{{Short description|Additional portion of a personal name}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}} [[Image:FML Names-3.jpg|thumb|300px|First/forename, middle name, and last/family/surname using the example of Edgar Allan Poe. This Western naming order is typical for English-speaking cultures (and some others).]]
A '''middle name''' is a component of a personal name that in Western naming order is written between a person's forename and surname.<ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|MIDDLE NAME}}</ref><ref>{{Cite EBO |title=Middle name (language) |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/381383/middle-name}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=John M. |last=Carroll |title= Confidential Information Sources: Public and Private |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_BiLBQAAQBAJ&q=is+middle+name+part+of+given+name&pg=PA351 |page=351 |publisher=Elsevier |date=2014 |isbn=978-0-08-094364-0}}</ref> Together, the fore- and middle names form a person's given names. Usage of middle names varies between different cultural and linguistic groups. The origins of middle names can be traced to Roman times, and the use of middle names re-emerged in Italy in the 13th century.
==Origins== In ancient Rome, aristocratic male Romans used a naming system called tria nomina, which included three distinct parts to the name: a praenomen (personal name), nomen (family name), and cognomen. As the nomen was placed in the middle, it had a different usage compared to how middle names are used now.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Dunnell |first=Tony |date=2025-07-29 |title=Why Do We Have Middle Names? |url=https://historyfacts.com/arts-culture/article/why-do-we-have-middle-names/ |access-date=2026-03-25 |website=History Facts |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Magarino |first=Lauren |last2=Scarber |first2=Brandi |date=2022-12-06 |title=Why Do We Have Middle Names? |url=https://www.scrippsnews.com/life/why-do-we-have-middle-names |access-date=2026-03-25 |website=Scripps News |language=en}}</ref>
The use of middle names re-emerged in Italy in the 13th century and by the late 1400s, it was common for upper-class families in Italy to use middle names, with this later spreading to other social classes.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fabry |first=Merrill |title=Now You Know: Why Do We Have Middle Names? |url=https://time.com/4451977/history-of-middle-names/ |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=2026-03-25 |work=TIME |language=en}}</ref> This trend caught on across Europe, particularly for people from wealthy families.<ref name=":1" /> In Germany, middle names had become commonly used by the 17th century, with German immigrants being noted as bringing this custom to North America.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Middle Names: Where’d They Come From? |url=https://www.ancestry.com/c/ancestry-blog/middle-names-whered-they-come-from |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=2026-03-25 |website=Ancestry |language=en-US}}</ref> In the first decade of the 19th century in France most boys did not have a middle name, but by the last decade of the century 46% of boys had one middle name and 23% of boys had two middle names.<ref name=":1" />
It was also during the 19th century that Americans of European descent started to more commonly use middle names,<ref name=":2" /> whilst in Britain middle names started to be used more frequently by the middle classes, who took this trend from the nobility.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2013-06-29 |title=The power and peril of the middle name |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23097107 |access-date=2026-03-25 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> By the early 20th century, birth records show that in North Carolina, most children had a middle name, as did their parents.<ref name=":3" /> By the advent of the First World War, the first government documents in the United States that requested a middle name were official enlistment forms.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-11-29 |title=Why Do We Have Middle Names? |url=https://people.howstuffworks.com/why-do-have-middle-names.htm |access-date=2026-03-25 |website=HowStuffWorks |language=en-us}}</ref>
==Usage== Usage of middle names varies widely between different cultural and linguistic groups. A person may have one, multiple, or no middle names. People with middle names are often not called by them except in official or formal contexts, or when it is necessary to distinguish them from other people with the same forename and surname. Alternately, some people prefer to identify themselves primarily by a middle name rather than their forename.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2024-03-28 |title=The Strange Intimacy of Middle Names |magazine=The Atlantic |last=Waters |first=Michael |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2024/03/middle-names-intimacy/677897/ |access-date=2026-04-12 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
Middle names are not the only words that can occur between the forename and surname. Sometimes other words occurring in this position may be treated as akin to middle names, even though they are not given names. Examples include patronyms (as in East Slavic names), or a secondary family name (often a matrilineal or maiden name) which precedes the primary surname (as in Filipino names). However, many other words that occur in the middle of personal names are entirely distinct from middle names, such as: * multiple surnames where the primary family name precedes the secondary one (as in Spanish names) * compound surnames, known as double-barrelled names, where both family names are equal<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maher |first=Dani |title=When did double-barrelled surnames come about? |url=https://harpersbazaar.com.au/celebrities-with-double-barrelled-surnames/ |access-date=2026-03-25 |website=harpersbazaar.com.au}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yan |first=Chao |last2=He |first2=Yuchun |last3=Zhang |first3=Ziyi |date=2024-04-01 |title=Do CEOs with new compound surnames have better ESG performance? Evidence from China |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1059056024001448 |journal=International Review of Economics & Finance |volume=92 |pages=724–740 |doi=10.1016/j.iref.2024.02.064 |issn=1059-0560|url-access=subscription }}</ref> * compound forenames, known as a double name, which form an inseparable unit always spoken together<ref>{{Cite news |last=York |first=Patricia S |date=2026-01-30 |title=Our Favorite Double Names for Boys |url=https://www.southernliving.com/home/double-names-boys |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=2026-03-25 |work=Southern Living |language=en}}</ref> * separate particles prefixing a surname (such as the Dutch tussenvoegsels {{Lang|nl|van}} or {{Lang|nl|de}}).
==Regional variances== ===Anglosphere=== In countries that primarily speak English—such as Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States—the forename of a relative is sometimes used as one's middle name to honor familial heritage. In many cases in the United States, however, a person's middle name does not derive from relatives, but is used instead to honor close family friends or notable public figures.<ref name="genfiles">{{cite web |url=http://www.genfiles.com/articles/middle-names/ |title=The Use of Middle Names |first=Robert W. |last=Baird |work=Bob's Genealogy Filing Cabinet | date=November 13, 2013}}</ref>
In the United States, the middle name is often abbreviated to the middle initial. This first became popular in the 19th century. Examples of famous people who abbreviated their middle names include John D. Rockefeller, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Booker T. Washington.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kleinman |first=Bennett |date=2024-07-18 |title=The Meaning Behind 9 Famous Middle Initials |url=https://historyfacts.com/famous-figures/article/the-meaning-behind-9-famous-middle-initials/ |access-date=2026-03-25 |website=History Facts |language=en-US}}</ref> In the 21st century, widespread use of middle initials in the United States is in decline,<ref>{{Cite news |title=They’re Dropping Like Middle Initials |last=Feiler |first=Bruce |author-link=Bruce Feiler |date=2014-07-11 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/13/fashion/theyre-dropping-like-middle-initials.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=2026-04-12}}</ref> although they are still commonly used in intellectual fields, where studies show that middle initials are associated with knowledgeability and authoritativeness.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=The impact of middle names: Middle name initials enhance evaluations of intellectual performance |journal=European Journal of Social Psychology |last1=van Tilburg |first1=Wijnand A. P. |last2=Igou |first2=Eric R. |date=2014-04-26 |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ejsp.2026 |volume=44 |issue=4 |pages=400–411 |via=Wiley Online Library |doi=10.1002/ejsp.2026}}</ref>
The abbreviations "N.M.N." (no middle name) and "N.M.I." (no middle initial) are sometimes used in formal documents in the United States, where a middle initial or name is expected but the person does not have one. Sometimes middle initials have been used to make a person's name more distinct. Screenwriter David X. Cohen was born David Samuel Cohen, but adopted the middle initial "X" when he joined the Writers Guild of America, as there was already a member named David S. Cohen, and the union forbade multiple writers from using the same name.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://archive.nerdist.com/secret-science-nerds-david-x-cohen-brings-academia-to-animation/|title = Secret Science Nerds: David X. Cohen Brings Academy to Animation|date = November 10, 2016|last = Trumbore|first = Dave|work = Nerdist|accessdate = November 15, 2023}}</ref>
A rare case of an individual being given only an initial as a middle name, with the initial not explicitly standing for anything, was Harry S. Truman.<ref>{{cite web |title=Use of the Period After the 'S' in Harry S. Truman's Name |url=https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/trivia/use-of-period-after-s-truman-name |publisher=Harry S. Truman Library & Museum |access-date=December 15, 2020}}</ref> Other people with single-letter middle names include Robert B. Hollander Jr. and Mark M Davis.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Robert Hollander, towering scholar of Dante's 'Divine Comedy,' dies at 87 |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/robert-hollander-dead/2021/06/17/c514a38e-ced3-11eb-a7f1-52b8870bef7c_story.html |access-date=2022-12-15 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sapakoff |first=Gene |title=Sapakoff: Raiders owner Mark Davis talks 'Clemson West' and Citadel ties |url=https://www.postandcourier.com/sports/sapakoff-raiders-owner-mark-davis-talks-clemson-west-and-citadel-ties/article_4906976c-eae9-11ea-8d7a-6f8e4114abfe.html |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=Post and Courier |date=6 September 2020 |language=en}}</ref> Jennifer 8. Lee, an American author, was not given a middle name at birth so she chose "8" when she was a teenager, in recognition of her Chinese ancestry because the number eight symbolizes prosperity and good luck.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lee |url=https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/contributors/jennifer-8-lee |access-date=2026-03-25 |website=Lapham’s Quarterly |language=en}}</ref>
More than two given middle names is fairly common. In Britain, the use of two middle names is traditionally more common among the upper and middle classes.<ref>{{cite web|title=British Baby Names: Two middle names |url=http://nameberry.com/blog/british-baby-names-two-middle-names |first=Pamela |last=Redmond |work=Nameberry |date=January 21, 2013}}</ref>
===China, Japan, and Korea=== {{Further|East Asian naming customs}} Most people are not given middle names in China. Later in life, some Chinese people anglicise or change their names, sometimes including middle names.<ref name=":0" /> In Korea and Japan, middle names are also seldom used.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Geddes |first=Jennifer |date=2021-10-21 |title=Why Do We Have Middle Names? The Real Reasons, Explained |url=https://www.rd.com/article/why-do-we-have-middle-names/ |access-date=2026-03-25 |website=Reader's Digest |language=en-US}}</ref>
===India=== {{Further|Indian name}} Traditional names in India vary regionally due to its ethnic and religious diversity. Modern Hindu names across India use a first name, which is usually a word in Sanskrit or an indigenous Indian language, a middle name (in rare instances), which is usually the name of a child's father or spouse, followed by a surname which is usually the caste that the person's family belongs to, taken from the father or husband.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McDermott |first=Mat |date=2022-03-14 |title=What do Hindu names mean? |url=https://www.hinduamerican.org/blog/what-do-hindu-names-mean/ |access-date=2026-03-24 |website=Hindu American Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref> Middle and last names from the traditionally matrilineal Nair community in Kerala were historically based on the mother's family.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thakur |first=Prerana |date=2021-09-21 |title=Matrilineal Societies in India: Garo{{!}} Khasi{{!}} Nair{{!}} Ezhava{{!}} Bunt{{!}} Billava |url=https://www.prathaculturalschool.com/post/matrilineal-societies-in-india |access-date=2026-03-25 |website=PRATHA |language=en}}</ref>
Among the Sikhs of India, many have adopted the middle name Singh or Kaur which means lion and princess respectively. This is sometimes followed by their Punjabi caste surname.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC - Voices - Multilingual Nation |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/multilingual/panjabi_writing_system.shtml#:~:text=The%20middle%20name%20is%20the,not%20use%20their%20family%20name. |access-date=2026-03-25 |website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> Among Indian Muslims, similar naming conventions to Hindus and Sikhs are followed, but the names are usually in Arabic, Persian or Urdu.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ahmad |first=Rizwan |date=2020-07-24 |title=“I regret having named him Sahil”: Urdu names in India |url=https://languageonthemove.com/i-regret-having-named-him-sahil-urdu-names-in-india/ |access-date=2026-03-25 |website=Language on the Move |language=en-US}}</ref>
===Philippines=== {{Further|Filipino middle names}} Middle names mostly use the mother's maiden surname, inserted between the given name and the surname (father's surname) and are almost always abbreviated, signifying that it is a "middle name".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-07 |title=Filipino - Naming |url=https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/filipino-culture/filipino-culture-naming |access-date=2026-03-25 |website=Cultural Atlas |language=en}}</ref>
===Russia=== {{Further|East Slavic name}} Both girls and boys are typically given a middle name based on their father's forename. For girls, often '''ovna''' or '''evna''' is added to the end, whereas for boys '''ovich''' or '''evich''' is sometimes added to the end.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Whelan |first=Corey |date=2024-07-02 |title=The Middle Name Traditions in 8 Countries Across the World |url=https://www.rd.com/list/middle-names-traditions/ |access-date=2026-03-25 |website=Reader's Digest |language=en-US}}</ref>
===Scandinavia=== The naming conventions of Scandinavian countries do not call given names middle names.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mellannamn |url=https://www.isof.se/lar-dig-mer/kunskapsbanker/lar-dig-mer-om-personnamn-i-sverige/mellannamn |access-date=2022-10-04 |website=www.isof.se |language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=personnamn – Store norske leksikon |language=nb |work=Store norske leksikon |url=https://snl.no/personnamn |access-date=2022-10-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kirkeministeriet |first=Skrevet af |title=Navneregler |url=https://www.borger.dk/familie-og-boern/Navne-og-navneaendring/Navneregler |access-date=2022-10-04 |website=www.borger.dk |language=da}}</ref> While extra first names often are referred to as middle names in everyday language, laws do not reflect that and consider all of them first names. A person can have multiple first names,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Förnamn |url=https://www.isof.se/lar-dig-mer/kunskapsbanker/lar-dig-mer-om-personnamn-i-sverige/fornamn |access-date=2022-10-04 |website=www.isof.se |language=sv}}</ref> but usually, only one of them is used to address the person. A passport contains all names, but all except the surname are listed as first/given names. Names combined with a hyphen are counted as one name. A person named "Ulrika Britt-Inger Marie Fredriksson" has three first names and one last name, and this individual could choose to go by any of those three first names.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Personnamn |url=https://www.isof.se/lar-dig-mer/skolwebben/svenska-fran-olika-hall---laromedel-om-spraklig-variation/svenska-fran-olika-hall/namn/personnamn |access-date=2022-10-04 |website=www.isof.se |language=sv}}</ref>
In Denmark and Norway, the legal term middle name refers most often to names that were originally surnames, but not part of the last name of the name bearer. A middle name could be a person's mother's maiden name or the last name of another recent ancestor (for instance a grandparent).<ref>Navneloven (Danish law regarding names). https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2019/767</ref> In Sweden, however, although middle names were introduced in the Name Act of 1963, they were later called ''tilläggsnamn'' (added name), and then ''mellannamn'' (middle name) in the Name Act of 1983. The name act of 2017 removed the concept entirely. Existing last-name middle names may still be used, but can no longer be given.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ny personnamnlag från och med 1 juli 2017 |url=https://www.skatteverket.se/privat/folkbokforing/namn/nypersonnamnlagfrom1juli2017.4.5c281c7015abecc2e202edad.html |publisher=Skatteverket |language=sv |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418023933/https://www.skatteverket.se/privat/folkbokforing/namn/nypersonnamnlagfrom1juli2017.4.5c281c7015abecc2e202edad.html|archive-date=2021-04-18}}</ref>
===Vietnam=== {{Further|Vietnamese name}} The component that appears in the middle of a Vietnamese personal name is not properly called a ''tên giữa'' (middle name), but rather a ''tên đệm'' ({{Literal translation|padding word}}), and it is optional. The ''tên đệm'' differs from the Western middle name in both function and usage: it cannot be used independently and must be used together with the first given name when addressing a person. For this reason the ''tên đệm'' is generally regarded as an optional component of a given name, rather than a separate middle name. '''Thị''' is a traditional middle name which means that the person is female. The masculine equivalent is '''Văn'''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ruth |first=Elisabeth |date=2014-02-06 |title=The Quick Guide to Vietnamese names, titles and what to call someone - More Vietnamese |url=https://morevietnamese.com/vietnamese-names/ |access-date=2026-03-25 |language=en-GB}}</ref>
==See also== * Personal name * Given name * Roman naming conventions
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Wikiquote}} *[https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ejsp.2026 The impact of middle names: Middle name initials enhance evaluations of intellectual performance]
{{Personal names|state=expanded}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Middle Name}}
Category:Human names