What is a middle name??

[GIMojo]

Ive always thought my middle name was my english first name. so i would put

xxx-charlie-xx

on my applications.

i got my cards and social insurance under that.

i just realize that a middle name is like their father's first name... damn... so what am i wrong? should i change everything??

 

[Jchillin]

Usually, the names are set up this way:

Last Name = Family Name
Middle Name = It could be anything for any reason...relatives, religious, etc.
First Name = The name given to you to separate you from everyone else in the family.

Sometimes, you can have every male/female member of a family have these names flip flopped around.

I don't think this matters much unless you changed your original name. Are we speaking of an immigration situation?

 

[GIMojo]

no, i was just wondering lol thnx for clearing that up. the dictionary helped little with that question

 

[Jchillin]

No problem...Glad to help.

 

[Hara]

I figured the middle name is what we got because our parents couldn't quite narrow down the decision to just one

 

[Fishyfanatic]

My names were a mix between what my mom and dad wanted. My mom wanted Quinn but my dad wanted Meredith. So they just compromised and gave me both. Although, it is sad that I was named after an Eskimo.

 

[Jermz79]

My middle name was given to me by my grandmother ... her's is Jospehine and mine is Joseph!!!

 

[deli_conker]

It really depends on the culture you are in/from. There are many that give you a first name to go with your family name. After "coming of age" (usually somewhere in the teenage years) they/you are given a middle name. Something that fits them.

And there are others where they have several "middle names". It is the names of their father, father's father, etc. Reads like a family tree.

 

[severum mama]

My middle name was given to me by my grandmother ... her's is Jospehine and mine is Joseph!!!

Ok, sorry to hijack, but it just struck me as funny that I have a good friend named Jeremy Joseph. I assume your name is Jeremy since your screen name is Jermz... my friend also goes by the nickname Jerm.

Middle names are family names in my family... mine is the same as my cousin's.

 

[Melody]

I thought middle names were so you would know exactly HOW mad your parents were at you...
If it was just your first name, everything was fine....
first and middle??? Ouch.... this is going to hurt....
First, Middle, & Last...... now your dead meat and better run for high ground...

 

[krazymom]

hahaha, funny Melody. It reminds me of the two year old I watch. His mom asked my one day if I taught him his last name cause he knows it and they don't remember ever telling him it. I said well sometimes when he's not listening I call him his first and last name so maybe that is where he picked it up. She laughed and told me his middle name in case I needed it!!

 

[TankGirl]

Middle names definitely could be anything, and are not "always" anything, at least in the US, depending on your cultural background, as deli_conker mentioned.

One of my daughter's middle names sortof goes with her first name, so you say them together when addressing her. Her twin's middle name is a prominent last name on my husband's maternal side. My first daughter has TWO middle names (don't ask me why) and that just complicates things. Anyone contemplating the naming of their kids, stick with three names, it is just so much simpler!

 

[Fluff]

My sister gave her daughter three middle names. Talk about a handle.