What do you need middle name for?

[Viletta]

Hi there, I'm not originally from the UK and where I'm from we don't have middle names. What are they for in real life? Is it to distinguish John A Smith from John B Smith? Do you use them ever? I know that some people like Paul Mccartney use their second name, but that's rather an exception isn't it? Is it just a tradition? I like how two names look and sound and that it can be almost a brand, I also like that we can stick a relative's name as middle name and honour them this way. But wondering what this actually means for you? Do you like/use your middle name ever? DH is British, he likes having middle name but when would he ever use it apart of official paperwork.

Almost no-one in either side my parents' generation of my family is known by their given first name. Mostly, they use the middle name, some of them use a completely different name. It is impossible to get a plausible explanation from any of them for this malarkey. Just the way it is.

Thank you everyone for replying, all good points! We use patronyms where I'm from but won't be possible as DH's name is British and can't be grammatically converted into a patronym. We will go for a middle name to give the babe names from both countries.

My first name is so yoonique that I don't need a middle name (or really a surname), my parents chucked it in there,Vit has no significance but it serves as a more generic name if I need one (still my name, not as google-able)

DD has a relatives name but if she were a boy she'd have had a first name to honour family and maybe a middle name too.

DP didn't have a middle name then got a new surname and the old was moved to being a middle name

It's a tradition in my family that the second name is used - and was the same in both my parents' families. On my dad's side, this was because all first born were all called John, so John Arthur, John William, John Cyril etc

In my family, lots of people use their confirmation name as a middle name. Also, it can help as traditionally in many families people are all called family names. You might have a grandfather, father and son all called James, so the middle names distinguish them.

Lots of people don’t have one though, so it wouldn’t be a problem just to have a first and last name.

I think they are a hot pointless. I don't have one, neither do my DC. My DH has three that be never uses.

Nothing. Mine is useless.

Same goes at work if there's another female with the same name in the name department, I go by First Name-Middle Name, in an attempt to not have amusing descriptors added to my name "Katherine with the big arse" etc

Likewise. I prefer it to becoming an initial (FirstName-B and FirstName-C) or having my surname used all the time.

Both my children have one of my grandparent’s names as a middle name. We don’t use them much day to day but I like that they are there - it feels like it honours the great grand parents they never got to meet.

Dh has one but younger sil doesn't which I find quite amusing. Like they realised it was pointless so didnt bother again.

I use my middle name regularly. I call it my 'Starbucks' name. I use it when I'm ordering takeout and you need to give a name or if I meet someone at a bar etc on a night out. My first name is too complicated to spell/pronounce

You don’t really need one for anything.

They can be nice to have

1. You get to use another name you like, maybe a back first name contender which didn’t get used
2. It can be a nice way to honour a family member
3. It can make a name seem more complete or flow nicely, even if it’s not used on a daily basis
4. It gives the person options for names if, for some reason, their first name becomes problematic

But absolutely don’t need one

It is more interesting when you get married to say I take you John Humphrey Bloggs than just John Bloggs...

It’s also a nice way to honour family members. My son (should I have one) will have my brother’s name as his middle name for example.

I never use my middle name but I’m really grateful for the initial as my first initial with my married name makes a really silly word! So I need that middle initial! 🤣

Some people go by their first two initials ... “here’s JJ” etc

I don’t have one. Nor do my siblings, both my parents and all four grandparents.
I gave my DC a middle name. As a child, I felt shortchanged by not having one. I also don’t like my name. Would be nice to have a middle name to use instead.

In our Italian family it was common to give sons the name of the paternal grandfather...so when there were several DS's born to siblings they were all called Frank....to distinguish them they were given a descriptive name to go along with Frank...there was Fat Frank, Skinny Frank, and 6th Street Frank...
I had a giggle when thinking about it one day...what would happen if Fat Frank went on a diet, Skinny Frank gained 4 stone and 6th Street Frank moved...would they still keep their original names?

Also, on those official forms where I live it is not allowed to leave any spaces blank...so A person without a middle name has to put NMN in the blank

It's too minimise the number of people with the same name as you.

There will be lots of Mary Bakers but not so many Mary Elizabeth Bakers.

My middle name was just one both my parents like. It's ok but I'm not keen on the spelling.
All dd and ds2 have 2 middle names each and ds1 has 1 and they are all names of deceased family members and they have been pretty much set in stone from the second children became a reality. I wanted important family members who have passed to be a part of my childrens lives.
However I only use them to call dcs if theyve been naughty. come to think of it thats the only time my middle name is used too

I've been doing my family ancestry and middle names make it sooo much easier to find people on the public registers. That's the only reason I've come across that's made them useful in my family.

Definitely not necessary.

I remember one of my friends getting in a bit of an issue with the student loans company because they merged her record with that of someone else with the same name so on a practical level I like middle names to make a name more unique. There will be other people out there with the same Firstname Lastname as my children but not full names.

That’s it really.

They don't often have a real purpose, but I only know one person who doesn't have a middle name and I've always felt a bit bad for her. It's like her name isn't complete 🤷🏼‍♀️ She wishes she had one. I guess it's just a fun fact about yourself, and a back up name incase you really hate your first name. Can be good for anonymity as well... I know a lot of teachers that use their middle name in the surname slot on social media so that kids from school can't find them as easily.