Do you know any children who use their middle/ non-first name at school?

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Is it common? Is there any confusion? We are considering using DD's middle name when she starts school but don't want to cause her any problems.

We ask the family/child what they want to be known as at our school. I have known several children who use a different name.

I presume you are using her middle name now? So anyone outside the family may only know her by her middle name. It should not be a problem.

My dh goes by his middle name and has been known by the this name for the last 30 odd years

my dd1 uses her middle name - it's fine - no problems at all at school or anywhere else.

I also use my middle name and always have done. The only time it's caused any problems is with travel documents/my passport. Also when I was pregnant the hospital got confused and I had 2 sets of notes, one in each name.

A child in DD's year does. His first name is a family name (first male of every generation etc etc) and his middle name is his 'real' day-to-day name. Doesn't cause any issues.

But a nearby (slightly weird IMO) school will only call children by their full first name. E.g. an Elizabeth must be Elizabeth not Libby or Eliza. Not come across that rule elsewhere.

School forms usually have a space for the official name and the name the child is to be known by IME.

There is space on the school form to put what they are to be called as well as a space to put their official name.

Thank you for your advice. There is no 'known as' box on the forms we have been given, that's one of the reasons for posting. I was wondering if it's something that is very uncommon.

Yes. (I´m a teacher).

Also in some cultures it´s more usual. In Spain where we live now there are hundreds of thousands of girls called Maria + other name (Carmen, Eugenia, Isabel, Teresa, Victoria...and more) and it´s natural to call them by, and assume they are known as, the second name.

For foreigners with the concept of middle names it can lead to odd situations, e.g. at the doctor´s surgery where you don´t react to them calling your middle name repeatedly.

Most school enrollment forms ask for the child´s passport name and the name they like to be known by. It is unusual that yours doesn´t have this - I´d just write it underneath or at the side, clearly.

I know some East Asian children who have an Asian name and a more western sounding name they prefer to use, as well as of course all of the kids who prefer to be "Charlie", "Jack", "Lola", "Sam", instead of their christened name.

Assuming you are only just applying, do you mean the forms you send to your local authority?

AFAIK, no, they don't have a box. The mother I mention had a slightly irritated exchange with the teacher when her son had the 'wrong' name on his sticker for the first settling in session, because she'd written it in some random box on the local authority form. The teacher had to explain that they just got the name list. But she was very happy to ensure that the correct name was used.

Penguin the forms the schools has sent us. DD starts next week.

Ah, sorry. I forgot some schools don't have reception in in the first week.

Just ring the office. They will appreciate you letting them know ASAP as they will be (if they haven't already) naming draws, pegs, etc. If she isn't starting on Monday it will be nicer for her if the right name is there

I know a Max whose first name on BC is actually Joseph. He has always been known as Max, never Joseph. All teachers, etc., called him Max. When his parents fill in forms they use "J. Max Surname" as his name.

DD4 has a long name that she shortened herself into a perfectly appropriate NN as a little toddler, and she has always been known by that name. I use her long name on official forms but always send a note to ask that she have the NN used. It's nothing silly like Flopsy, etc. Next year in high school she will have to speak up for herself if she wants to continue being known by the NN.

I myself have always used the Irish version of my BC name as there are loads of women with my name in my family. Fora while I thought my name was [Irish name] [English name] [Middle name] Surname but by age 4.5 I had straightened it all out in my head. My parents always used the Irish version. It was a big surprise for everyone in my class when my official name was first used - I believe when we had to put our names down for Confirmation.

If you stick a post-it note onto the form indicating that the name she uses is the middle name then they should notice that.

Both my sons use their middle names, and we have never had any problems with confusion.

When filling out forms and such, I just underline the middle name and that seems to have worked so far.

I know of a girl who is known by her 2nd mn.. she is (making it up) Anne Sophie Julia and known as Julia by all. (LONG story behind how she got that name)

It's quite common where I am (N Ireland). One of my brothers, my husband and I are all know by our middle names. It's fairly normal and seems to be something of a tradition amongst some families. It can be a pain when filling in forms. I actually use my first name professionally... it seemed easier when I started working but now that some colleagues have become friends and met my other friends and family it's very confusing! It's something we'll avoid doing for our baby when s/he arrives but it's definitely not unusual.

I know two people who have done this. At school it caused confusion, but only because there was a girl who went my Middle Name + Surname and another girl who went by First Name + Surname, but this gave the same chosen name and surname to both girls (e.g. There was a Alice Sarah Smith who went by Sarah Smith and a Sarah Smith who just went by that). This resulted in the first girl being called by her first name in a lot of classes they shared, even though it wasn't the name she went by on a day to day basis, just to avoid confusion.

The other person I knew, it was never an issue. You wouldn't have known it wasn't his first name without looking at his bank card/passport etc