Riddle me this - why do people use their middle names as first names?

fnfalman · 12-06-2012, 10:12

I don't get it.

Kilrain · 12-06-2012, 10:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by fnfalman

I don't get it.

Perhaps they don't like their first name? Just a guess.........

byf43 · 12-06-2012, 10:20

All during my childhood, I was known by my middle name.

When my parents kidnapped me, and moved to Maryland, the school system demanded that I be called by my first name.

I refused to answer when called by my first name.

I got into a LOT of trouble over that. However, I won 'the war'.
(My History teacher called me 'that name', and when we went to the office, I asked him if he wanted to be called "Dilbert", instead of Mr. Harris?) His name wasn't Dilbert, btw!

Now, my legal signature is "first initial/middle name/last name".

There are only two people that has called me, by my first name, and I'll answer. . . . . and one of them passed away in May of this year. (That person was my Dad.)

cesaros · 12-06-2012, 10:25

for the same reason people use their first names, or a nick name...its what they prefer.

***Dragoon44*** · 12-06-2012, 10:27

It was a very common practice in the South. not quite as prevalent today as it was up until about the middle 20th century.

fwm · 12-06-2012, 10:33

Because my fathers first name and my first name were the same. People called me by my middle name to avoid confusion. I wasn't even really aware of what my first name was until the fourth grade or so. My female first cousin had the same first name as her mother and we all called her by her middle name.

Grew up that way. No problem. Sorry you have one with it. No bug deal.

NEVRL8T · 12-06-2012, 10:35

I use my middle name as my first name. My father was a turd and I have his first name, "William". That's all I am going to say.

MtBaldy · 12-06-2012, 10:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by byf43

All during my childhood, I was known by my middle name.

I refused to answer when called by my first name.

Now, my legal signature is "first initial/middle name/last name".

.)

Pretty much same here. Every new class I went to the teacher would call out my first name and I would be looking off into space going, "Nope. Not talking to me" When she repeated it louder and added my last name I would wake up and answer.

Years later as an adult I asked my mother, "Why?" She said they though it sounded better that way. When I asked her if they ever thought of all the trouble it was going to cause me she said, "No, not really" Very few of my friends even know my first name and I keep it that way.

smokeross · 12-06-2012, 10:56

My Mom's 1st name was Jewel. She never liked it so went by her middle name. I begged her to let people call her Jewel. Nope, wasn't happening.

hotrodcummins12v · 12-06-2012, 10:57

I was best friends with "Brandon" for probably 8 years before I found out his name is Charles, and that's when I learned that his gorgeous little sisters' name is Rebecca. I asked the same question. He said his parents always called them by their middle name.

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heliguy · 12-06-2012, 10:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by fnfalman

I don't get it.

17 yr old says there a a thousand Stephanie's in her school but not one Brette!

Tongo · 12-06-2012, 10:59

My father and I share the same first name, but different middle names. He got to keep the first name while I was growing up and I got my middle name (made phone calls and such a lot easier). Once I moved out, I started going by our shared first name. Make family gatherings fun now :D

skinny99 · 12-06-2012, 11:00

Because this is America and they can be called anything they choose! The real question is why do you care?

NMGlocker · 12-06-2012, 11:00

My 9 year old boy goes by his middle name.
His first name (James) is a family tradition but we (and he) prefer the less formal middle name of Ryan as his common use name.

Tango 1Zero · 12-06-2012, 11:02

My Dad didnt like my first name and called me by my middle name. I grew up using my middle name. In highschool all my records were using my first name.
If someone calls me on the phone and asks for me by my first name its a tellemarketer or someone from highschool.

My nephew was named after his Dad with the same first name. Total confusion with mail, phone calls etc. He goes by his middle name now.
His dad was John Sr. he was John Jr.

jtmac · 12-06-2012, 11:10

Because they like it better? But usually because their parents want to call them by a certain name but think the names flow together better with the order swapped so that's what they do.

Name conventions are odd. There are legal names, the name we grew up being called, our nicknames, the names we prefer to be called to, the names we respond to... sometimes they coincide. Sometimes they're the same. Sometimes one is silly enough to use another one despite protest by the named.

byf43 · 12-06-2012, 11:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtmac

Because they like it better? But usually because their parents want to call them by a certain name but think the names flow together better with the order swapped so that's what they do.

Name conventions are odd. There are legal names, the name we grew up being called, our nicknames, the names we prefer to be called to, the names we respond to... sometimes they coincide. Sometimes they're the same. Sometimes one is silly enough to use another one despite protest by the named.

Quite true.

Most of my life, my Dad called me, like this -

"Boy! Get over here!"
"Dammit! Get over here!"
"Bud! Come here."
"For cryin' out loud. Get over here, now!"
"Son. Can you come over and visit for a while?"

(I miss you, Dad.)

ede · 12-06-2012, 11:40

3rd one in my family with same name, using a form of my middle name made a lot of sense to everyone when addressing me to keep from confussing me with dad or his dad. never thought much about it before but now that i get the impression it pisses someone off makes me want to do it that much more.

Henry's Dad · 12-06-2012, 11:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by byf43

I refused to answer when called by my first name.

Psyco - Lighten up Francis - YouTube

M2 Carbine · 12-06-2012, 12:19

There are people I've known for many years that don't know my first name.
I'm called the first half of my last name, like "Jack" of "Jackson".

Interesting that I am the only one in the world with my name.

A search will find my father's grave marker. He had a different middle name and it appears that his name was also the only one in the world.

RichJ · 12-06-2012, 12:21

What guy want's to be called Sue?

TK-421 · 12-06-2012, 12:31

The way it was with a family I knew, they liked the name Corey, so they called their son Michael Corwin. So that they could still call him Corey, but if he didn't like that name, then he had Michael to fall back on. And since Michael was his first name, it would be easier to go by it with legal documents and such.

Dennis in MA · 12-06-2012, 12:35

Back in the day, the president of the trust co I worked for used one of the Initial-Name-Name deals.

H Gilman Nichols.

Honest to God, his nickname since a youngster was Gimme. He was near retirement when I started there. It was a funny name.

Dennis in MA · 12-06-2012, 12:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Henry's Dad

Psyco - Lighten up Francis - YouTube

Uh oh. You just made the list.

captainstormy · 12-06-2012, 12:43

My Uncle's first name was Paul, the same as his father's name and his middle name was Shane.

To avoid confusion people called my Grandfather Paul, and my uncle Shane.

He answered to Paul at school but most of his friends just called him Shane.

He's only 9 years older then me so he was always more of an older brother then an uncle to me. I grew up always calling him Shane.

When I went to college I got an internship at the same company he worked for. It was odd to me that everyone called him Paul. At first I didn't realize why everyone was asking me if I was Paul's nephew. I'd called him Shane for 22 years.