I never really thought about middle names until I recently learned that having a middle name dates back to ancient Rome. Many Romans had three names: A praenomen was a personal name, or what we call first names today; a nomen, which was a family name, and lives where middle names currently sit; and the cognomen, which identified what branch of family you were from. Women had only two names while slaves had one. At some point, this custom died out, lasting centuries.
I wanted to know more and discovered that having middle names as we know them today started in Italy just as it was entering the Renaissance. The practice first became common among the elites—among whom it was common by the late 1400s—and then spread to other social classes. The following century it spread to the countryside. The majority of these early middle names in Italy were those of saints, with the idea what that those saints would protect the children who bore their names.
It was exceedingly rare to have middle names in Great Britain and the United States before 1800, and after this time it was done to honor a second relative or a matriarchal lineage. John Quincy Adams was the first American President to have a middle name.
But why did middle names become popular? One thought is that middle names allow people to shift their identities. Pablo Picasso, for example, was baptized with a string of more than a dozen names and although he wasn’t known by all of them, he did test out different combinations: initially signing paintings as P. Ruiz, then trying P. Ruiz Picasso before sticking with Picasso.
However, I think it’s more likely that middle names serve much the same purposes they always have: they’re a way to keep family names going and thus preserve relationships. The family is the most important thing that gets referenced in middle names, and it makes sense for it to be about lineage and inheritance.”
One of the surprising reasons I found for a child to be given a surname as a middle name was when the parents weren’t married. If a child had the same surname as his/her mother, and a middle name that looked like a surname, there’s a very good chance that the child’s middle name was the biological father’s surname. In some cases, the middle name of an illegitimate child may be the only clue, other than DNA, to the father’s identity.
Another reason for parents to use a surname as a middle name was to pay tribute to the mother, and therefore to her parents, family and ancestry, by using her maiden name. This became especially fashionable in the second half of the 19th century.
My middle name honors my mother, Audrey, and I have another middle name, which I don’t use – Jeanne, my Confirmation name Many women use maiden names as a middle name or a hyphenated last name. I never did, preferring to keep my mother’s name. Many women scientists/authors prefer to keep their maiden name if they have published under that name before marriage.
Finally, some of us who live in the South give middle names to our children so they will know when they are in trouble. My son and daughter both knew they faced my wrath if I called, “Patrick Ethan, get your butt here” or “Cameron Elizabeth, what have you done?”
So, there you have it! The answer to a most pressing question!
I was given two middle names poly to confuse me. My Christian name was in honour of my father but then everyone used a middle name so as not to confuse me with him in conversation. No-one ever thought to ask what I’d like to be known as. Now I’m old enough to have the choice I have friends who call me by my choice but family who still use the familiar. I have to answer to both ans sometimes feel like a split personality. Hugs
My brother was John Jr. after Dad. But we got around it by calling him Jay, and the name stuck!
At this point, I think we give our kids middle names because it’s custom. But with so many people around, 3 names increases the chances of a unique name. We used that chance to honor our parents, covering multiple bases by giving our 1st kid my last name (thus honoring my father as well, while we used my husband’s surname, thus also honoring his father). For our second, we created a name by combining the first names of both our mothers, creating a unique name for which I *think* he’s forgiven us.
What great ideas! My son was not named for anyone in my family, but my daugher’s middle name is the name of my husband’s grandmother.
Thanks, Noelle. Very interesting to know. In Spain we don’t use middle names that much (we have them, I think, although I’ve never known what mine were), but in official documents, and in normal life, we have two surnames we go by. The first is usually our father’s (Ruiz, in the case of Picasso), and the second, our mother’s. In my case, Núñez is my father’s surname and Miret, my mother’s, but neither are a middle name. (That caused some confusion both in the UK and the USA, as sometimes people would write Olga N. Miret, but back home, it is common to only use your first surname. Some people, like Picasso, change the order of the surnames or prefer to use their mothers’ and in some parts of Spain married women rarely took the husbands’ surnames when they married, but, as you say, that is changing everywhere these ways.
I read that after the middle name was adopted in Italy in the Renaissance, the practice spread to Spain but then died out.
I don’t have a middle name. I don’t think any of us do. But then most of the time we don’t know our mother’s name. Mummy says she has a middle name, but as far as she knows, Jemima doesn’t. :O
Locksley, I do not have a middle name. Although sometimes when I’ve done something naughty she calls me Garfield You Cat.
I have the same middle name as my mother, which is cool. Hers was the last generation in our family to use the middle name for when you’re in trouble.😂 I was plain “Priscilla” whether I was in good favor or in trouble.
My Mom did not use my middle name when I was in trouble. However, she promounced my name NO -elle!
My middle name is my grandmothers maiden surname – Williams. It was to honor her family. A very interesting post, Noelle.
Thanks, John, We didn’t use any family names with my son. My daughters middle name is my husband’s grandmother’s first name – Elizabeth. And yes, when she was in trouble I would call: Cameron Elizabeth.
Great name to call.
The only time I ever heard my middle name said was when I was in trouble. 🤣
A fascinating post, Noelle. I admit middle names fascinate me. Mine has no special reasoning as far as I know, but my brother’s middle name is my mother’s maiden name—given because her father had only daughters and not sons. It was a way to honor him and his Italian ancenstry.
Yup, that fits with what I read. I love to ask people their middle names!
No me, but my kids definitely!!
A fascinating post, Noelle Audrey. I got Bruce Bernard when I was naughty!
I never got Noelle Audrey – we lived i New England – but I knew I was in trouble when I heard NO – elle.
Yup, that fits with what I read. I love to ask people their middle names!
I never heard Noelle Audrey but lots of NO-elles! But Cameron Elizabeth and Patrick Ethan I did yell lots of times!
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Thank you!
An interesting explanation, Noelle. My middle name, Lynn, is in honor of both my grandmothers who were named Evelyn. Also, when my grandmother named my mother (the story goes), she first named her Barbara June, but then changed it to June Barbara.
Why did she switch it? I think it’s nice either way. We both seem to honor our forebears!
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A fascinating dive into middle names, Noelle. In our family it was all about preserving family names, and in some cases acknowledging the surname of half of an unmarried couple. My daughter doesn’t have a middle name – we decided to let her choose her own… and she never got around to it! Darn. I didn’t have a middle name to use when I was mad at her. Lol. Thanks for the fun.
You’re welcome. I came across an article about middle names and thought it would be an interesting topic to delve into!
It made me think about the names in my WIP a little differently. I might have some fun with them.
I’m all for having some fun when I write! One name I’ve only seen once (Chronicles of Narnia) is Eustace.
Thank you for your openness to explore various topics! If you have any specific questions or areas of interest you’d like to discuss, feel free to share them. Whether it’s about the latest advancements in technology, recent scientific breakthroughs, thought-provoking literature, or any other subject, I’m here to offer insights and assistance. Just let me know how I can be of help, and I’ll do my best to provide valuable information and engage in meaningful discussions!
Thanks!
Thank you for your response! I’m grateful for your willingness to engage in discussions. If there’s anything specific you’d like to explore or if you have any questions, please feel free to share them. Whether it’s about emerging trends in technology, recent breakthroughs in science, intriguing literary analyses, or any other topic, I’m here to assist you. Just let me know how I can be of help, and I’ll do my best to provide valuable insights and information!
Thanks!
Thank you for your response! I’m grateful for your willingness to engage in discussions. If there’s anything specific you’d like to explore or if you have any questions, please feel free to share them. Whether it’s about emerging trends in technology, recent breakthroughs in science, intriguing literary analyses, or any other topic, I’m here to assist you. Just let me know how I can be of help, and I’ll do my best to provide valuable insights and information!
And then there are us Catholics who always get 1-2 more middle names at confirmation–Mary for girls, Joseph for boys, and one other (mine for my sponsor). Makes for a long name!
It does! I have two middle names because of it.
Ha! The triple-name-call always meant severe trouble!
So, is more than one middle name typically a religious thing? I never knew anyone with two, but I was always curious about the practice.
Noelle, I enjoyed this very much. Decades ago someone called me a “collector of names” (mostly because of my fascination with name meanings). I still am. Big hugs.