[identity profile] qtshorty1625.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] babynames
I was just thinking about this: So if someone has two first names (i.e. names like Mary Ann, Jean-Luc, etc.) do they have a middle name as well? I guess my question really is, if someone has a double name like that, does having a middle name become like having two middle names, or is the first name viewed as the first name and to have a middle name would be like having one middle name?

(I hope that makes sense).

Date: 2012-01-04 02:12 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] inmeggsyoutrust.livejournal.com
I had a guy friend named jean-luc in high school and he had a separate middle name.

I also went to school with a girl named Mary Elizabeth (regularly called Marybeth) and that was her first and middle name.

So I guess it depends on the family/person.

Date: 2012-01-04 02:15 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] schexyschteve.livejournal.com
My mother-in-law's name is Mary Jane, and she does not have a middle name.

I think it would make more sense to give a middle name if the first name is hyphenated (like with Jean-Luc), and no middle name if it's two separate first names (like with Mary Ann, Mary Jane, etc.).

Date: 2012-01-04 02:17 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] hermione-vader.livejournal.com
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It's very case-sensitive.

I go by Mary Grace: Mary is my first name, Grace is my middle name. But now my mother thinks she should have made it just my first name because every legal document reads "Mary [last name]", and it annoys us both. Then again, I once met another Mary Grace whose name was Mary Grace Patricia, so there you go.

Date: 2012-01-04 02:19 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/___heyvanity/
My cousin has always gone by Carrie Ann but that's her first and middle name... no third middle name.

Date: 2012-01-04 02:31 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thelasttruth.livejournal.com
My first name is Amber-Lynn but I still have a middle name (it's Gladys). I mostly go by just Amber these days though. I like that I have a middle name as well, but I love long names.

Date: 2012-01-04 02:33 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] canadagirl.livejournal.com
MY mom's first name is Rose Marie (she goes by Rose) and she has no middle name. I think it is whatever the preference is of the person naming the child. My dad balances her out though, he has two middle names and only one first name ;o)

Date: 2012-01-04 02:38 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] erikalyn.livejournal.com
My name is Erika-Lyn and I do have a separate middle name. I only go by Erika in social situations but I do not consider the "Lyn" part of my name to be a second middle name, it is still part of my first name. On legal forms I put Erika-Lyn in the first name spot and my middle name, of course, goes in the middle name spot.

Date: 2012-01-04 03:17 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sparklymoon.livejournal.com
Coming from a part of Canada where we have a lot of double first names (typically Jean-something or Marie-something but I have seen some more interesting combinations) - and so maybe this is restricted to the Quebecois culture - but in general, if you have a double first name, you don't have a middle name (but maybe a confirmation name, depending how Catholic your family is)

Date: 2012-01-04 04:06 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] adamantplatypus.livejournal.com
My sister is KellyAnne Elizabeth.

Date: 2012-01-04 04:09 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laminy.livejournal.com
I think it just depends on the person and what their parents were in the mood for. My friend has a hyphenated first name, and a middle name. On the other hand, Mary-Kate Olsen does not. It's not automatic either way.

Date: 2012-01-04 04:37 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] solitudete.livejournal.com
Judging by the roll sheets I get for all of my students, the French have no problem giving their children as many names as they like. Some of my students have a double first name, a middle name or two (for a few, THREE!), and then a super long last name. I.e. Pierre-Louis Stéphane Raphael Chappot de la Chanonie.

Date: 2012-01-04 05:09 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aimeewins.livejournal.com
I have a friend named Sara Ann Margaret (Sara Ann being her first name). However, I also have a cousin whose first name is Mary Jane and has no middle name. I think as long as it doesn't sound too clunky, it can work.

Date: 2012-01-04 11:08 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] heyskeleton.livejournal.com
The people I know with two first names both have middle names. They're both hypenated, so they technically have one first name and one middle name. I think it's overkill to have a double first name and a middle (I don't believe in two+ middle names), but each to their own. I mean, it's not like most people ever use their middle names, unless that's what they go by, of course.

Date: 2012-01-04 03:14 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] willsjoy.livejournal.com

Wow, what a name!

Date: 2012-01-04 05:54 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] 02895.livejournal.com
i think it all depends on the parents preference. my niece has a hyphenated first and middle name. my brother couldn't decide what he liked so he used all of them, but my nephew has 1 first name and two middle names. but the other two kids just have a first and middle name.

my best friends name is Samantha Sioux (pro. like sue) but is mostly called Sami Sioux.
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