Is having a second first name very common in general?

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Gerald

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I was looking at the names of popstars and nearly all of them have two first names: Thomas Earl Petty, Michael Joseph Jackson, Madonna Louise Ciccone, Taylor Allison Swift, Beyoncé Giselle Knowles, James Paul McCartney, John Winston Lennon, Michael Philip Jagger, Britney Jean Spears, Sheryl Suzanne Crow, Kylie Ann Minogue, etc.
Even people with stage names like Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson, whose real names are Vincent Damon Furnier and Brian Hugh Warner.
It even goes for names which are not English, like Jennifer Lynn Lopez, Christina Maria Aguilera and Shakira whose second name is Isabel.

Actually it goes for a lot of filmstars as well, and also for writers, like Stephen Edwin King or Dean Ray Koontz.

This couldn't just be a celebrity thing, could it? Because when someone is born there is no chance the parents can know they will become famous. And most don't even use their second name professionally.

Do many people have second names in general? And is it a second name or rather a middle name? And what is the point of them as they generally don't get used.
 
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Gerald said:
I was looking at the names of popstars and nearly all of them have two first names: Thomas Earl Petty, Michael Joseph Jackson, Madonna Louise Ciccone, Taylor Allison Swift, Beyoncé Giselle Knowles, James Paul McCartney, John Winston Lennon, Michael Philip Jagger, Britney Jean Spears, Sheryl Suzanne Crow, Kylie Ann Minogue, etc.
Even people with stage names like Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson, whose real names are Vincent Damon Furnier and Brian Hugh Warner.
It even goes for names which are not English, like Jennifer Lynn Lopez, Christina Maria Aguilera and Shakira whose second name is Isabel.

Actually it goes for a lot of filmstars as well, and also for writers, like Stephen Edwin King or Dean Ray Koontz.

This couldn't just be a celebrity thing, could it? Because when someone is born there is no chance the parents can know they will become famous. And most don't even use their second name professionally.

Do many people have second names in general? And is it a second name or rather a middle name? And what is the point of them as they generally don't get used.
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Having middle names is quite common here. I know some people who didn't like their first given name but were okay with the middle one and use that instead.
 
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mjs9153

mjs9153

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Not really sure, but it's probably equal parts tradition and practicality. For instance can you imagine how many John Smith's there are out there? But if you live in a town with a John Robert Smith and a John David Smith they're quickly distinguishable. Likely if you Google it there is an easy answer as to why people have middle names.
 
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danie

danie

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Gerald said:
I was looking at the names of popstars and nearly all of them have two first names: Thomas Earl Petty, Michael Joseph Jackson, Madonna Louise Ciccone, Taylor Allison Swift, Beyoncé Giselle Knowles, James Paul McCartney, John Winston Lennon, Michael Philip Jagger, Britney Jean Spears, Sheryl Suzanne Crow, Kylie Ann Minogue, etc.
Even people with stage names like Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson, whose real names are Vincent Damon Furnier and Brian Hugh Warner.
It even goes for names which are not English, like Jennifer Lynn Lopez, Christina Maria Aguilera and Shakira whose second name is Isabel.

Actually it goes for a lot of filmstars as well, and also for writers, like Stephen Edwin King or Dean Ray Koontz.

This couldn't just be a celebrity thing, could it? Because when someone is born there is no chance the parents can know they will become famous. And most don't even use their second name professionally.

Do many people have second names in general? And is it a second name or rather a middle name? And what is the point of them as they generally don't get used.
Click to expand...
My paternal grandmother didn’t have a middle name, and as a child, I can remember thinking that odd. I think most people these days have a middle name. My ex has two middle names, and therefore my son does too. Seems to be common in the south.
 
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Gerald

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I looked up some local (Dutch) celebrities. It quite varies actually. Some have no middle name, some one middle name, and some multiple middle names.

But basically when you look over Europe you see it everywhere. One thing I also noticed is that some parents give one of their children a middle name, but not the other(s).
 
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Bev Vincent

Bev Vincent

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Gerald said:
I was looking at the names of popstars and nearly all of them have two first names: Thomas Earl Petty, Michael Joseph Jackson, Madonna Louise Ciccone, Taylor Allison Swift, Beyoncé Giselle Knowles, James Paul McCartney, John Winston Lennon, Michael Philip Jagger, Britney Jean Spears, Sheryl Suzanne Crow, Kylie Ann Minogue, etc.
Even people with stage names like Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson, whose real names are Vincent Damon Furnier and Brian Hugh Warner.
It even goes for names which are not English, like Jennifer Lynn Lopez, Christina Maria Aguilera and Shakira whose second name is Isabel.

Actually it goes for a lot of filmstars as well, and also for writers, like Stephen Edwin King or Dean Ray Koontz.

This couldn't just be a celebrity thing, could it? Because when someone is born there is no chance the parents can know they will become famous. And most don't even use their second name professionally.

Do many people have second names in general? And is it a second name or rather a middle name? And what is the point of them as they generally don't get used.
Click to expand...

I have TWO middle names. They are helpful in differentiating people in databases, for one thing. There are many Stephen Kings, but probably far fewer Stephen Edwin Kings.

Middle names are sometimes used to honor family members. Sometimes the middle name is the maiden name of the wife or, as in my case, a tribute to a couple of my uncles.
 
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osnafrank

osnafrank

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Out of Order said:
My middle name is Mud. Dad thought of it when the car was stuck.....
Click to expand...

521.gif


Could have been Worse.
Your Middle Name isn`t 4WD
 
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