Using middle name instead of first name - reasons.

a relative of mine switched to using her middle name when she started university as she preferred it.

a friend from school went by her middle name, her parents wanted to call her that name for every day but the second name they liked sounded better in front of it than as a middle name.

I am known by my middle name - in my case it was because my mother agreed with my father that my first name was a name from his culture that she didn't like. and then she just used my middle name from day 1 I think

My dd1 is known by her middle name too - it's because her first name is a grown up type of name, and her second name is one that's often criticised on here for being too cutesy. dh wouldn't allow me to use it as her first name.

I have a relative who is known by her middle name, and was always intended to be. If they had put the names the other way round her initials would have spelled something unfortunate, though why her parents didn't just choose a different middle name and use the first name always escapes me.

I also know a David James, always known as James. Apparently his parents didn't like the sound of James David. Which I just found odd.

Lou am curious as to your name!

Dd has my two favourite names as her first and middle names so if she ever wants to be known by her MN, thats fine by me.

I was at school with a Craig who we only found out at the end of our time there gad the first name David.

I have always been known by my middle name. My first name is hideously ugly and dated- so far so that it will probably come back anytime now My grandmother was allegedly going to use it for my mum and thought better of it so God knows what she was thinking. She says she intended for the ugly name to be the middle name but the registrar wrote it down the other way. Just left it but always called me by my middle name.

It's been a pain in the arse at times. Much pisstaking when starting new schools etc. Am forever correcting people at hospital despite 'known as middle name' being written all over my notes. I've thought about changing it but not using it seems easier on the whole.

My dear recently-passed Grandma went by her second middle name. No-one really knows why, although it's a lot shorter than her given name. Everyone just got used to it. We're in the south-west BTW.

I use my middle name because my given first name is so awful.

My Mum wanted to call me my middle name but was over-ruled by my Dad and 5 year old brother (who was crushed to have a baby sister apparently!!) The said 5 year old brother chose my name - he was 5 and into science fiction FGS!!!!

The bloke I knew was Welsh,as am I. Seems less common in South Wales/people my age

It's very common in Wales. Lots of my friends were known by their middle name when I was growing up. Doesn't seem so common in England.

A boy I was a university with was called William. On the first day the tutor asked if we preferred to be known by anything other than out full names and this boy said "yes,I prefer to be known as David" everyone was . Turns out it's family tradition for the first boy to have the same name as his father,grandfather etc and to save confusion he went by his middle name.