(I've blurred out parts of the names of people who I don't know all that well for their privacy etc, though the above is publicly available on an uber-geeky website!)
Anyway, yes. This was my quarter from last Thursday because it gives me more to talk about than my quarter from the 31st! There's me, Claire H Routh, along with my mum, Maureen D Routh, and the other Firstname Middleinitial Lastname people.
Aside from ringing, I don't use my middle initial much, or indeed my middle name. I sometimes use it online for things when I need a username that I can remember- on DA, for example...but before that, I pretty much never used my middle name, and this leads me to ponder...what is the point of middle names?! It's sort of an outdated thing, but why did we have them in the first place?!
This leads me to my dad's name. As seen above, he is R Hugh Routh. My grandpa is R A Routh, my great-uncle is R M Routh, and various ancestors have initials such as RJR, RHR, RHMR, etc etc etc. The R stands for Robert and is the 'family' name...or at least it was. The idea was that all the men in the family were Robert, but were known by their middle name. I don't think, however, that I know anyone (relatives aside) now who is named in this way.
And some people don't have middle names. I can't help but feel sorry for them, despite pointing out above how pointless middle names seem to be! Roy, in the picture above, doesn't...but he's always said that his parents felt "LeMarechal" was enough for him to contend with! A few of my friends don't.
So, do you have a middle name? Do you ever use it? Will you give your children middle names, assuming you end up having children?
PS. My cousins are Amelia Lucy Rose Smith, and Florence Imogen Fuschia Smith. Overcompensation or what....?!
9 comments:
ohohoo, don't get me started. Suffice to say, the subjuct of names intrigues me greatly. You might say I am one of those such over compensated people.. :P
There have been a surprising amount of people I've met at uni who use their middle name, or derivations thereof, as the name they are known by. For some, it's a family thing, similar to as you described, some it's something that just came about - often it's something you don't find out unless it specifically comes up in conversation (or on facebook...)
I often middle-name people, it's a kind of bonding thing as in "I know you well enough to know your middle name" I think middle names add to the sense of identity, despite the fact that every tenth girl of my age seems to have "Louise", or for boys "James" and it's one of those primary school conversations every child should have. I'd hate not to have a middle name. It just makes you a little more interesting :oP
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As an aside, when did you start bellringing?
I think you mentioned before that your name actually is Flitterbee, which if true, is rather cool and less over-compensating than the result of funky parents!
It's interesting that you know some middle-name people...I genuinely don't think I do, though one of my friends is known to all as EmJ (she's an Emma, and her middle name begins with J).
When you say you middle-name people, do you call them by their middle name, or firstname middlename?
I quite like, when getting to know someone, finding out their middle name. It's like a secret, sort of. With one of my exes in the early stages on our relationship, I was rather...tipsy...and couldn't remember much of the conversation that ensued. The next day I said to him "haha, I had a dream that you told me your middle name was Francis! Hahahahahahaa!"
Silence.
Then he spoke; "My middle name is Francis."
Ooops.
As for the bellringing...I don't actually know when I started. I think I was 12, though I'd certainly learnt to chime a 'down' bell before that (I don't remember learning it, so I was probably around 4 or 5). You can't really ring till you're tall enough (with the aid of various boxes to stand on) so I think 12 is about right. I gave up when I was 13, so hadn't learnt to ring much, and started again when I was 18, so two years ago properly!
Her real name and title is Princess Jasmine ;o)
I've got more than one middle name - a result of my mother deciding to give all her children her maiden name. I'm not that keen on it but I am stuck with it, c'est la vie.
I like my other middle name though, it runs quite well with 'hannah' sounds like it should be partnering it. Then again I am used to it.
My little nephew doesn't have a middle name but with good reason, it's quite hard to find a name that goes well with 'Amos', personally I think it's a funky enough first name to stand on it's own nicely.
Middle names are useful, if you don't like your first name you can always use your middle name :o)
Hannah- I've often wished I had my mother's maiden name as a middle name...and I've thought about giving mine to any future children.
This morning I recieved an email from a certain Roy LeMarechal, telling me that actually I do know other people who are middle-namers, and other Robert middle-namers, at that! So a slapped wrist for me :P
Lol, my name isn't actually Flitterbee. Tis one of my many aliases ;o)
I think the middle-name people (or people who have two first names...) is more apparant when I meet people, since uh...I'm one of them. So upon the mention of that fact, there follows a name-association conversation of various related people or names, hence it seems to me there are a higher relative proportion of people who use their middle names.
By middle-name people, I mean use both first and middle names to address them as in "Sarah Louise" or "David James", or just initials, 'cause I'm posh like that, innit :oP
I also have my mother's maiden name in my double-surname. And there's just a hint of the complications of my namenclature...
:oD
I have a middle name. I dislike my middle name (almost as much as I dislike my surname. Why couldn't I have had my mother's maiden name instead? Or even better my grandmother's maiden name. [/digression]) but I think my parents chose it 'cos it follows on well from Lucy.
I think I'll give my kids middle names, but not ones that get used. It's a cultural thing, I guess, Flix! And it definitely won't be 'Louise'.
My grandmother was only ever known by her middle name. My paternal grandfather went a step further and has been known since the age of about twenty as 'George', despite the fact that his real initials are RFT. Makes official stuff a little more complicated at this stage of things...
Names are fascinating things :-)
My uncle goes by his middle name and I only learnt that a few years ago. When I was younger I hated my middle names, they are my grandmothers' names and I thought it was rubbing salt in the wound, especially with a first name like Keshia. But now I love them, and I use one as my pen name.
I'm definately going to give my children middle names...already thought of them! They'll be family names, just to tie the family knots even more. I mean, Harvey is going to die with me, it'll be nice to carry something on.
I don't have a middle name, I have 2 surnames instead. I normally go by a shortened version of my first name and don't use my other 2 names at all, as nobody can pronounce or spell them in the UK...
I think I would have liked a middle name, it sounds quite nice.
I know a lot of people who introduce themselves with their first and middle names, and use them when talking to others, so in my part of the UK it's common practice.
Also, apologies for the above comment, I used my cousin's account and didn't even realize.
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