with a (relatively) very rare last name here, there can be dozens (if not hundreds) of people with the same first name. Add in a middle name, and that can be unique.

28. I have one! I changed my middle name (replaced it with my maiden name) when I got married.

29. Different American ethnic sub-cultures have different traditions to do with middle names. However, the most common American tradition is either to honor a relative by using a first or last name from the family tree, or just use a name that fits well with the first name, or creates a pleasing set of initials. Most people have a middle name, but often it is rarely used, except as an initial. Occasionally, they can be embarrassingly unfashionable. In childhood, when teasing about names is common, one learns to keep that name to oneself.

    Mine is remarkably flexible as it is a last name that is also a common female or male first name. My misfortune was that it was also the last name of a famous character from the comics pages. I passed it down as a middle name of my youngest, but I haven’t gotten any of my children to pass it further.

30. My middle name is only one letter but that’s because my immigrant parents didn’t understand what a middle name was haha

31. It’s just a cultural thing. For me personally I named my sons middle name after dad.

32. My middle name is my godfather’s first name, my parents chose it because he was their good friend.

    I would use my middle name in formal proceedings. It also means I have the same first name as my father without being a “junior” (Since he had a different middle name). It’s also useful for when you’re disciplining a child- everyone knows that being called your full name means you’re in trouble.

    (My mom once called for me by my first, middle, *confirmation name*, and last name, which meant I should probably have gone into hiding.)

33. I know of two different uses, from different parts of this big country. My friend from Florida asked me why “y’all out west” don’t keep our maiden names as an additional middle name. She had a great point. I wish I had kept it. My middle name is a hereditary female-line name since we don’t usually pass on last names.

34. Purpose is to differentiate you from others with a similar first and last name.

    Yeah I’ve never met anyone who didn’t have one

35. Generally middle names are used to differentiate people, as others have said, but it can hold some significance. My boyfriend is Korean American and his parents just made his middle name his Korean name, which was very important to them. He wants to do the same for our future kids.

36. It’s so you know when your mom is serious.

37. So you know when you are in trouble.

38. Sorry I couldn’t reply to all the comments but I would love to do so when I have more time. Thanks to everyone

39. So you know your parents are mad at you

40. My family likes to preserve maiden names as middle names.