In the US, what is the 2nd name about ?
- Thread starter Marla_Singer
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In France, all the names are given just after birth, when you register the baby. You don't add a name later, except for women when they get married.
Only the first name is used regularly, but it is often a composed name. And French composed names have nothing to do with the American second name. They are always together. But they are often contracted to just their first later.
Jean-Baptiste is never called Jean or Baptiste, but often JB
The middle names (there can be several ones) are standard first names, usually the grand parents, or "biblical" names (jean, marie...).
For instance, my son full name is Aymeric Jean Michel, because my father's name his Jean, and my wife's father's name is Michel. And my daughter is Elodie Marie Christiane, because my mother's name is Christiane and my wife's mother's name is Genevière
Only the first name is used regularly, but it is often a composed name. And French composed names have nothing to do with the American second name. They are always together. But they are often contracted to just their first later.
Jean-Baptiste is never called Jean or Baptiste, but often JB
The middle names (there can be several ones) are standard first names, usually the grand parents, or "biblical" names (jean, marie...).
For instance, my son full name is Aymeric Jean Michel, because my father's name his Jean, and my wife's father's name is Michel. And my daughter is Elodie Marie Christiane, because my mother's name is Christiane and my wife's mother's name is Genevière
One thing that may be confusing to others is that while babies will get a middle name usually a first name of a close relative (my middle name is my father's first name) or the first/last/nickname of an honored public individual, women when they marry will frequently take their maiden name as their new middle name at the same time they take their husband's last name. Of course, that practice seems to be in decline will all kinds of marital surname adjustments nowadays. 
Illustrious
Becoming Colonel Blimp
Johann MacLeod said:
It gets even worse. His full name(s) at his christening were Johannes Chrystotomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart.
"Amadeus" is just the latinisation of the greek "Theophilus".
Illustrious said:It gets even worse. His full name(s) at his christening were Johannes Chrystotomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart.
"Amadeus" is just the latinisation of the greek "Theophilus".
Seems like a bunch of Europeans with the middle name "The" although perhaps it is a family thing, because most of them have a last name of Great.
Illustrious
Becoming Colonel Blimp
IglooDude said:Seems like a bunch of Europeans with the middle name "The" although perhaps it is a family thing, because most of them have a last name of Great.
You have obviously read the same old jokebook as I have: Q - What do Catherine The Great, Attila The Hun and Coco The Clown have in common?
A - They all have the same middle name.....
Illustrious said:
Q - What do Catherine The Great, Attila The Hun and Coco The Clown have in common?
A - They all have the same middle name.....
Although now that I think about it, all three died having fun in bed, right?
PHSikes
Retired Squid
Hilary 
uses Rodham because that is her Maiden name. So she isn't just "Mrs Clinton" She's Hilary (Rodham) Clinton.
Most of the middle names in my family are after other relatives.
uses Rodham because that is her Maiden name. So she isn't just "Mrs Clinton" She's Hilary (Rodham) Clinton.Most of the middle names in my family are after other relatives.
thestonesfan
A Client of Ron Kuby
Waterlilly? If you say so.
Anyway, everyone I know has a middle name. It's whatever your parents want it to be, generally. A lot of women make their maiden name their middle name once they get married, like Hillary Rodham Clinton.
It usually has some significance in the family.
Anyway, everyone I know has a middle name. It's whatever your parents want it to be, generally. A lot of women make their maiden name their middle name once they get married, like Hillary Rodham Clinton.
It usually has some significance in the family.
Hillary's name before marrying Clinton was Hillary Diane Rodham
I know quite a few women that use both their maiden name and "marital" name because of one overriding factor. As with Hillary she went to college and graduated, with "degree's" naming her as Hillary Rodham. So in order to varify that she is in fact THE Hillary Rodham on the certificates she took Hillary D. Rodham-Clinton (I've seen it with and without the "-") But have noticed that a LOT of women who have college degree's are more apt to change their last names only by a - between their maiden name and marital name.
I know quite a few women that use both their maiden name and "marital" name because of one overriding factor. As with Hillary she went to college and graduated, with "degree's" naming her as Hillary Rodham. So in order to varify that she is in fact THE Hillary Rodham on the certificates she took Hillary D. Rodham-Clinton (I've seen it with and without the "-") But have noticed that a LOT of women who have college degree's are more apt to change their last names only by a - between their maiden name and marital name.
cgannon64
BOB DYLAN'S ROCKIN OUT!
The two last names with a dash really annoys me. Its just too much to say.
RoddyVR
Veteran Board NESer
sorry, too lazy to read most of the second half of the thread (it just starts getting into why people have their own middle names instead of the system for generating it).
the systems i am aware of for middle names are:
US - just another given name
Spanish (or latin or whatever you call it) - mother's maiden last name.
Russian (not sure where else its used) - father's first name with a suffix meaning "son of"
there's probably others, but i've not encountered em.
the systems i am aware of for middle names are:
US - just another given name
Spanish (or latin or whatever you call it) - mother's maiden last name.
Russian (not sure where else its used) - father's first name with a suffix meaning "son of"
there's probably others, but i've not encountered em.
thestonesfan
A Client of Ron Kuby
cgannon64 said:
Yeah, I agree. Pick one or the other.
I knew a guy who hyphenated his last name with his wife's. So they both had hyphenated last names, and both were really long. "Clinefelter-McFarlane" I think. :whipped
Please, I gave the name in good faith. No one stalk them.
Stefan Haertel
Title
The middle name is nothing exclusively American, although I have noticed them making a lot of fuzz about it.
I live in Germany, and almost everyone I know has a middle name, girls and boys. My middle name is the third name of my father (he has two middle named, just like my mother), but the one he is called by (his first name is that of his grandfather, and my brother's middle name).
But nobody cares about middle names here.
I live in Germany, and almost everyone I know has a middle name, girls and boys. My middle name is the third name of my father (he has two middle named, just like my mother), but the one he is called by (his first name is that of his grandfather, and my brother's middle name).
But nobody cares about middle names here.
Blackbird_SR-71
Spying from 85,000 ft
hey in my religion boys middle name is Singh meaning Lion and girls middle name is Kaur meaning Princess
romelus
NUCULAR!
all this multiple name confusion would be 100% solved if people actually dared to create first names instead of making millions of johns, bills and dicks
MCdread
Couldn't she get drowned?
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Marla_Singer said:Ok, so it's a 2nd given name.
If I ask that, it's because in the Spanish speaking world, the middle name is usually the mother's surname before she got married. As all those middle names don't look like usual first names (like John, Andrew or Michael), I wondered if it wasn't also the case in the US.
I don't know the case in Hispanic America, but at least in Spain they normally have 4 names and the family name of the mother comes after the family name of the father, thus being the last name.
Over here, we also have 4 names in most cases, but the father's name is allways the last. I have 4 names myself as well. However, I know lots of people who has 5 or even 6 names, in which case they have the 2 family names of the mother and the 2 family names of the father. Then there can also be a lot of variations. I also have at least 1 friend who has only 1 first name and 3 family names (2 of the mother and 1 of his father). My parents however only have 3 names both of them. But my father has 1 first name and 2 faily names (mother and father), while my mother has 2 first names and only the family name of her father...
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