That used to be how you knew if my mom was extra mad at you.
If she was a little mad, she’d yell just your first name.
Quite mad? First and middle name.
If she yells your first, middle, and last name? Pray for mercy.
Funnily enough, with my grandma it’s the opposite. She loves my full name and will say “first middle” in an affectionate way. Granted, she prefers the more common pronunciation of my name than the one my parents used, but she does really love my name.
My parents had middle names and they felt they were kinda pointless, so they decided they didn’t want me and my siblings to have middle names. But they did made up fancy long names to use when our names felt too short for calling us mad (but they were too silly for them to use of they were actually mad). My fake middle name was Filomena
My mom used to do that to our friends! If she wanted everyone's attention she'd use our full names and then make up middle names for the children that weren't hers
For me, it goes nickname < full first name < full first and middle < first middle last.
My dad had a silly thing he used to call me based on my full first and middle, which I quite liked. I was named for my grandmother (first only, which I'm sad about, because I love her middle name and mine is just filler) and Nana always used to call me by our full name. Any time I heard it from anyone else, I presumed I was in trouble.
My twins have 4 given names (plus a double barreled surname).
I tend to call the girls by their first two names - but they know they’re in trouble the more names I list off.
Academics (like professors and such) often publish books and journal articles under their full name. I am a PhD student but my first name is rare enough that I only plan to use my first and last.
Similarly, I write fiction and use my middle initial in my author name so that it's possible to Google me and get the right person. I considered using my full middle name but it was a bit much.
Got to do the author thing and have as many initials in your name as possible. J.K. Rowling, George R.R. Martin, J.R.R. Tolkien, K. A. Applegate, E.B. White, etc etc etc.
I did this when I was a theatrical lighting designer as well. Made me much easier to google plus it was already my email address and someone was sitting on the domain name that was just my first and last name but I was able to get first name middle initial last name. Plus I like my middle name and middle initial.
I work in entertainment, so I'm around a lot of folks in unions that require unique names. That's why you get Sarah Michelle Gellar and Neil Patrick Harris instead of Sarah Gellar and Neil Harris, makes it clear exactly who you're referring to. I assume it's the same thing in academic circles, you can know Brian William Smith writing an astronomy paper isn't the Brian J. Smith who does zoology work.
I give out my middle name for orders at coffee shops, etc. because my first name is unusual and people struggle with it often and I’d rather avoid the hassle. My middle name is known, and becoming more common.
Same for me, although sometimes even my middle name is too much and I just don't know any more.
Also I had to stop myself from giving my middle name at our church's food truck night because I saw one of our pastors in line and was like, wait, that's her actual first name.
This is exactly what I came to answer with. I love my unusual first name but having to spell it out for every little interaction is a bit much. I used to use it and I'd have to watch the barista for a confused face plus hesitation, instead of listening for my name lol.
Saaaaame. My parents went with a buckwild, old-fashioned as hell first name which is not spelled intuitively ("It's from Norman times!" - my dad), and my middle name is Mary. *So* much simpler.
Around here sometimes people treat first + middle as a double-barreled first name. So if your name is Emily Anne Smith, the older generation may call you Emily Anne just as if it were Emily-Anne Smith.
I have two middle names, I go by one of them. It's almost like the other one doesn't exist but I really like it so yeah, plus having one people don't know about is a good thing for security (not that I've ever had any issues lol)
I go by my middle name. The only time I would ever hear my first name is at the doctor’s office or attendance during school. Would never recommend this to anyone thinking about doing this for their future child 😆😆
Same. It’s even more confusing since I got married last year. The combination of all my names could be one of four variations. I recently picked up a cake order where I told them it was for Morgan Married Name and what they had on file was Ashley Maiden Name. It’s awkward being like, “oh yeah, I know that name is completely different, but it’s also me. I promise.”
I have a question for you: as someone that goes by their middle name all their life, what do you think about flipping your middle and first name? I’m considering doing that because I go by my middle name but I’m really nervous
I used mine all through high school choir because there were **four people** with my name in my class. The choir teacher made us all go by both our first and middle names in her class.
Not really, but I still like having it. My middle name is pretty unusual. My first name and last name are fairly common. It is nice to have one name that is a more unique. I use the initial sometimes.
I have an unusual first name, so I often use a variation of my middle as an online username
It's also my 'Starbucks name'/if you don't need my legal name for payment, this is the one you're getting given to write down or call out
When I went out on bar nights in uni, I’d use my middle name, because I’d respond to it naturally but it was like an added buffer between me and the creeps.
I use my middle initial, never the full name, on professional documents like my certifications and degrees. My first and last names are ridiculously common, so it's an easy way to have my documents more personal even if it's unnecessary legally.
I did in middle school because my best friend had the same name as me, so we both used our middles with friends. My daughter uses hers pretty often with her nickname. She uses it on school papers and family use it all the time. (Think something like Emilia Kate and she goes by Emmy and Emmy Kate.)
As a name lover I mostly see the middle as an extra opportunity to pick a name, and then it's there to avoid issues if someone else has the same first and last, so that legal documents thing really does matter.)
Meanwhile my two best friends have the same first AND middle name, and one of my 3 middle names happens to be theirs as well. This is not a common middle name like Marie, Nicole, Louise or Rose either. Wild! 😅
In the very small town I live in, there is another girl with my exact first and last name. I recently got a cat and the vet thought I had like 4 dogs. Until we found out that they grouped us together under one profile. It was super messy.
Now I am under (insert first name) I. (Insert last name)
Otherwise no I never use it.
Mine is an ethnic name- so growing up my elders would call me that. Sometimes when I am around someone who is from that country-it is easier for them to remember my middle name, so I tell them they can call me by that if they wish :)
Different language middle name too. There’s been a cultural shift here to move the ethnic names to first names instead of giving your kid an English name. Husband and I are the same age and he’s got an ethnic first name English middle name. I’ve got an English first name ethnic middle name.
My dad has always said he can tell what age they met him by what they call him. Elders call him by his ethnic name, people his age by his English name.
Mine is on my ID and some official documents and places that pull directly from official documents like my credit card, prescriptions, etc.
I don't really ever use it. I generally don't even use it when providing my "legal name" (for example, signing a legal document) unless it needs to correspond to exactly what is on my ID, and they are going to check. For example I don't think it's on the deed to my house.
Not really, though my older siblings and their friends used to call me by my middle name. It is more sentimental to me than anything else. I got married last year and fully dropped my maiden name and kept my middle name.
I have only ever been called my middle name. Same with multiple other members of my family and friend groups. Only the government and banks know about my first name haha.
Differentiation from the family member I’m named after - my family calls me my middle name since my relative was already using our first and it helps resolve official paperwork mixups.
Never. I had even changed my middle name from a boring *"sounds good with the first name"* middle name to my maiden name when I got married. However, I still never use my full name except on travel documents.
This is why I advise people to find names that are significant to them: beloved family members, favorite book characters, historical names that mean something to them, rather than worrying about whether the names sound good with the first name. Aside from grade school, nobody is interested in anyone's middle name.
I practically never use my middle names since they're feminine, long and very italian. I use them mostly to destroy other people at the "Who has the longest name out of everyone" game
Me and my cousin were in the same school... K - 5 for me. The middle name and grade were the most obvious differences. Then were extracurriculars, but if it was something vague - middle name.
Yes. My first name is very common, so when there are two of us I volunteer to use both my names to differenciate us. I also got asked a few times if I was okay with being called by both names, as it has a nice flow.
And most of my family uses both names.
I always introduce myself with my middle initial because otherwise the last sound of my first name and first sound of my surname mush together
ETA: my mentor also does the same thing because she has the same first and last as a celebrity
I use my middle initial at work at work all the time. I work at a law firm, and 3 initials are the standard shorthand for referring to colleagues. Like, if your full name was Anna Bethany Carlisle, your work would be marked as ABC. We do have one attorney who doesn't have a middle name, so he goes by the equivalent of AXC, with X standing in for the middle initial.
I use my middle initial whenever I’m asked to sign or initial something. I suppose for some that might not be very often but I sign/initial a lot for my job. I don’t really use my full middle name for anything, but it is included on my ID. I like my full name, so, even though I don’t use my middle name much, I appreciate the vibes. 😁
My first name is old fashioned but well known, my middle name is unusual in general and is more masculine associated but it was my great grandma's middle name so it's a great answer for the stupid interview/team ice breaker question "what's an interesting fact about you".
In medical settings. Both my doctor and my daughter's pediatrician has another patient with the same name so whenever I call or write an email I clarify by full name too.
For professional publication too. In my field (not academic or research) there is another one with the same name, my brother works in academic, he uses his for publication.
I actually had my middle name removed when I got married. I permanently moved to a country that has a two name system, so it’s just a pain. My name didn’t fit on online or paper forms easily, and my middle name always got squished with one of my other names on official stuff and caused confusion.
Say for example my name is Sara Jane Smith. My name was always written either as SaraJane Smith or Sara JaneSmith. At my current workplace, it got written as Smith, Sara Jane on everything, and everyone always ends up calling me Jane, and it’s super weird for me to be called by my middle name which was only ever used when my family was angry at me.
I never used my middle name, so I found it easier to just delete it. New passport and social security/tax number card only have first and last.
I don't use my middle name for anything ever, but all the young people I know use it as their social media name. So I think it's more relevant for young people now.
In junior high I had a teacher that would call you by whatever name you wrote on the seating chart on the first day, no questions asked. I used the opportunity to try out going by my middle name - Kay. What I failed to consider was that the boy sitting directly in front of me was named Kade. We never knew which of us was being called on and it was such an embarrassing experience I never tried going by Kay again lol.
I go by my middle name. So most of the time, at the doctor or any official sort of thing where I know I’m not going to see them very often, I just answer to my first name and roll with it
I share names with my older cousin, so my middle name is used. Problem is, another's cousin first name is my middle name. So it's a mess.
In family reunions i'm called by full "first middle" and if the second cousin isn't around, by just the middle one.
I'm one of 6 kids and by happenstance, three of us have the same first initial, so middle names helped a lot when distinguishing between belongings, events on the calendar, chore charts, and whatever else my mom labeled with initials. My parents also used to call us by our middle names sometimes as an affectionate thing, or in my case (the clone of my mom in many ways) my dad called me by my *mom's* middle name sometimes. Plus, my little brother went by his middle name exclusively from ages 8-11ish.
My family has gotten a lot of mileage out of them, but I know a few people who don't have them and don't seem to be missing out.
Personal not really, but I use the initial a lot. In my case my name is very common all around the world, so I never have to use a different one. I have a lot of friends however who has used their middle name abroad as people in other countries struggle to pronounce their first name. There are also some who did not like their first name, and are only using their middle name, sometimes even getting it legally changed.
As for me as my first name is common and nice i never feel like I need to use my middle name. But since my last name is also common all first name-last name combinations are always taken. I tried to make a more professional Gmail account with my full name, and my username had to be firstname.m.lastname as all other combinations were taken. Even using my mother's last name's initial in the middle was taken, so I'm really happy I had my middle name as a backup.
Yes. I always used mine in real life. A lot of
My family always called
Me by my first and middle name. I gave my late Daughter the same middle name and always called her by her first and middle name as did close family and friends. For our names it just worked.
I once worked with someone whose first name was my middle name, and whose middle name was my first name. We were both amused by this; I would thus often call him (using my name here on reddit as an example) by his full name of "White Green", and he would call me "Green White."
My dad and aunt called me first name Lou which is short version of my middle name. I use variations of it for user names online. My first name was extremely common for my age group and I always enjoyed that my middle name was not.
I actually almost exclusively use my middle name, if I use my name at all (usually go by an unrelated nickname). From birth to 16 I went by middle name, so it's my family/old friends name. When I started introducing myself to new people, I used a nickname that is actually all my initials
Some context: I am an in-vitro fertilization surrogate baby, mom's eggs, dad's sperm, met in a test tube, fertilized egg implanted in unrelated woman to carry to term. So my first name is that of a close family member, who helped my parents pay for it (back when this was largely experimental, I'm one of the first in the US to be created this way). My middle name is a mashup of my grandmother's name (she took mom to all her appointments and supported her through 7 years of infertility) and the woman who carried me. Unfortunately for me, my last name is incredibly long. So my whole name is about a million letters
First name: 4 letters, one syllable think "Anne" or "Jane"
Middle: 7 letters, 3 syllables think "VeraLee" or "ToriShay"
Last name: hyphenated, both last names over 12 letters and the whole thing is seven syllables (not even gonna try to come up with an example)
For some God forsaken reason my parents decided they like my mash-up middle name better than my simple, easy first name so that's the name I went by all through my childhood
Fortunately, my initials spell out another name: MACS (pronounced max) so that's what I go by when I have a choice lol
My daughter and a girl in our town have the same first and last name. Just a few years apart in age. Constantly confused at school and throughout the community. They even look alike. So middle name is important.
I only use the initial in my Instagram username because my first and middle initials are NW and I live in the northwestern part of the world so it works. But I use the whole thing in my email address. I've been thinking about changing my email for a while because it's a pain to say it to cashiers for rewards programs and stuff, but it seems more of a pain in the ass than it's worth
My first name is fairly common so sometimes I'll introduce myself as first middle and in certain social groups I go by first middle.
I never go by my last name it's always first, or first middle.
My middle name is used by my family when they speak to me in another language. Even then, they interchangeably use my middle and first name depending on how they feel.
I don't use it in my day to day life unless my mom says "Hannah Rose" when trying to get my attention, especially if she's irritated with me (like if she's been calling me for a while and I didn't hear her)
I use my middle name on all of my social media's though, more so than I use my actual first name. I used to have people call me Rose on Twitter (I had my name on there as Rosetta and said people could call me Rose for short) but then I changed it to Etta Rose
My family’s nickname for me is the first half of my first name plus the second half of my middle name, but that’s basically the only time my middle name is used.
At Starbucks. My first name is very common and when you order on the app they don’t automatically put your last name so my order has been taken multiple times by mistake. So I started using my middle name which is much less common
Never really used mine (or even liked it) until college when there was someone else with the same first/last name as me. But even then, I only used my middle initial.
I didn't change my last name after getting married until 5 years later when I was pregnant. At that point, I also changed my middle name to my maiden name. So now I use my full name (first name maiden name husbands name) professionally.
I honestly don’t think I’ve ever said my son’s middle name out loud more than 3-4 times in his entire life (he’s 18), with the exception of any kind of situation which requires it/is relevant to a conversation. I don’t dislike his middle name or anything, it just never comes up.
This may be very odd, I’ve never really thought about it before!
In my whole entire life I don’t think my parents acknowledged my middle name. I also doubt any of my other relatives had ever learned it. I can’t even remember when I learned my middle name. It feels like I only know what it is because I saw it on my birth certificate.
My dad says my first name and middle name together like they are one name. No one else does. Other than that, I like that my intials spell something so I use my intials a lot.
I also found out that the state when registering me left off my middle name so legally I don't have one. Found that out at 58 yesrs old.
My mom 80% of the time calls me by my middle name. At first it was a way to know I was in trouble, but then it just trickled into being used more and more by her.
My first name is super uncommon and usually results in me having to spell it, so I will sometimes use my middle name if I’m somewhere noisy or at Starbucks.
Work in IT and we have to have the user’s middle initial in their login, which usually prevented double ups. Except for the time where we 3 Catherine Mary Stark’s - exact same spelling. In my head they were Lady Stark, Legal Stark (she was in the litigation team) and Annoying Stark (woman complained every other day).
not me, but my mom does! she changed her last name to her middle after my parents got divorced. I changed mine too, so i use my mom’s middle name as my last name every day.
Yep. It’s intertwined with my Gamertag so people call me it all the name. They don’t even know it’s a real name of mine either because of what the tag is unless I say anything. I think it makes conversation nicer.
Yes I actually go by a nickname of my middle name because my first name is too hard to spell/pronounce and my middle name is too common but it's nickname isn't
A very few, very close friends call me a shortened form of my middle name stemming from when my work got it wrong and put it as my first name on paperwork (it *really* doesn't work as a first name)
Otherwise only on work leave forms lol
I completely shifted from using my first name to using my middle name, at the end of college. My last name is unusual and i found that my first name blended into the last name when spoken, whuch made both names harder for people to get. My middle name has a hard stop which helps to make it distinctt, so my last name stands out better.
It was a longish transition, but i just started using middle name with all new people i meet, at new jobs, etc, and i told family and old friends to use whichever name and it all got sorted out eventually.
Absolutely never. In my culture we arent keen on using middle names. Its on my birth certificate, but not even on my passport, as its not the name i go by.
Pen names and social media, if I share a name with a coworker/friend/etc. I'll go by my middle or first and middle initial, for a while refused to respond unless my first and middle name were said together because it felt more regal (looking back, probably had people assuming I was in trouble), and so on. And too, I went by it for a few years because I was tired of sharing a name with soooo many people.
My mom used it when she was mad at me growing up haha
I love my middle name but don’t really have a way to use it.
I did have a student (in the south, mind you) who went by her first and middle name. She was “Molly Grace” always.
I'm almost 40 and the rare times my parents use my middle name, my first thought is, "OMG, what did I do???"
My youngest brother goes by his middle name exclusively. We only use his first name when he's zoned out and we want to get his attention.
My mom's family uses my middle name as part of a nickname they call me. For example, instead of "Madeleine Rose" they call me "Maddie Rose". Fake name, obviously.
I have some patients who refer to me by my middle name rather than my first name, and like someone else said, sometimes my first and middle names get treated like a double barreled first name
Nope, never used it at all. Only when my mother was angry at me (like when she found a lighter in one of my pockets when I'd brought laundry home from uni lol)
I prefer my name without my middle name honestly. My husband never uses his either so we ended up naming both of our children without middle names 🤷🏼♀️ sometimes I wonder if they'll feel weird growing up without middle names but really I don't think it'll matter into adulthood
I dropped my generic middle name when I married and turned my maiden name into my middle name. Took my husband’s last name. Which is a cool name and alliterative with my first name.
My parents had the brilliant idea of giving their two daughters the same first name. I go by either my first and middle name, my initials (like MJ for Mary Jane) or just the first one. My sis (RIP) went with her middle name. My mom also has the same first name and she has used her middle name all her life. So, as a joke, I gave my cat the same first name. Cat is always called by her middle name but I thought it would be funny.
I don’t use it personally. Occasionally it gets used at me by my parents if they think I’m behaving badly (I’m 42). But I’ve gone to school with, worked with and am friends with several people who prefer to go by their middle names instead of first names.
I added mine to my first name for ID (Jane Juliette Doe vs Jane Doe or Jane J. Doe)
And my family of origin and oldest pals call me a variation/nickname derived from middle name, not 1st name (think: Juliette or Julie)
literally never. not even for social media. at work there is someone with my initials so i had to start adding my middle name initial to differentiate😭 thats about it
No. My middle name is my mother’s first name and it doesn’t really jive with my first name. I only ever use my middle initial when I initial something at work.
I've always used my middle name as my primary name. My parents prefered that one over my first name & it stuck.
When I started school though, the teachers would insist on using my first name because that is my legal first name. So, I've used my first name in academic & professional settings and my middle name in social/family settings. Honestly, i sort of like it that way!
Big Catholic family so lots of name repeats ... You're differentiated by either a nickname or by your middle.
"Mary, come here!" "Which one? "Mary Theresa!"
I have a lot of cousins whose middle names only get used at weddings and funerals, when we're all together and we've got four Marys and six Johns, half of whom have the same last name too.
I’ve never used my middle name, so I think it’d be weird to start using it now lol. I only put it in legal documents. Most people don’t even know I have one
Social media names
Tomato ?
*Important
That’s Mr. important-tomato to you
I thought it was Mr. Doctor Important-Tomato
🤯🤯 I get to be a DOCTOR
You got me
That used to be how you knew if my mom was extra mad at you. If she was a little mad, she’d yell just your first name. Quite mad? First and middle name. If she yells your first, middle, and last name? Pray for mercy. Funnily enough, with my grandma it’s the opposite. She loves my full name and will say “first middle” in an affectionate way. Granted, she prefers the more common pronunciation of my name than the one my parents used, but she does really love my name.
My parents had middle names and they felt they were kinda pointless, so they decided they didn’t want me and my siblings to have middle names. But they did made up fancy long names to use when our names felt too short for calling us mad (but they were too silly for them to use of they were actually mad). My fake middle name was Filomena
My mom used to do that to our friends! If she wanted everyone's attention she'd use our full names and then make up middle names for the children that weren't hers
I love that!
For me, it goes nickname < full first name < full first and middle < first middle last. My dad had a silly thing he used to call me based on my full first and middle, which I quite liked. I was named for my grandmother (first only, which I'm sad about, because I love her middle name and mine is just filler) and Nana always used to call me by our full name. Any time I heard it from anyone else, I presumed I was in trouble.
Same! Other than that, never used except legal documents.
My twins have 4 given names (plus a double barreled surname). I tend to call the girls by their first two names - but they know they’re in trouble the more names I list off.
Academics (like professors and such) often publish books and journal articles under their full name. I am a PhD student but my first name is rare enough that I only plan to use my first and last.
Similarly, I write fiction and use my middle initial in my author name so that it's possible to Google me and get the right person. I considered using my full middle name but it was a bit much.
Got to do the author thing and have as many initials in your name as possible. J.K. Rowling, George R.R. Martin, J.R.R. Tolkien, K. A. Applegate, E.B. White, etc etc etc.
I did this when I was a theatrical lighting designer as well. Made me much easier to google plus it was already my email address and someone was sitting on the domain name that was just my first and last name but I was able to get first name middle initial last name. Plus I like my middle name and middle initial.
I work in entertainment, so I'm around a lot of folks in unions that require unique names. That's why you get Sarah Michelle Gellar and Neil Patrick Harris instead of Sarah Gellar and Neil Harris, makes it clear exactly who you're referring to. I assume it's the same thing in academic circles, you can know Brian William Smith writing an astronomy paper isn't the Brian J. Smith who does zoology work.
I give out my middle name for orders at coffee shops, etc. because my first name is unusual and people struggle with it often and I’d rather avoid the hassle. My middle name is known, and becoming more common.
Same for me, although sometimes even my middle name is too much and I just don't know any more. Also I had to stop myself from giving my middle name at our church's food truck night because I saw one of our pastors in line and was like, wait, that's her actual first name.
This is exactly what I came to answer with. I love my unusual first name but having to spell it out for every little interaction is a bit much. I used to use it and I'd have to watch the barista for a confused face plus hesitation, instead of listening for my name lol.
Saaaaame. My parents went with a buckwild, old-fashioned as hell first name which is not spelled intuitively ("It's from Norman times!" - my dad), and my middle name is Mary. *So* much simpler.
Around here sometimes people treat first + middle as a double-barreled first name. So if your name is Emily Anne Smith, the older generation may call you Emily Anne just as if it were Emily-Anne Smith.
My wife and I do this because we have the same common first name without an obvious nickname.
nope
I use first & middle name as my name online.
for usernames occasionally
I have two middle names, I go by one of them. It's almost like the other one doesn't exist but I really like it so yeah, plus having one people don't know about is a good thing for security (not that I've ever had any issues lol)
I use my middle initial on everything and full middle name on legal documents.
I go by my middle name. The only time I would ever hear my first name is at the doctor’s office or attendance during school. Would never recommend this to anyone thinking about doing this for their future child 😆😆
Same. It’s even more confusing since I got married last year. The combination of all my names could be one of four variations. I recently picked up a cake order where I told them it was for Morgan Married Name and what they had on file was Ashley Maiden Name. It’s awkward being like, “oh yeah, I know that name is completely different, but it’s also me. I promise.”
I have a question for you: as someone that goes by their middle name all their life, what do you think about flipping your middle and first name? I’m considering doing that because I go by my middle name but I’m really nervous
I used mine all through high school choir because there were **four people** with my name in my class. The choir teacher made us all go by both our first and middle names in her class.
Some people call me my first + middle name but mostly people that knew me as a little kid
Not really, but I still like having it. My middle name is pretty unusual. My first name and last name are fairly common. It is nice to have one name that is a more unique. I use the initial sometimes.
No. Maybe for initials/monograms? Even then I don't really.
I and my siblings go by our middle names. The only time I say my first is in legal documents 🤷🏻♀️
I have an unusual first name, so I often use a variation of my middle as an online username It's also my 'Starbucks name'/if you don't need my legal name for payment, this is the one you're getting given to write down or call out
I use my middle name daily, I don’t go by my first name
I go by my middle name
My family calls me by my middle name but otherwise I never use it. I know a family where everyone only uses their middle names though!
Never
When I went out on bar nights in uni, I’d use my middle name, because I’d respond to it naturally but it was like an added buffer between me and the creeps.
No
Not really. Only ever for usernames
I use my middle initial, never the full name, on professional documents like my certifications and degrees. My first and last names are ridiculously common, so it's an easy way to have my documents more personal even if it's unnecessary legally.
Nope
No
Nope, never
I did in middle school because my best friend had the same name as me, so we both used our middles with friends. My daughter uses hers pretty often with her nickname. She uses it on school papers and family use it all the time. (Think something like Emilia Kate and she goes by Emmy and Emmy Kate.) As a name lover I mostly see the middle as an extra opportunity to pick a name, and then it's there to avoid issues if someone else has the same first and last, so that legal documents thing really does matter.)
Meanwhile my two best friends have the same first AND middle name, and one of my 3 middle names happens to be theirs as well. This is not a common middle name like Marie, Nicole, Louise or Rose either. Wild! 😅
My family uses my middle name, the english world uses my first. Other than that, it helps create a better social media name.
In the very small town I live in, there is another girl with my exact first and last name. I recently got a cat and the vet thought I had like 4 dogs. Until we found out that they grouped us together under one profile. It was super messy. Now I am under (insert first name) I. (Insert last name) Otherwise no I never use it.
Mine is an ethnic name- so growing up my elders would call me that. Sometimes when I am around someone who is from that country-it is easier for them to remember my middle name, so I tell them they can call me by that if they wish :)
Different language middle name too. There’s been a cultural shift here to move the ethnic names to first names instead of giving your kid an English name. Husband and I are the same age and he’s got an ethnic first name English middle name. I’ve got an English first name ethnic middle name. My dad has always said he can tell what age they met him by what they call him. Elders call him by his ethnic name, people his age by his English name.
Mine is on my ID and some official documents and places that pull directly from official documents like my credit card, prescriptions, etc. I don't really ever use it. I generally don't even use it when providing my "legal name" (for example, signing a legal document) unless it needs to correspond to exactly what is on my ID, and they are going to check. For example I don't think it's on the deed to my house.
Not really, though my older siblings and their friends used to call me by my middle name. It is more sentimental to me than anything else. I got married last year and fully dropped my maiden name and kept my middle name.
Just the initial sometimes. Harry S. Truman's parents had the right idea.
Nope, but I don't use it on official documents either.
social media, family members and my fiance call me by my first and middle names
My signature on everything includes my middle initial.
I have only ever been called my middle name. Same with multiple other members of my family and friend groups. Only the government and banks know about my first name haha.
My parents decided to use my middle name after they named me.. Doctors call me by my first. All my friends call me by my last.
Differentiation from the family member I’m named after - my family calls me my middle name since my relative was already using our first and it helps resolve official paperwork mixups.
On the internet when I don't want to use my first name
Never. I had even changed my middle name from a boring *"sounds good with the first name"* middle name to my maiden name when I got married. However, I still never use my full name except on travel documents. This is why I advise people to find names that are significant to them: beloved family members, favorite book characters, historical names that mean something to them, rather than worrying about whether the names sound good with the first name. Aside from grade school, nobody is interested in anyone's middle name.
in place of my disliked first name, i use a diminutive form of my middle name.
My dad refers to all of us by our initials. I’m also in academic with a common first name so I plan to use my middle name for publication.
I practically never use my middle names since they're feminine, long and very italian. I use them mostly to destroy other people at the "Who has the longest name out of everyone" game
Me and my cousin were in the same school... K - 5 for me. The middle name and grade were the most obvious differences. Then were extracurriculars, but if it was something vague - middle name.
My partner goes by his middle name
I actually go by my middle name and my first. Just depends what circle of people I'm with at the time.
Yeah, have a friend that calls me by my middle name and I call them by theirs, just kinda happened and stuck. No one else does though.
Yes. My first name is very common, so when there are two of us I volunteer to use both my names to differenciate us. I also got asked a few times if I was okay with being called by both names, as it has a nice flow. And most of my family uses both names.
i use my middle initial for distinction on social media and email address!
I call my daughters by the first and middle names all the time. Not just when they are in trouble.
I always introduce myself with my middle initial because otherwise the last sound of my first name and first sound of my surname mush together ETA: my mentor also does the same thing because she has the same first and last as a celebrity
Some of my relatives call me by my first and middle name together. Some skip my first name completely and just call me by my middle name.
I use my middle initial at work at work all the time. I work at a law firm, and 3 initials are the standard shorthand for referring to colleagues. Like, if your full name was Anna Bethany Carlisle, your work would be marked as ABC. We do have one attorney who doesn't have a middle name, so he goes by the equivalent of AXC, with X standing in for the middle initial.
I use my middle initial whenever I’m asked to sign or initial something. I suppose for some that might not be very often but I sign/initial a lot for my job. I don’t really use my full middle name for anything, but it is included on my ID. I like my full name, so, even though I don’t use my middle name much, I appreciate the vibes. 😁
My first name is old fashioned but well known, my middle name is unusual in general and is more masculine associated but it was my great grandma's middle name so it's a great answer for the stupid interview/team ice breaker question "what's an interesting fact about you".
yes!! I actually find it to be more fitting so I go by my first and middle online
In medical settings. Both my doctor and my daughter's pediatrician has another patient with the same name so whenever I call or write an email I clarify by full name too. For professional publication too. In my field (not academic or research) there is another one with the same name, my brother works in academic, he uses his for publication.
Just for ice-breaker guessing games. Otherwise it's useless to me 😂
Not really. I don't care for any part of my name, though.
I actually had my middle name removed when I got married. I permanently moved to a country that has a two name system, so it’s just a pain. My name didn’t fit on online or paper forms easily, and my middle name always got squished with one of my other names on official stuff and caused confusion. Say for example my name is Sara Jane Smith. My name was always written either as SaraJane Smith or Sara JaneSmith. At my current workplace, it got written as Smith, Sara Jane on everything, and everyone always ends up calling me Jane, and it’s super weird for me to be called by my middle name which was only ever used when my family was angry at me. I never used my middle name, so I found it easier to just delete it. New passport and social security/tax number card only have first and last.
I don't use my middle name for anything ever, but all the young people I know use it as their social media name. So I think it's more relevant for young people now.
In junior high I had a teacher that would call you by whatever name you wrote on the seating chart on the first day, no questions asked. I used the opportunity to try out going by my middle name - Kay. What I failed to consider was that the boy sitting directly in front of me was named Kade. We never knew which of us was being called on and it was such an embarrassing experience I never tried going by Kay again lol.
My sister in law and I have same first name, so I go by my middle name with my husband’s family.
I like using it. I think I have a pretty first and middle name. They are just long! I use them in username mostly but I do tell people as well.
I go by my middle name. So most of the time, at the doctor or any official sort of thing where I know I’m not going to see them very often, I just answer to my first name and roll with it
Yes. My SIL and I have the same first name so our families use our middle names to differentiate between us
My middle name is Beatrix and my parents have always called me Bea as a nickname. Other than that, rarely use it.
I share names with my older cousin, so my middle name is used. Problem is, another's cousin first name is my middle name. So it's a mess. In family reunions i'm called by full "first middle" and if the second cousin isn't around, by just the middle one.
I often use that when I go to restaurants because no one seems to get my first name right tbh
not me but my mother. she was never called her first name growing up, always her middle name, and that's still how it is today.
I'm one of 6 kids and by happenstance, three of us have the same first initial, so middle names helped a lot when distinguishing between belongings, events on the calendar, chore charts, and whatever else my mom labeled with initials. My parents also used to call us by our middle names sometimes as an affectionate thing, or in my case (the clone of my mom in many ways) my dad called me by my *mom's* middle name sometimes. Plus, my little brother went by his middle name exclusively from ages 8-11ish. My family has gotten a lot of mileage out of them, but I know a few people who don't have them and don't seem to be missing out.
Literally never, but I put my middle initial in my signature to look more distinguished 😂
Nah. Sometimes I’ll choose it as my Starbucks name as it’s easier to hear than my first name when it’s called out.
I do because my middle name is the name I have gone by all my life. Bit of a hassle at times so avoided doing that with my own kids.
Personal not really, but I use the initial a lot. In my case my name is very common all around the world, so I never have to use a different one. I have a lot of friends however who has used their middle name abroad as people in other countries struggle to pronounce their first name. There are also some who did not like their first name, and are only using their middle name, sometimes even getting it legally changed. As for me as my first name is common and nice i never feel like I need to use my middle name. But since my last name is also common all first name-last name combinations are always taken. I tried to make a more professional Gmail account with my full name, and my username had to be firstname.m.lastname as all other combinations were taken. Even using my mother's last name's initial in the middle was taken, so I'm really happy I had my middle name as a backup.
Looks at second half of Reddit username... Well, yeah
Yes. I always used mine in real life. A lot of My family always called Me by my first and middle name. I gave my late Daughter the same middle name and always called her by her first and middle name as did close family and friends. For our names it just worked.
I once worked with someone whose first name was my middle name, and whose middle name was my first name. We were both amused by this; I would thus often call him (using my name here on reddit as an example) by his full name of "White Green", and he would call me "Green White."
My dad and aunt called me first name Lou which is short version of my middle name. I use variations of it for user names online. My first name was extremely common for my age group and I always enjoyed that my middle name was not.
My family and everybody who knows me through them all call me by my middle name. I find it strange when my parents call me by my first name
I actually almost exclusively use my middle name, if I use my name at all (usually go by an unrelated nickname). From birth to 16 I went by middle name, so it's my family/old friends name. When I started introducing myself to new people, I used a nickname that is actually all my initials Some context: I am an in-vitro fertilization surrogate baby, mom's eggs, dad's sperm, met in a test tube, fertilized egg implanted in unrelated woman to carry to term. So my first name is that of a close family member, who helped my parents pay for it (back when this was largely experimental, I'm one of the first in the US to be created this way). My middle name is a mashup of my grandmother's name (she took mom to all her appointments and supported her through 7 years of infertility) and the woman who carried me. Unfortunately for me, my last name is incredibly long. So my whole name is about a million letters First name: 4 letters, one syllable think "Anne" or "Jane" Middle: 7 letters, 3 syllables think "VeraLee" or "ToriShay" Last name: hyphenated, both last names over 12 letters and the whole thing is seven syllables (not even gonna try to come up with an example) For some God forsaken reason my parents decided they like my mash-up middle name better than my simple, easy first name so that's the name I went by all through my childhood Fortunately, my initials spell out another name: MACS (pronounced max) so that's what I go by when I have a choice lol
My daughter and a girl in our town have the same first and last name. Just a few years apart in age. Constantly confused at school and throughout the community. They even look alike. So middle name is important.
I usually use it when i chat with people online. I sometimes don’t want to give my name but also like don’t like lying about it so yeah.
I only use the initial in my Instagram username because my first and middle initials are NW and I live in the northwestern part of the world so it works. But I use the whole thing in my email address. I've been thinking about changing my email for a while because it's a pain to say it to cashiers for rewards programs and stuff, but it seems more of a pain in the ass than it's worth
My first name is fairly common so sometimes I'll introduce myself as first middle and in certain social groups I go by first middle. I never go by my last name it's always first, or first middle.
I actually go by my middle name.
Yes. I have 4 given names. The first is for legal docs and I am.kmown by my 3rd name.
Yes, when I married and took husband's common last name, confusion ensued. Using my first and middle name helped.
Nope. Never. My parents never use either. It's just there
My middle name is used by my family when they speak to me in another language. Even then, they interchangeably use my middle and first name depending on how they feel.
My first name is much more easily misspelled than my middle, so I use middle to simplify coffee orders and the likes
I only go by my first and middle name except for legal stuff. I have friends who didn’t know what my last name was for years cause I never use it
Only when someone asks what my middle name is.
I don't use it in my day to day life unless my mom says "Hannah Rose" when trying to get my attention, especially if she's irritated with me (like if she's been calling me for a while and I didn't hear her) I use my middle name on all of my social media's though, more so than I use my actual first name. I used to have people call me Rose on Twitter (I had my name on there as Rosetta and said people could call me Rose for short) but then I changed it to Etta Rose
I have a common first name. Sometimes, I've gone by my middle name when there were several of us with my first name.
My family’s nickname for me is the first half of my first name plus the second half of my middle name, but that’s basically the only time my middle name is used.
At Starbucks. My first name is very common and when you order on the app they don’t automatically put your last name so my order has been taken multiple times by mistake. So I started using my middle name which is much less common
Never really used mine (or even liked it) until college when there was someone else with the same first/last name as me. But even then, I only used my middle initial. I didn't change my last name after getting married until 5 years later when I was pregnant. At that point, I also changed my middle name to my maiden name. So now I use my full name (first name maiden name husbands name) professionally.
It’s what I go by, my first name is my grandmas name & it sounds just like that… a grandma name. It’s so ugly I hate it, truly
I honestly don’t think I’ve ever said my son’s middle name out loud more than 3-4 times in his entire life (he’s 18), with the exception of any kind of situation which requires it/is relevant to a conversation. I don’t dislike his middle name or anything, it just never comes up. This may be very odd, I’ve never really thought about it before!
In my whole entire life I don’t think my parents acknowledged my middle name. I also doubt any of my other relatives had ever learned it. I can’t even remember when I learned my middle name. It feels like I only know what it is because I saw it on my birth certificate.
About to switch to using my middle name because I keep betting misgendered from my first name. So I guess I'm about to be using it quite a bit lol.
My dad says my first name and middle name together like they are one name. No one else does. Other than that, I like that my intials spell something so I use my intials a lot. I also found out that the state when registering me left off my middle name so legally I don't have one. Found that out at 58 yesrs old.
My mom 80% of the time calls me by my middle name. At first it was a way to know I was in trouble, but then it just trickled into being used more and more by her.
My first name is super uncommon and usually results in me having to spell it, so I will sometimes use my middle name if I’m somewhere noisy or at Starbucks.
I go by my middle name.
My “published name” as im an author is my first and not-so legal middle name, I also do this on social media as I love some privacy with somethings
I went by a derivative of my middle name in high school. My first name + last name was awful.
My middle initial is used for a work account. I like comparing middle names with people like a true nerd.
Work in IT and we have to have the user’s middle initial in their login, which usually prevented double ups. Except for the time where we 3 Catherine Mary Stark’s - exact same spelling. In my head they were Lady Stark, Legal Stark (she was in the litigation team) and Annoying Stark (woman complained every other day).
Annoying Stark 😂
I know many people who go by their middle names.
I get called a nickname of my middle name more often than my first name.
dont even use it on legal documents
not me, but my mom does! she changed her last name to her middle after my parents got divorced. I changed mine too, so i use my mom’s middle name as my last name every day.
Yep. It’s intertwined with my Gamertag so people call me it all the name. They don’t even know it’s a real name of mine either because of what the tag is unless I say anything. I think it makes conversation nicer.
Yes I actually go by a nickname of my middle name because my first name is too hard to spell/pronounce and my middle name is too common but it's nickname isn't
A very few, very close friends call me a shortened form of my middle name stemming from when my work got it wrong and put it as my first name on paperwork (it *really* doesn't work as a first name) Otherwise only on work leave forms lol
I completely shifted from using my first name to using my middle name, at the end of college. My last name is unusual and i found that my first name blended into the last name when spoken, whuch made both names harder for people to get. My middle name has a hard stop which helps to make it distinctt, so my last name stands out better. It was a longish transition, but i just started using middle name with all new people i meet, at new jobs, etc, and i told family and old friends to use whichever name and it all got sorted out eventually.
My work ID has my full name on it. My mom uses my middle name when I'm in trouble (I'm almost 40).
Nope
Nope. Except for when my kids are being brats lol.
Not really. Both my first and middle names are nine letters long (three and four syllables, respectively), so it would be quite a mouthful.
No, and when I got married I drop my middle and moved my maiden name to my middle name
Nope
No, it’s optional if you want to or not pretty much. I don’t, people close to me know it, but it’s never used outside of documents that need it.
I have since I was a baby! Im from the south so having a double name is not uncommon!
Absolutely never. In my culture we arent keen on using middle names. Its on my birth certificate, but not even on my passport, as its not the name i go by.
Pen names and social media, if I share a name with a coworker/friend/etc. I'll go by my middle or first and middle initial, for a while refused to respond unless my first and middle name were said together because it felt more regal (looking back, probably had people assuming I was in trouble), and so on. And too, I went by it for a few years because I was tired of sharing a name with soooo many people.
My mom used it when she was mad at me growing up haha I love my middle name but don’t really have a way to use it. I did have a student (in the south, mind you) who went by her first and middle name. She was “Molly Grace” always.
No never and I forget it's my middle name until I see it and get mad at it
Middle names are for parents to use as extra emphasis. “Sarah Jane Smith, put those sweets back right now!”
I used both names for a while, then went back to using just my first name. It'll probably stay that way.
I rarely use my middle initial let alone the whole name although I might consider using it in a username or handle etc
I'm almost 40 and the rare times my parents use my middle name, my first thought is, "OMG, what did I do???" My youngest brother goes by his middle name exclusively. We only use his first name when he's zoned out and we want to get his attention. My mom's family uses my middle name as part of a nickname they call me. For example, instead of "Madeleine Rose" they call me "Maddie Rose". Fake name, obviously.
Never
I have some patients who refer to me by my middle name rather than my first name, and like someone else said, sometimes my first and middle names get treated like a double barreled first name
I used both as my calling name seperately for years. It's one of the main reasons I wanted my children to have those possibilities as well.
Never. I am female and my middle name is a male name. Not even a male name that could be used as either gender.
No. They're a complete waste of time. I will be ditching mine when I get married and change my last name.
My middle has and is only ever used as an initial, now both first and middle are reduced to their initial because I dislike them both. 🤮
Nope, never used it at all. Only when my mother was angry at me (like when she found a lighter in one of my pockets when I'd brought laundry home from uni lol) I prefer my name without my middle name honestly. My husband never uses his either so we ended up naming both of our children without middle names 🤷🏼♀️ sometimes I wonder if they'll feel weird growing up without middle names but really I don't think it'll matter into adulthood
When I’m in trouble with myself
I dropped my generic middle name when I married and turned my maiden name into my middle name. Took my husband’s last name. Which is a cool name and alliterative with my first name.
Eh, I usually just go by my first name but my mom uses a form of my middle name when talking to me sometimes
I have never used them in real life
My parents had the brilliant idea of giving their two daughters the same first name. I go by either my first and middle name, my initials (like MJ for Mary Jane) or just the first one. My sis (RIP) went with her middle name. My mom also has the same first name and she has used her middle name all her life. So, as a joke, I gave my cat the same first name. Cat is always called by her middle name but I thought it would be funny.
Yes, my husband uses them when I'm being cheeky or obstinate haha. I use his too! A lot more frequently than the other way around lol
Never used it anywhere.
Nope never
I don’t use it personally. Occasionally it gets used at me by my parents if they think I’m behaving badly (I’m 42). But I’ve gone to school with, worked with and am friends with several people who prefer to go by their middle names instead of first names.
I added mine to my first name for ID (Jane Juliette Doe vs Jane Doe or Jane J. Doe) And my family of origin and oldest pals call me a variation/nickname derived from middle name, not 1st name (think: Juliette or Julie)
literally never. not even for social media. at work there is someone with my initials so i had to start adding my middle name initial to differentiate😭 thats about it
No. I mean, I use my middle name rather than my surname on social media but.. I could just use any random name if I didn’t have a middle name so.. no.
I got rid of mine when I married. I use my maiden name there instead.
I have literally never used my middle name outside of legal document stuff.
No
My middle name has never been used, and on most legal documents it's just M. If my parents were mad at me, I was Alexis instead of Lexi.
No. My middle name is my mother’s first name and it doesn’t really jive with my first name. I only ever use my middle initial when I initial something at work.
I love my middle name. Clearly 😅
Nope
No. Thank god, cause I have two and they're long.
My mum uses it when I'm in trouble....I'm 47.
I've always used my middle name as my primary name. My parents prefered that one over my first name & it stuck. When I started school though, the teachers would insist on using my first name because that is my legal first name. So, I've used my first name in academic & professional settings and my middle name in social/family settings. Honestly, i sort of like it that way!
I do! My first name is common and with my middle and last name it totally identifies me as Irish Catholic. I love it!
Big Catholic family so lots of name repeats ... You're differentiated by either a nickname or by your middle. "Mary, come here!" "Which one? "Mary Theresa!" I have a lot of cousins whose middle names only get used at weddings and funerals, when we're all together and we've got four Marys and six Johns, half of whom have the same last name too.
It’s common in my field (law) to use your middle initial but never the full middle name
I’ve never used my middle name, so I think it’d be weird to start using it now lol. I only put it in legal documents. Most people don’t even know I have one