Moderately Confused by Jeff Stahler for July 15, 2021

My wife does not have a middle name. She is never in trouble.

Yep

In my case, I was a Jr. My dad was called by his first name, I was called by my middle name to differentiate. Family still calls me by my middle name. Everyone else uses my first. I’m used to it.

It never ends. When my Bride uses my middle name I know something is up.

Or a mass-murderer

In my mother’s case, it was so her mother had a name to call her. Mother’s father entered an old girlfriends name as my mom’s first name. She didn’t find out what her first until she joined the Navy during WWII. Was quite a surprise.

And if you are chatholic and also have a confirmation name you get in even more trouble!!!

I was called by my and first and middle name together like one name when I was a kid. The only way I could tell if I was in trouble was by the tone of Mom’s voice.

Michael Jonathan get in here!!!

Four people in my family had the same first name and middle initial. Don’t do that to your kids.

You’re more likely to do bad things if you’re middle name is Wayne.

I grew up with a sister named Candy. I was well into adulthood when I learned it was only a nickname. Mom said, she was so sweet! I asked, what was I, chopped liver?

Meryl Streep’s real first name is Mary. Her family has a tradition of naming the first girl “Mary” and then a nickname. Her mother’s first name was Mary and so is her daughter’s. But we all know her as Mamie Gummer. Meryl Streep’s daughter is almost 40. Get off my lawn.

That’s how I used to know when I was in trouble.

Once everyone had one name. And then those in charge decided they needed an added name to celebrate their family heritage so they gave themselves a second name. Then those names spread to less valued family members and soon (a few centuries) it seemed most people had 2 names so the rich people decided to make themselves special again by adding another name to celebrate an ancestor. Then everyone started to do that.

Now some royalty have 4 or more names and everyone has decided to let them be silly alone.

And to this day I cringe when I hear my middle name. Never did like that name.

Names get common. Distinguish Tom the baker from Tom the smith. Some just got adjectives; brown, swift. Then that gets common. Throw in another name. Spaniards put the mom’s maiden name last, in English it’s often been in the middle. All 3 of mine are found anywhere anyone’s ever spoken English, in every color, often in the same order.

My given name goes back, either as a given or middle name, for Dad and several generations of grandfathers on both sides of the family. Although nobody ever explained it as such, it seems that my middle name is a masculine name, from which my mother’s name was derived. So I was named after both of my parents. When coming up with my son’s name, it worked again, with his first name being a variation.

Dianeerlynnerjimergeorgeyouknwowhoi’mtalkingtogetoverherenow! Was my name growing up. Didn’t know what my real name was until kindergarten. But then, all of us had the same name…