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Is there a single word to denote both first name and middle name/s, but not the last name?

That is, when we speak about J.R.R. Tolkien, we may say that Tolkien is a surname, and John Ronald Reuel is [the requested word]

(John is a first name; Ronald and Reuel are middle names).

Edwin Ashworth
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user90726
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    This is going to vary a lot between cultures but I'd say "given names" for the first and middle and "family name/surname" for the last (at least where I live). – KillingTime Jun 20 '21 at 17:41
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    Ya' know...there are a lot of of us hi-rep users offering "real" answers, and only one up-vote for the Q. C'mon....if a question is worth answering, it is worth an upvote. – Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_ Jun 20 '21 at 20:15
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    @Cascabel IKR! You'd think it would be common courtesy to upvote a question you answer, or upvote any answer to your question (unless you're in a strange situation wre you feel like you must answer a poor question, or the answer is just not good enough for your question.). – Mitch Jun 20 '21 at 20:21
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    @Mitch Granted SE votes are as meaningless as "reputation" on EBay, but unlike EBay there is no compulsion to upvote every "transaction". The pop-up over the upvote arrow says "This question shows research effort, is useful and clear". I would score that as 0 for research, maybe 1/2 for useful, and 1 for clear. That's average, at best. Not worth an upvote IMO. – alephzero Jun 21 '21 at 12:47
  • I have to concur with alephzero, except I would rate this question as 0 for research, 0 for usefulness, and 1 for clear. Not worth an upvote. – Mark G B Jun 21 '21 at 13:30
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    I think that votes should be voted just fair: otherwise, it would gradually lead to vote inflation. In this particular case, I think the question should have lesser number of votes, maybe 2, 3, or 5; not 16. I'm just a random guy from Russia and I don't try to teach there anyone, but I think this discussion about votes is completely off-topic. – user90726 Jun 21 '21 at 13:36
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    The difference between first and middle names exists only in the mind of some people - you are free to change them around and go by your former middle name as your new first name. They are all the same class, and one of them is chosen by your parents to be the 'daily-use' one. – Aganju Jun 22 '21 at 01:38
  • Reuel wasn't one of Tolkein's forenames, it was a family name. See https://scifi.stackexchange.com/q/247600/116908 – PM 2Ring Jun 22 '21 at 12:12
  • @Aganju Absolutely...it is common practice in many cultures to take the 'middle' name as the 'friend ' name. – Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_ Jun 22 '21 at 20:07
  • @alephzero I only ask that those who have taken the time to provide an answer to also provide an up-vote to the question out of common courtesy. Others might find this question very helpful, even though it lacks research. It has 4K views in only 2 days. – Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_ Jun 22 '21 at 23:28
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    Forename. This word is used far less frequently in English than its three-syllable German counterpart "Vorname" (in which the "v" is pronounced exactly like an "f" in English—something that Charles, Prince of Wales seems not to fully grasp but that his father Prince Philip knew well), but it makes sense and I expect that its use in writing will be understood by literate persons who know English. But in speaking if you mention someone's "forenames", you might be thought to have said "four names." (BTW, the third syllable of "Vorname" is a schwa.) – Michael Hardy Jun 23 '21 at 16:26

5 Answers5

88

given names

the name that is chosen for you at birth and is not your family name:

  • Ex. Her family name is Smith and her given names are Mary Elizabeth.

Cambridge

Merriam Webster and Wikipedia tend to agree.

KRyan
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Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_
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    Some people add further 'middle names' at say confirmation. – Edwin Ashworth Jun 20 '21 at 18:18
  • @EdwinAshworth I hadn't thought about that...although I have stood as godfather to a few kids here it never occurred to me. – Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_ Jun 20 '21 at 18:30
  • @EdwinAshworth That would also be true of people who have changed their names by deed poll. I knew someone who had the same given name initial as his father and inserted another given/personal/chosen/Christian name by deed poll just to stop them opening each other's post. – BoldBen Jun 20 '21 at 18:50
  • @BoldBen One wonders how the question here is complicated by people having middle (or initial) letters rather than names. Harry S. Truman, Michael J. Fox, Ulysses S. Grant, Joanne K. Rowling .... (I'm not sure if they liked/like the periods or not). – Edwin Ashworth Jun 20 '21 at 18:57
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    @EdwinAshworth - there is a story, possibly apocryphal, about an American called RB Jones, where the R and B stood for nothing but themselves, and was called 'Arbee Jones' by the IRS. He wrote an angry letter of correction saying 'My name is R (only) B (only) Jones' and started getting letters to Ronly Bonly Jones. – Michael Harvey Jun 20 '21 at 20:53
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    @MichaelHarvey - Possibly apocryphal? (-: Heard it from my old army sergeant years ago. We did have in my unit a man with no middle name or initial. Of course this had to be reconciled with army forms and so for a brief time he became (say) George Nmi Jones. – Jim Mack Jun 21 '21 at 00:57
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    Given names does not quite work in Russian where, for example with Ivan Ivanovich Ivanov who has a given name of Ivan and a family name of Ivanov, plus a patronymic of Ivanovich (son of Ivan), the patronymic is automatic rather than given but is not the family name – Henry Jun 21 '21 at 08:55
  • @EdwinAshworth Rowling's personal name is Joanne Rowling. Her pen-name is J.K. Rowling (since apparently her publishers didn't want her pen-name to be obviously female, for marketing reasons, and preferred two initials). "Joanne K Rowling" is a malapropism. – alephzero Jun 21 '21 at 12:54
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    @Henry: Given names does not have to work in Russian. We are in an English Language forum. Perhaps you meant to say "Russian names"? However, in spite of the fact that I know many Russian emigres and 1st gen, I've never heard one of them use the old patronymic fashion for names. AMOF, when I was working in Russia, I don't recall hearing the patronymic used. I have to wonder if the Soviets wiped out that fashion. – Mark G B Jun 21 '21 at 13:28
  • @EdwinAshworth: I think the use of a single letter as a name is not an issue at all. I've worked with a man whose given first name is H. Just H, nothing more, and that is how we referred to him. – Mark G B Jun 21 '21 at 13:33
  • @BoldBen: I have to wonder that no one has yet answered the (until recently) most common way to label the given names, as Christian names. – Mark G B Jun 21 '21 at 13:36
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    @MarkGB The difficulty with Christian names is that it isn't universal and can't be used on forms and web pages for that reason. Imagine asking the former Cat Stevens for his 'Christian Name' when he's been Yusuf Islam for decades. Even forename(s) can be problematic, In some cultures (Chinese for example) the family name comes first. XI Jinping is Comrade Xi not Comrade Jinping. – BoldBen Jun 22 '21 at 06:34
  • @EdwinAshworth There is a similar story about the mathematician R._H._Bing who received a visa made out to "Ronly Honly Bing". – Ari Brodsky Jun 22 '21 at 09:09
  • @BoldBen: we are in total agreement that "Christian name", or even forename, is problematic on many levels, and in various naming conventions. But we are only addressing the topic as regards common usage in English. – Mark G B Jun 22 '21 at 14:07
  • @JimMack I have no doubts about that 'apocryphal' story. The military is often quite intransigent on such matters. I had a situation back during my induction into the USN in the 70s, and tried to explain my religious beliefs of the time to a rather snotty E2. He finally gave up trying to classify me and had "Other' listed on my dog-tags in the religion spot. A similar story came up once from across the pond when a drill sergeant was trying to separate new recruits for Sunday worship..."C of E on the left, Catholics on the right, and "fancy buggers" in the middle..." – Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_ Jun 22 '21 at 17:34
31

You might say forenames for first and middle names

forename - A person's first or ‘Christian’ name (OED)

Dan
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    I think this is the traditional answer.  (Though of course it might be a bit parochial, failing for cultures where the family name(s) come first.) – gidds Jun 21 '21 at 08:58
  • Yes @gidds, perhaps in those cases there is an equivalent 'aftername' ? – Dan Jun 21 '21 at 13:51
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    Someone on the phone asked me what my forenames were, and I said I didn't have that many... – Tim Jun 21 '21 at 15:01
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    @Dan In Dutch, people use "voornaam" ('before name') and "achternaam" ('after name') for given name and family name. – Abigail Jun 23 '21 at 10:23
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In my lifetime, the two most common words used to describe names other than the family name are given names and Christian names. The latter has been steadily falling out of favor. Indeed, a google ngram view of the two shows exactly that phenomenon: n-gram of christian name, given name. Although, it should be noted, in common usage both labels are applied to mean the first name, or commonly used name (should it be other than the first) only. There is no single word, in English, that will automatically be understood by the recipient of a communication (verbal or written) to mean "all the names a person has not including their family name".

(Edit: for an interesting comparison, add forename to that n-gram view.)

Mark G B
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    Where do you live? I am quite surprised that in your lifetime the term "Christian names" was common. I assume you must live in a very christian part of the world, right? As your NGram shows, "christian name" has been steadily disappearing for more than 100 years. I would certainly never use it and would find it very jarring (borderline offensive, as would be other, similar expressions such as "speak Christian" or "christendom" to mean "world"). – terdon Jun 22 '21 at 11:03
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    @terdon - I'm in the US, and you have to realize I am in my 7th decade. I agree that today many people would find "Christian name" jarring, at the least. Even so for the past 20-30 years, unless you are among the many amongst the evangelical and "born-again" persuasions. As for "very Christian" describing the US, I defer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_the_United_States – Mark G B Jun 22 '21 at 13:57
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    Yes, the US would certainly qualify as very Christian, no argument there, that would explain it. I am still surprised that the expression was common at some point in the last 70 years or so. I don't doubt you for a second, I am sure you're right, it's just not something I (in my 4th decade, all of which I've spent in various countries in Europe) have ever come across outside novels, so I thought I'd ask. Thanks! – terdon Jun 22 '21 at 14:02
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    @terdon I remember "Christian name" being quite common in the UK, and I am nowhere near 70. Indeed, switching that ngram to "British English" paints quite a different picture. – Especially Lime Jun 22 '21 at 19:37
  • @EspeciallyLime so it does. Interesting, thanks! – terdon Jun 22 '21 at 19:40
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    The British English ngram - https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=christian+name%2Cgiven+name%2Cforename%2Cforenames&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=29&smoothing=3&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cchristian%20name%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cgiven%20name%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cforename%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cforenames%3B%2Cc0#t1%3B%2Cchristian%20name%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cgiven%20name%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cforename%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cforenames%3B%2Cc0 – Dan Jun 22 '21 at 21:10
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    Wow! The ngram changes dramatically when it's made case-insensitive... https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=christian+name%2Cgiven+name%2Cforename%2Cforenames&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=29&smoothing=3&case_insensitive=true – Dan Jun 22 '21 at 21:12
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    When I worked in Saudi Arabia some 30 years ago, we always stayed alert for the unbearable solecism in which that one of the Westerners asked one of the locals: "What's your Christian name?" Everybody did it at least once. It never got old. – Prime Mover Jun 23 '21 at 15:10
  • @terdon Native Brit here, 6 decades in. The term "Christian name" was the most common word we had for a given name when I was a child. As far as I'm aware, it's still common, despite the perceived non-inclusive nature of it. – Prime Mover Jun 23 '21 at 15:13
  • @MarkGB ...just read your SE bio...that sounds like a fascinating job. But what the heck is "pest" wild geese? Is that like migrating geese looking for a new spawning ground intruding on human built-up areas? – Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_ Jun 23 '21 at 18:42
  • @Cascabel, kinda OT, but no way to PM, eh? Canada geese become pests from 2 sources. One: migrating geese who stop migrating, since food is plentiful. Two: former live decoy Canada geese, ancestors originally raised in captivity as (duh) live decoys. Released into the wild decades (and generations) ago, when live decoys became illegal, they don't know how to migrate. A single adult goose defecates on the order of 2-3 lbs of poop per day. Bad news for lawns, beaches, playing fields. We teach them they should find somewhere else. – Mark G B Jun 23 '21 at 22:13
  • @PrimeMover: How common was it for people to answer “What's your Christian name?” with “I don't have one; I'm a Muslim”? – Dan Jun 24 '21 at 00:00
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    @Dan When I was a child, I never knew it ever happened. I probably did it myself when I was a child, of my Asian classmates. The very concept of a different religion was alien to me in those days and I wouldn't even have known what a Muslim was. In the Saudi situation it didn't happen because they were the ones with the difficulty in accepting the existence of other religions apart from knowing they were out there, somewhere. – Prime Mover Jun 24 '21 at 04:51
12

Try personal names

: a name (as the praenomen or the forename) by which an individual is intimately known or designated and which may be displaced or supplemented by a surname, a cognomen, or a royal name

Merriam Webster

Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_
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GArthurBrown
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-8

Full name

The Full Names of Everyone in the Royal Family
King George VI, born Albert Frederick Arthur George (1895-1952)
Queen Elizabeth II, born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary (1926-)

Now some might opine that full name suggests also a person's family/last name (surname) and it's a possibility, especially since middle names are becoming less frequent. Therefore, the clearest and simplest phrase is to say: first and middle names.

Mari-Lou A
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  • ...interesting read, and very appropriate at this moment in the history of the Windor Royals. – Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_ Jun 20 '21 at 18:27
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    Some ... Lexico, Collins, Wiktionary and Macmillan, for instance. That is a non-conventional usage; the royal family of course are rarely referred to using surnames. – Edwin Ashworth Jun 20 '21 at 18:37
  • So 'full name' is not the same as your 'name in full'? – Dan Jun 20 '21 at 23:49
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    Just checking with OED which has 'full name' as "a person's whole name, including his or her first name and surname, and often any middle names". – Dan Jun 20 '21 at 23:51
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    I don't think this is correct - "full name" specifically includes all parts of the name, including the surname. – Marthaª Jun 21 '21 at 03:24
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    This is definitely not what was asked for. The term "full name" unambiguously includes a person's surname, but the question asked for a term which excludes a person's surname. – Tanner Swett Jun 21 '21 at 04:35
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    You can call it opining if you wish, but "Full Name" certainly includes the surname. – Gregory Currie Jun 21 '21 at 04:52
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    I was wrong. I was mistaken. – Mari-Lou A Jun 21 '21 at 06:02
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    Further to this, the Royal family is not a great choice for exemplifying name usage, because they don't use surnames in the common way non-Royals do. Nuns and monks would be another special-case group. – CCTO Jun 21 '21 at 21:57
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    Windsor is the "adopted" surname.In 1917 for historical and political reasons "the house of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha" was felt to be too German for British royalty. – Mari-Lou A Jun 21 '21 at 22:04