So I’m from Brazil and I still can’t fully understand how names work in America, especially the middle names part. Here where I live, as far as I know, most people have just their (first) name and it’s used for basically every situation; and then there’s the surnames, which are usually 2, one from the mother and one from the father, but in my case I actually have three – 2 from my mother and the 3rd one from my father.
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Some People have hyphenated surnames
Middle names are optional, but many have them. It’s really not used very much (unless you’re being yelled at by your mom). Last names are typically the father’s name but there are or course exceptions. (Father isn’t in the picture for whatever reason)
Regardless of whether the mother changed her surname when she got married, typically, a child takes his or her father’s surname. A major exception being if the father’s not in the picture at all — then the child will take his mother’s surname.
Hyphenating names in a family is pretty rare, but not unheard of. You could pass surnames off as hyphenated, if you want (even though they’re technically not). But three surnames would really be a mouthful. So, if you’re in professional settings and people are addressing you, you should probably stick to one that you prefer.
As far as middle names, they’re given to children typically when they’re born, along with the first name. Often they’ll be named after a beloved relative. But not always. Catholics often choose a saint. When I was in my fraternity, I had to memorize the full names of every member when I was a pledge. If a guy’s middle name was Michael, it was almost for sure that he was Catholic. But I digress. Middle names are only used for legal purposes and for when your mom is mad at you.
Yeah…pretty much you just have to pick one and stick with it. As far as documentation goes what really matters is that it all matches.
We usually have first, middle and last names. The first name is just a personal name. The middle name is used for all sorts of things from honoring a namesake to being a backup first name if the kid grows up and doesn’t like theirs to a tiebreaker where you put the name that was loved by one parent but nixed by the other, whatever. Middle names can be hugely significant or totally made up and not everyone even has one at all. Last name is generally your father’s last name, but may be the mom’s or a hyphenated version of both just depending on your family situation and your parents’ choices. This is kinda shifting around now as “the wife and kids take the husband’s last name” stops being the automatically assumed default.
But..we also get a lot of people with naming conventions from other cultures since there are so many immigrants and what I described above is basically the white bread and/or assimilated version. Which wraps me back around to the original point: you REALLY want all your documents to match and otherwise people will just go with whatever you tell them because we’ve hit all sorts of things. So just pick one for paperwork and call it good.
Usually Americans only have one surname. Some people have a hyphenated surname with the last name of their mom and dad, but it’s fairly rare.
Outside of formal situations, it’s not very common to refer to someone by their surname. It’s usually best to just use someone’s given name/first name.
Personally, I’d much rather someone just call me by my first name than my surname. If someone uses my surname, it feels really distant and formal.
Traditionally, your father’s surname becomes your one primary surname. Your mother’s maiden name is often used on your government identification cards if you do not have a middle name.
However, you’re free to use your mother’s surname as your primary surname if you wish, or have a hyphenated name (EG: Ernesto Organa-Solis). The government will naturally default to your father’s surname but you can choose whichever one you wish.
Naming conventions in America usually indicate a family name by what is called the “last name”, and that last name is the last name of a father in a family. So if a father’s last name is “Organa”, their family will be known by friends and neighbors as the “Organa Family”.
It can be complicated so I’ll just explain the middle names part:
It’s like an alternate to your first name. For example, in Brazil someone can be named David Luiz. But in the US, it’s very rare that someone has a name like this unless they’re from a latin country*.
In the US they would usually be called David. *Or* if they don’t like being called David, they can tell people “just call me Luiz”.
When women get married they sometimes change their middle name to their family name, then their husband’s family name becomes their new last name.
*In the southern US, people sometimes are called by a double first name like “Bobby Ray” or “Jenny Sue”
I have two middle names and two surnames. Don’t think it’s that uncommon to have two surnames in California a lot of us are Hispanic so, yeah.
Middle names are generally speaking someone the parents wish to honor, like an older relative, family friend or (in some cases) patron saint. They aren’t used every day, unless someone decides to use their middle name as what they call themselves. (Or if, when you’re young, you’re in trouble with your parents.)
It’s not *common*, but some people have their mother’s family surname as a middle name. (The author Mary Robinette Kowal, for instance).
If you’re Catholic, you tend to have a confirmation name, but these aren’t typically written down on government/business forms or used in conversation.
Most Americans use one surname, but sometimes there is what is called a hyphenate, a merger of family-names.
If you wanted, there’s nothing stopping you from going (First name) (mothers surname, as a middle name) (Two-parter last name, with a dash in-between.)
it is most common, but not always. Multiple surnames is a bit more common in Latin communities.
Here’s how it typically works: Most Americans have three names: First, Middle, Last. Ex: John Ballinger Smith. The last name almost always comes from the father’s last name.
However, some people have two middle names, or even more. I have two middle names, but that’s typically the upper end for people of WASP descent. Some people will have hyphenated last names, which I imagine is kind of like the system you are describing. That’s about as complex as it gets.