Many people's
nameA name is a label for a noun, normally used to distinguish one from another. Names can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. A personal name identifies a specific unique and identifiable individual person...
s include one or more
middle names, placed between the first
given nameA given name is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
and the
surnameA surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases a surname is a family name; the family-name meaning first appeared in 1375. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name". It is also known as a "last name". In some cultures, the surname may...
. In some countries, a middle name is effectively a second
given nameA given name is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
. In the USA and
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
there is usually only one middle name, often
abbreviatedAn abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase...
by its possessor to the
middle initial or omitted entirely in everyday use. In other English speaking countries people will have more than one given name, although they are usually known by one only. In some other countries, the term middle name is only used for names that are originally last names, but not part of the last name of the bearer (for instance one can have one's mother's maiden name as a middle name).
Despite their relatively long existence in the Western world, the phrase "middle name" was not recorded until 1835 in
HarvardianaHarvardiana was a periodical published in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States by James Munroe and Co. from 1835 to 1838. It was a literary journal administered by Harvard University undergraduates. It contains the first recorded use of the phrase "middle name". "Harvardiana" is also the title...
, a periodical of the time. Since 1905, "middle name" gained a figurative connotation meaning a notable or outstanding attribute of a person.
The use of multiple middle names has been somewhat impeded recently by the increased use of
computerComputer software, or just software is a general term used todescribe the role that computer programs, procedures anddocumentation play in a computer system.The term includes:...
databaseA database is an integrated collection of logically related records or files consolidated into a common pool that provides data for one or more multiple uses....
s that allow for only a single middle name or more commonly a middle initial in storing personal records, effectively depriving persons with multiple middle names of the ability to be listed in such databases under their full name. Especially in the case of
governmentA government is the body within a community, political entity or organization which has the authority to make and enforce rules, laws and regulations.....
records and other databases that are used for legal purposes, this phenomenon has sometimes been criticized as a form of
discriminationDiscrimination is a sociological term refering to treatment taken toward or against a person of a certain group that is taken in consideration based on class or category. The United Nations explains: "Discriminatory behaviours take many forms, but they all involve some form of exclusion or...
against people who carry multiple middle names for cultural or religious reasons. However, it should be noted that this phenomenon is largely limited to English speaking countries since the different tradition in other western countries generally resulted in the development of databases which are able to handle more than one middle name.
In the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the
middle initial is sometimes used in place of the middle name on
identity documentAn identity document is any document which may be used to verify aspects of a person's personal identity. If issued in the form of a small, mostly standard-sized card, it is usually called an identity card...
s, passports, driver licenses,
social securitySocial security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection, or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
cards,
universityA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
diplomas, and other official documents. Examples of this form include
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
and
John D. RockefellerJohn Davison Rockefeller was an American industrialist. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of modern philanthropy. In 1870, he founded the Standard Oil Company and aggressively ran it until he officially retired in 1897. Standard Oil began as an Ohio...
. The abbreviation "NMN" (no middle name) or "NMI" (no middle initial) is sometimes used in formal documents where a middle initial or name is expected when the person does not have one.
Many people are not known by their first forename. This is often referred to as "being known by the middle name". In this case, wherever an additional initial is called for, the initial of the first name is used and the middle name is spelled fully. Examples of this form include
G. Gordon LiddyGeorge Gordon Battle Liddy was the chief operative for the White House Plumbers unit that existed during several years of Richard Nixon's Presidency. Along with E. Howard Hunt, Liddy masterminded the first break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate building in 1972...
and
E. Howard HuntEverette Howard Hunt, Jr. was an American author and intelligence officer. He worked for the Central Intelligence Agency and later the White House under President Richard Nixon. Hunt, with G...
. Some people don't even include the initial, such as
Paul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE , is an English singer-songwriter, poet, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record and film producer, painter, and animal rights and peace activist. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings, McCartney is the most successful songwriter in the history of popular music...
, whose first name is actually James,
Sean ConnerySir Thomas Sean Connery , best known as Sean Connery, is an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA Award winning Scottish actor and producer....
, whose first name is actually Thomas, and
Trent ReznorMichael Trent Reznor is an American songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist and founder of the industrial rock musical project known as Nine Inch Nails; he was previously associated with the bands Option 30, Exotic Birds, and Tapeworm, among others. As of 2007, Reznor split his ties with...
, whose first name is actually Michael.
There are also cases where a person may assume their middle name as their last name, mainly for publicity reasons or because of a difficult or undesirable last name.
Nicholas BrendonNicholas Brendon , is a Saturn Award nominated actor best known for his character Xander Harris in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer ....
and his brother
Kelly DonovanKelly Donovan , is an American actor. He is best known for his work as the stand-in for his identical twin brother, Nicholas Brendon, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, although having worked on other television shows such as Alias as a stunt double.He played Xander Harris's double in the episode "The...
were both born with the last name Shultz, but chose not to use the name publicly.
English-speaking countries
Middle names are often chosen by parents at the same time as the first name. Names that are popular as first names are also popular as middle names. The given name of a relative is often used because of tradition or to show honor. Other uses of a middle name include giving a name that would have otherwise have been a social burden to the child as a first name. Surnames are also sometimes given as middle names, usually to honor a relative. It is quite popular to use the mother's maiden name as the middle name, especially in the American South. A child is sometimes given a middle name that is the first or middle name of one of his or her parents. In the United States, it's also common for a baby boy to be given the same given name as his father, in which case the middle name may be used as if a first name so as to distinguish him from his father.
A woman with the first name Mary (or Marie or Maria) is often called by her middle name, because of the strong and enduring popularity of the name. American Southerners are sometimes referred to familiarly by both their first and middle names, such as Mary Anne or John Michael.
Middle names are usually not used in everyday life. People known primarily by their middle name may abbreviate their first name to an initial (e.g.
F. Scott FitzgeraldFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are evocative of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost Generation" of the Twenties...
and
W. Somerset MaughamWilliam Somerset Maugham , CH was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer...
). Sometimes the first name is not commonly used at all (e.g.
Paul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE , is an English singer-songwriter, poet, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record and film producer, painter, and animal rights and peace activist. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings, McCartney is the most successful songwriter in the history of popular music...
whose first name is James). Rarely, individuals may be given only initials as middle names, with the initial(s) not explicitly standing for anything (e.g.,
Harry S. TrumanHarry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice-president and the 34th Vice President of the United States, he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
). This practice is common among the
AmishThe various Amish or Amish Mennonite church fellowships are Christian religious denominations that form a very traditional subgrouping of Mennonite churches. They are best known for their simple living, plain dress and resistance to the adoption of many modern conveniences...
, who commonly use the first letter of the mother's maiden name as a solitary initial for the sons and daughters. Thus, the children of Sarah Miller would use the middle initial M. The practice of abbreviating middle names to initials is rare in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
.
Examples of multiple middle names: Elizabeth Alexandra Mary (
Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known informally as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,...
; as a queen, she doesn't need a surname),
J. R. R. TolkienJohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford from...
, George H.W. Bush and
V. V. S. LaxmanVangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman , better known as VVS Laxman, is an Indian cricketer. Laxman represents Hyderabad in domestic cricket and has played for Lancashire in the English county cricket competition...
. The British upper classes are traditionally fond of giving multiple middle names; for example,
William Arthur Philip LouisPrince William of Wales , KG, is the elder son of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and grandson of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
, Henry Charles Albert David, or
Anne Elizabeth Alice LouiseAnne, Princess Royal is the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
. In even more extreme examples, British musician
Brian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as simply Brian Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, music theorist and singer, who, as a solo artist, is best known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at art school, taking...
's full name is Brian Peter George St. Jean le Baptiste de la Salle Eno;
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
actors
Donald SutherlandDonald McNicol Sutherland, OC is a Canadian character actor with a film career spanning over 50 years. He is currently working in the American television series, Dirty Sexy Money. Some of Sutherland's more notable movie roles included offbeat warriors in such war movies as The Dirty Dozen, in...
and
Shirley DouglasShirley Jean Douglas, OC is a Canadian television, film and stage actress and activist. Her acting career combined with her family name has made her recognisable in Canadian film, television and politics.-Personal life:...
named their son
Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus SutherlandKiefer William Fredrick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland is a British-born Canadian actor, best known for his portrayal of Jack Bauer on the Fox thriller drama series 24. He is an Emmy Award- and Golden Globe award-winner...
. Often, middle names are names of famous and influential people throughout history, such as well-known
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond...
pitcherIn baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter who attempts to either make contact with it or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the pitcher is...
Cal McLishCalvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers , Pittsburgh Pirates , Chicago Cubs , Cleveland Indians , Cincinnati Reds , Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies...
, whose full name is Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish.
Spain and Latin America
In Spain and Latin America the composition of last names is different. For the name Juan Pedro Gómez Martínez, Juan Pedro are the given names, Gómez is the father's surname, and Martínez the mother's maiden name. Argentina is largely an exception, as most Argentines' identity is recorded at birth using only the father's surname.
Most people have two given names (Juan Pedro, María Claudia) but use only one. In the case of women whose first name is María, it is not uncommon for the second name to be used alone. Other names, however, are considered as a unit, and often used together. An example is José Luis, Juan Carlos, etc. People with those names will tend to use both names together, rather than only the first name José or Juan.
A person's last name is compounded by the father's last name (originally the paternal grandfather's last name) and the mother's last name (originally the maternal grandfather's last name). The first last name, that of the father, is the main one, but people commonly use both, making it easier to tell the father from the son, something harder to do in the US if both share the same first name. The son of Juan Carlos Pérez Larios and Susana Estela Ríos Domínguez, if given the same first name of his father, would be Juan Carlos Pérez Ríos. Pérez is the "important" last name and the one used if only one is needed. Those so named may encounter difficulties in English-speaking countries with the way they are addressed in letters and formal documents. Since it usual in these nations for only one last name, it is assumed that the last word in a person's name is
the last name, hence Jorge González Silva becomes Jorge Silva: a name they could not identify with. Legal documents based on passports or similar identification are a common source of this problem.
Arab
- See also Arabic name
Old Arabic names are based on a long naming system; most Arabs do not simply have given/middle/family names, but a full chain of names. This system is in use throughout the Arab world...
.
Arabs of the
Persian gulfThe Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. Historically and commonly known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water is sometimes controversially referred to as the Arabian Gulf by most Arab states or simply The...
states do not use middle names. Usually, the name of an Arab in the Persian gulf states will be in the form of a given name followed by a patronym, expressed as Ibn or Bint (son of and daughter of, respectively) and the father's given name.
Arabs in other parts of the Middle East, particularly the
LevantThe Levant describes, traditionally, the Eastern Mediterranean at large, but can be used as a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia formed by the lands bordering the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, roughly bounded on the north by the Taurus Mountains, on the south by...
, will generally have two middle names: their father's given name, followed by their grandfather's given name. Occasionally, Arabs living in Western countries or people of Arab ancestry will continue this practice.
Some Arabs, particularly
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest....
ns, customarily place another name before the given name. While not appearing in the middle of the full name, this prefixed name serves the same function as western middle names. This name is often given as a blessing, and is frequently the name "Mohammad". For example, such a person might be named Mohammad Hadi, or Mohammed Basheer, where Hadi and Basheer are the given names by which the person would be normally addressed.
Catholic
For Catholics, during preparation for the Confirmation sacrament, the candidate for Confirmation usually chooses a saint to research and eventually makes that saint's name part of his/her name. The saint's name is put after his/her middle name, if indeed a middle name was given.
Males in some predominantly
CatholicThe word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective , meaning "universal". In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages. For some, the term "Catholic Church" refers to the church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, made up of the Latin Rite and the 22...
communities (
BelgianThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
,
FrenchFrench people can refer to:* The legal residents and citizens of France, regardless of ancestry. For a legal discussion, see French nationality law.* People whose ancestors lived in France or the area that later became France....
,
ItalianThe Italian people are an ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common Italian culture, descent, and speaking the Italian language as a mother tongue...
,
SpanishSpanish people or Spaniards constitute the nationality and ethnic group of natives of Spain, a European country in the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. The Spanish nationality is in essence made up of regional nationalities, reflecting the complex history of Spain...
,
PortugueseThe Portuguese people are the ethnic group or nation native to the country of Portugal, in the far west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe...
and Polish Catholics) are sometimes given what would otherwise be considered a female given name, especially the name Marie or Maria (famous examples being
Erich Maria RemarqueErich Maria Remarque was a German author, most famous today for his anti-war novel All Quiet on the Western Front.-Life:...
and
Rainer Maria RilkeRainer Maria Rilke is considered one of the German language's greatest 20th-century poets...
). In France, the most common case is to give a compound first name, such as Jean-Marie or, more rarely, André-Marie or Bernard-Marie; more rarely, Marie is used as third or subsequent given name. Females, too, are often given compound names which feature male given names, i.e. Marie-Pierre, or Marie-Georges.
See French namesThis article describes the conventions for using people's names in France, including the norms of custom and practice, as well as the legal aspects.-Madame, Mademoiselle, Monsieur:In normal polite usage, a person's name is preceded by an honourific:...
for more details on naming practices in France.
In
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
, the middle name is usually the mother's maiden name.
HispanicHispanic is a term that historically denoted a relationship to the ancient Hispania . During the modern era, it took on a more limited meaning, relating to the contemporary nation of Spain....
females, conversely, sometimes have the middle name José. This is particularly common in Roman Catholic families. Therefore, the name "María José" is a common female name, while "José María" is a common male name, such as with
PGA TourThe PGA Tour is an organization that operates the main professional golf tours in the United States. It is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, a suburb of Jacksonville...
golfGolf is a precision club-and-ball sport, in which competing players , using many types of clubs, attempt to hit balls into each hole on a golf course while employing the fewest number of strokes. Golf is one of the few ball games that does not require a standardized playing area...
er
José María OlazábalJosé María Olazábal is a Spanish professional golfer who has enjoyed success on both the European Tour and the PGA Tour, and has won two major championships.-Career outline:...
.
The use of such names is primarily a cultural issue, rather than a religious issue. There is no Church teaching regarding such names.
In many English-speaking countries it is customary for a person being confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church to adopt a Confirmation name, that may be used as a second middle name, and is without effect in civil law, unless, of course, the confirmand pursues the appropriate legal avenues.
In
MaltaMalta , officially the Republic of Malta , is a densely populated developed European country in the European Union. The Southern European island nation is an archipelago that includes the inhabited islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino, along with a number of smaller, uninhabited islands...
, a person is given a first name, which is used in official documents. This name would be also the name given on Baptism. Custom has it that that one has two godparents, and these choose a name each. These names are generally not officialised, but are recognised by the Church. These are then used as middle names. For example if the parents choose Noel as a first name, and the god parents choose David and Luke, surname being Dimech, the child is therefore named Noel
David Luke Dimech. A common choice for godparent names used to be the name of an important person such as an ancestor, great grandparents, etc. However, most of the times these names are not even remembered by their holders and are referred to only if another person has the same first and last name, eg.: Noel
D. Dimech.
East Asian
Some
ChineseChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
have only one syllable in their given name (e.g. Wong Kit); they have no middle position in their full name and thus no middle name. (See also
Chinese namePersonal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. Most noticeably, a Chinese name is written with the family name first and the given name next, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be "Smith John-Paul". For...
,
Korean nameA Korean name consists of a family name followed by a given name, as used by the Korean people in both North Korea and South Korea. In the Korean language, 'ireum' or 'seong-myeong' usually refers to the family name and given name together. A long history of the use of family names has caused...
,
Japanese namein modern times usually consist of a family name , followed by a given name. This order is common in countries that have long been part of the Sinosphere, including among the Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Japanese cultures...
)
Most Chinese Americans move their
ChineseChinese or the Sinitic language is a language family consisting of languages mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
given nameA given name is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
(transliterated into the Latin alphabet) to the middle name position, and use an
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
first name, e.g.
James Chu-yu SoongJames Chu-yu Soong is a politician in the Republic of China on Taiwan. He founded and chairs the People First Party, a smaller and more conservative party in the Kuomintang -led Pan-Blue Coalition....
, Jerry Chih-Yuan Yang, and
Michelle Wingshan KwanMichelle Wingshan Kwan is an American figure skater. She has won nine U.S. championships, five World Championships, and two Olympic medals. She has remained competitive for over a decade and is the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history...
. The Chinese given name usually has two characters and it is usually combined into "one" middle name for better organizational purposes, especially with
CantoneseThe Cantonese people are Han people whose ancestral homes are in Guangdong, China. The term "Cantonese people" would then be synonymous with the Bun Dei subethnic group, and is sometimes known as Gwong Fu Jan for this narrower definition...
names, such as
Bruce LeeBruce Lee was a Chinese American and Hong Kong actor, martial artist, philosopher, film director, screenwriter, practitioner of Wing Chun and founder of the Jeet Kune Do concept. He is considered by many as the most influential martial artist of the 20th century, and a cultural icon...
's middle name, Junfan. There are also some new immigrants whose
ChineseChinese or the Sinitic language is a language family consisting of languages mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
given names are their first names, and have
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
middle names.
The practice of taking English and Chinese given names is also common in
SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island city-state located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, lying north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At , Singapore is a microstate and the smallest nation in Southeast...
,
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
, and
TaiwanTaiwan , also known as Formosa , is the largest island of the Republic of China in East Asia. Taiwan is located east of the Taiwan Strait, off the southeastern coast of mainland China...
. However, rather than placing the Chinese given name between the English given name and the family name, it is commonly placed after the family name. Under such a system, Bruce Junfan Lee would have been Bruce Lee Junfan. This practice is consistent with both the Western convention of putting the given name before the family name and the Chinese convention of putting the given name after the family name.
Germany
Legally, a person has one or several given names and one surname. In the case of multiple given names, the individual (or parents) will choose which name to use on a daily basis, as all of these names are given the same "rank". For example, the German Chancellor
Angela Dorothea Merkel' is the current Chancellor of Germany. Merkel, elected to the German Parliament from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 10 April 2000, and Chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary party group from 2002 to 2005...
could decide to be called Angela Merkel, Dorothea Merkel or Angela Dorothea Merkel. Other naming conventions include the lack of unisex names and the avoidance of surnames used as a given name. An exception to this is the use of Maria for males, as in
Rainer Maria RilkeRainer Maria Rilke is considered one of the German language's greatest 20th-century poets...
. Initials are not used to abbreviate extra given names. One exception is German TV personality
Johannes B. KernerJohannes Baptist Kerner is a German TV personality best known as a sportscaster.Kerner was raised in Hersel, Germany in a Catholic household...
with the 'B' standing for 'Baptist'.
Scandinavia
In
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
and
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
, the term middle name refer to names that are originally last names, but not part of the last name of the name bearer. For instance, one can have one's mother's maiden name or the last name of another close ancestor (for instance a grandparent) as a middle name. It is possible to have several middle names, although unusual to have more than one or two. Multiple
given nameA given name is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
s are not referred to as middle names, but are all considered given names.
In the example
Carl Viggo Manthey LangeCarl Viggo Manthey Lange was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He was a son of Christian Lous Lange and brother of Halvard Manthey Lange.He was born in Oslo....
, the names Carl and Viggo are given names, while Manthey is a middle name and Lange is the family name. Unless his full name is used, he is correctly referred to as Lange, like in Mr. Lange, not as Manthey Lange.
In
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
, the situation is much the same as above. Given names that follow the first given name are in everyday parlance called "middle names", but this is not the way such names are treated by Swedish authorities. Since there are a number of people who are "known by their middle names", records in Sweden that aspire to a high degree of precision often ask people to fill in both their given names and which one that is their "name of address" (
tilltalsnamn). Sometimes, people can choose to use their middle name proper as their last name in everyday life. So
Per Gottfrid Svartholm WargPer Gottfrid Svartholm Warg , alias anakata, is a Swedish computer specialist, known as the co-owner of the web hosting company PRQ and co-founder of the BitTorrent site The Pirate Bay together with Fredrik Neij...
has Per and Gottfrid as his given names, where Gottfrid, not Per, is his name of address, Svartholm as his middle name and Warg as his last name, but in practice uses Svartholm as a last name. Since Swedish-speakers nowadays only very rarely address one another with "Mr./Mrs. X", it is more or less a moot point if the correct term of address here is Mr. Svartholm Warg, Mr. Svartholm or Mr. Warg.
In
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
naming tradition is about same as in Sweden. There can be multiple given names, and those may not be in any relations for father/mother.
Last name is always used. For example Pertti Olavi Martti Keinonen can be referenced either Pertti Keinonen or Mr. Keinonen.
Southeast Asian
In the
PhilippinesThe Philippines officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
, the middle name is used exclusively to refer to the mother's maiden surname. For example, in the name "
Juan Miguel Batumbakal dela Cruz", the name "Batumbakal", his mother's maiden surname, is his middle name. The term "middle name" is rarely used to refer to the person's other given names.
In
ThailandThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
, middle names are not common.
Thai peopleThe Thai are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China. Their language is the Thai language, which is classified as part of the Kradai family of languages, and the...
usually give a child a long first name, which usually has a beautiful meaning. Additionally, most Thai children are also given nick names, which are usually one or two syllables.
South Asian
Rajputs use
SinghSingh is derived from the Sanskrit word Siṃha meaning "lion". It is a common title, middle name, or surname in North India, originally used in the 7th century by the Rajputs of the princely states of Rajputana...
or even
KumarKumar Kumar Kumar (Sanskrit: कुमार; meaning child (of Skanda, the Hindu God of War) is a title, a given name or a family name. Kumar/kunwar is generally name given to the rajput sons & kumari/kunwarani are the name given to the rajput daughters.Rajput sons & daughters use KUMAR/KUMARI as their...
as their middle name.
SikhSikh is the title and name given to an adherent of Sikhism. The term has its origin in the Sanskrit term , meaning "disciple, learner" or , meaning "instruction"....
men, who, for religious reasons are supposed to be named
SinghSingh is derived from the Sanskrit word Siṃha meaning "lion". It is a common title, middle name, or surname in North India, originally used in the 7th century by the Rajputs of the princely states of Rajputana...
as their surname, sometimes instead take Singh as their middle name, such as Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, better known as
Monty PanesarMudhsuden Singh Panesar, known as Monty Panesar , is an English cricketer. A left-arm spinner, Panesar plays Test and one-day cricket for England, and county cricket for Northamptonshire. He also plays for Lions in South Africa...
. Sikh women, who for similar reasons normally take the surname
KaurKaur in Sikhism is a mandatory last name for female Sikhs, in the same way as Singh is for male Sikhs.-History:Kaur, is term used by Sikh women either as the final element of a compound personal name or as a last name. It cannot be regarded as a true surname or family name...
, may instead take it as a middle name; a notable example is
Parminder Kaur NagraParminder Kaur Nagra is an English actress. She came to international prominence in 2002 after starring in Bend It Like Beckham. More recently she starred as Dr. Neela Rasgotra in the Emmy Award-winning American medical drama series ER...
.
In
South IndiaSouth India, also known as the Dravida in the Indian anthem, is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of area...
, the first initial is frequently a family name assigned to every member of a particular family, and is usually in addition to the last name. It is carried by every member of the paternal family. For example, Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy can be broken down into Yeduguri, the Surname; Sandinti , the Family name; Rajasekhara, the First name and Reddy, the Middle name.
In the states of
GujaratGujarat is the westernmost state in India. It is home to the Gujarati speaking people of India. The state encompasses major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization such as Lothal and Dholavira. Gujarat played an important role in the economic history of India throughout the history of India...
and
MaharashtraMaharashtra is a state located on the western coast of India. Maharashtra is a part of Western India. It is India's third largest state by area and second largest by population....
in India, the middle name is the father's or husband's first name, though some people, such as
Sanjay Leela BhansaliSanjay Leela Bhansali is a highly acclaimed Indian film director. He is an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India...
, use their mother's name as a middle name.
East Slavic names
There is no middle name in personal names in the cultures associated with the
RussianRussian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe...
,
BelarusianThe Belarusian language, or Belorussian is the language of the Belarusian people and is spoken in Belarus and abroad, chiefly in Russia, Ukraine, and Poland...
, and
UkrainianUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses the Cyrillic alphabet....
languages. Such names consist of three parts: given name, patronymic
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Отчество, and last name. This system was also imposed on people of other descent, both in the
Russian EmpireThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia, and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(e.g.,
Adam Johann von KrusensternAdam Johann Ritter von Krusenstern was an Imperial Russian, Baltic German admiral and explorer, who led the first Russian circumnavigation of the Earth...
is known in Russia as "Ivan Fyodorovich Kruzenshtern") and in the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
(with certain exceptions). The patronymic in such names is sometimes confused for the middle name, since it is often rendered with the middle initial (e.g.,
Vladimir V. PutinVladimir Vladimirovich Putin was the second President of Russia and is the current Prime Minister of Russia as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus...
).
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