What’s in Your Name?

Today’s English
March 3rd, 2017

A person’s name is mostly divided into three: First Name, Middle Name and Surname.

1. First Name: (also known as Christian name, given name, real name, fore name) It’s the actual given name by parents when someone is born.  People are mostly called by their first name only. For instance, in “William Shakespeare”, William is his first name and Shakespeare is his family name that is shared by all members of his family:  John Shakespeare- his father, Mary Shakespeare – his mother, Anne Hathaway Shakespeare -his wife, Joan Shakespeare – his sister, Susana Shakespeare – his daughter, etc.

2. Middle Name : If a person has two “given names", the second one becomes middle name, mostly in America.  People generally write their middle name only as initial after their first name. Some people write both their first name and middle name as initials.  William Shakespeare has no middle name. Pearl S. Buck = Pearl Sydenstricker Buck.   H.G.Wells = Herbert George Wells. T.S.Eliot = Thomas Stearns Eliot.

3. Surname : (also called family name, last name)  It’s the family name of a person shared by members of the family.  As already seen, Shakespeare is the surname of William.

In Tamil Nadu, all people are generally confused by the name system followed in foreign countries, especially when they enter their name in some applications.  Here the name of the father of a particular person is used as initial before their name.  They scarcely know about forename and surname.  Therefore, people use  father’s name in the place of surname/last name, since all members share only father’s name as initial.  If they write their father’s name as surname, they should avoid using initial in such entries.

Other related terms:
1. Pet name : affectionate name called by family members and not appearing in records.

2. Nick name: humorous name often to make fun of somebody’s behaviour or appearance.

3. Pen name: (also known as pseudonym) the name used by a writer in stead of his real name.

4. Maiden name : the last name of a woman before her marriage.

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" – William Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet.