New Post
Search
Help
ArchivesRe: Why make a name unnecessary long?
in reply to a message by Selwyn
I heartily agree! Middle names that are religious confirmation names or commemorate some admired or rich relative who may leave you money :) are okay, I guess. But, what I surmise to be the original purpose of middle names - to distinguish among many people of the same name in the same locale - is no longer needed.
Many of us are scattered far from the places our families once were concentrated. For ID purposes, we are now all numbers, whether we think about it or not (don't get me started on this one!). So middle names for identification pretty much have worn out their usefulness.
My own personal bias is that middle initials are silly and unnecessary, but even sillier is the use of a first name initial when one goes by a middle name (e.g., J. Cadwallader Smythe). Like, who cares about the J.?
(Someday, Selwyn, when I'm in a REALLY pissy mood, I'll publish my Unahyphen Manifesto against people who are not Hispanic and hyphenate multiple last names. Grrr...)
Many of us are scattered far from the places our families once were concentrated. For ID purposes, we are now all numbers, whether we think about it or not (don't get me started on this one!). So middle names for identification pretty much have worn out their usefulness.
My own personal bias is that middle initials are silly and unnecessary, but even sillier is the use of a first name initial when one goes by a middle name (e.g., J. Cadwallader Smythe). Like, who cares about the J.?
(Someday, Selwyn, when I'm in a REALLY pissy mood, I'll publish my Unahyphen Manifesto against people who are not Hispanic and hyphenate multiple last names. Grrr...)
1
Replies
I hope I will not stand too close the day that mood is ON *grins*
1
Well at times (txt)
Well at times something good can actually come from feeling sorry for oneself or so I have experienced. If nothing else one can get it off ones chest that way.
Well at times something good can actually come from feeling sorry for oneself or so I have experienced. If nothing else one can get it off ones chest that way.
1
Obviously, Daividh, you don't work on a day-to-day basis with a data-base of nearly 2 million different people who must be identified by name because (for reasons of privacy) this particular data-base does not contain people's Social Security numbers. :)
I'm talking about a county-wide Library System data-base, where at least a middle initial in addition to first and last name is essential for purposes of identification when registering new patrons for library cards. (I know you're probably thinking: "Well, can't you tell who's who from their address?" Not so! New patrons automatically become "new" when they move from one library district to another, even within the same county -- and it sure helps to be able to distinguish between Maria C. Velasquez from another library and Maria R. Velasques who's just come to sign up at your library.
So, you see, some of us appreciate those middle names. :)
-- Nanaea
I'm talking about a county-wide Library System data-base, where at least a middle initial in addition to first and last name is essential for purposes of identification when registering new patrons for library cards. (I know you're probably thinking: "Well, can't you tell who's who from their address?" Not so! New patrons automatically become "new" when they move from one library district to another, even within the same county -- and it sure helps to be able to distinguish between Maria C. Velasquez from another library and Maria R. Velasques who's just come to sign up at your library.
So, you see, some of us appreciate those middle names. :)
-- Nanaea
1
I see
Well I see that some use those middle names for something then.
This is the first time though I hear of some real use for
the middle names really.
No disrespect meant of course:)
Well I see that some use those middle names for something then.
This is the first time though I hear of some real use for
the middle names really.
No disrespect meant of course:)
1
"Well I see that some use those middle names for something then.
This is the first time though I hear of some real use for
the middle names really."
@@@@ Well, when one has a first name such as "Selwyn" or "Nanaea" or "Daividh", one really doesn't need additional identifiers such as middle names. Sometimes even a last name can be superfluous. ;)
I was given the Hebrew middle name of "Rachel" by my wacky mom merely to appease the more conservative traditionalists in the family. Do you have a middle name, BTW? Daividh's is "Cargill". Daividh's father was actually the inventor of the prototype amphibian automobile, and he gave Daividh the middle name of "Cargill" as a sort of inside joke. Not many people know that, but I like you and thought I'd share that with you. :)
"No disrespect meant of course:)"
@@@@ None taken! Heheh... I may be a hellcat to Daividh's pussycat, but don't worry about me going off on you. You're cool, Selwyn. :)
-- Nanaea
This is the first time though I hear of some real use for
the middle names really."
@@@@ Well, when one has a first name such as "Selwyn" or "Nanaea" or "Daividh", one really doesn't need additional identifiers such as middle names. Sometimes even a last name can be superfluous. ;)
I was given the Hebrew middle name of "Rachel" by my wacky mom merely to appease the more conservative traditionalists in the family. Do you have a middle name, BTW? Daividh's is "Cargill". Daividh's father was actually the inventor of the prototype amphibian automobile, and he gave Daividh the middle name of "Cargill" as a sort of inside joke. Not many people know that, but I like you and thought I'd share that with you. :)
"No disrespect meant of course:)"
@@@@ None taken! Heheh... I may be a hellcat to Daividh's pussycat, but don't worry about me going off on you. You're cool, Selwyn. :)
-- Nanaea
1
So you heard that story, eh? It wasn't such a joke in high school, where I was forced to drive an old Wehrmacht VW Schwimmwagen for everyday and could just barely coax the Amphicar out of Dad to drive to the prom. Strange -- they were all convertibles, but just didn't seem to be chick-magnets...
Dad had some successes with this concept in his early years (see above), but fell on his face with the amphibious Oldsmobile sedan he designed in the late 60's for Ted Kennedy. Not his best work. :(
Dad had some successes with this concept in his early years (see above), but fell on his face with the amphibious Oldsmobile sedan he designed in the late 60's for Ted Kennedy. Not his best work. :(
1
Interesting
Your father is one of those "grey" celebrities then.
I mean being one of those who made the life of the "real" celebrities possible.
I hope he did raise again after falling on his face. Did he?
Your father is one of those "grey" celebrities then.
I mean being one of those who made the life of the "real" celebrities possible.
I hope he did raise again after falling on his face. Did he?
1
"Dad had some successes with this concept in his early years (see above), but fell on his face with the amphibious Oldsmobile sedan he designed in the late 60's for Ted Kennedy. Not his best work. :( "
@@@@ Who says Daividh isn't tasteless? :) Man, when you decide to be tasteless, YOU ROOL!!! Hee-heeee-eeeeeeee!
-- Nanaea
@@@@ Who says Daividh isn't tasteless? :) Man, when you decide to be tasteless, YOU ROOL!!! Hee-heeee-eeeeeeee!
-- Nanaea
1
Not only tasteless, but unprincipled enough to expand on other people's baldfaced lies, Nan. And guess who ROOLs at those? :)
1
*smiles and feels privileged*
I do not have a middle name myself.
I do not have a middle name myself.
1
Hey Nan,
Well, I guess I'm surprised by two things here:
1) There's actually a public database left in Die Vereinigten Staaten (your papuhs, plees!) that doesn't rely on the good ol' SSN ("Not To Be Used For Identification", mine says, but it's JFK era and the world then still equated BIG, INTRUSIVE GOVERNMENT with nasty totalitarianism). Hats off to youse guys!
2) There are two million people in Suffolk County who take out enough time between flipping each other the bird on the L.I.E. to actually read or view something from the Liberry.
As much as I dislike the USE of middle names, I find both these things curiously reassuring. Also, I see your point about distinguishing between the various Maria Velasquezes, but surely better funding of the INS could eliminate much of that problem (joke, Nan)?
Around here there's a tendency to forego the middle initial thing in databases and use date of birth to tell people apart. But I guess in a much larger DB like yours, middle initials are useful. So okay, people, bestow the things if you must, but don't burden others with yours (or its initial) on a day-to-day basis.
- Da.
Well, I guess I'm surprised by two things here:
1) There's actually a public database left in Die Vereinigten Staaten (your papuhs, plees!) that doesn't rely on the good ol' SSN ("Not To Be Used For Identification", mine says, but it's JFK era and the world then still equated BIG, INTRUSIVE GOVERNMENT with nasty totalitarianism). Hats off to youse guys!
2) There are two million people in Suffolk County who take out enough time between flipping each other the bird on the L.I.E. to actually read or view something from the Liberry.
As much as I dislike the USE of middle names, I find both these things curiously reassuring. Also, I see your point about distinguishing between the various Maria Velasquezes, but surely better funding of the INS could eliminate much of that problem (joke, Nan)?
Around here there's a tendency to forego the middle initial thing in databases and use date of birth to tell people apart. But I guess in a much larger DB like yours, middle initials are useful. So okay, people, bestow the things if you must, but don't burden others with yours (or its initial) on a day-to-day basis.
- Da.
1
I don't give my dogs middle names, so why should people have 'em?
"Well, I guess I'm surprised by two things here:"
@@@@ When you get surprised, Daividh, do your eyebrows shoot up to your hairline and a comical little cartoon question-mark pops up over your head? :)
"1) There's actually a public database left in Die Vereinigten Staaten (your papuhs, plees!) that doesn't rely on the good ol' SSN ("Not To Be Used For Identification", mine says, but it's JFK era and the world then still equated BIG, INTRUSIVE GOVERNMENT with nasty totalitarianism). Hats off to youse guys!"
@@@@ Thank ye! But, you know, with people hearing more and more on the news these days about the new crime of "identity theft", people are becoming less cooperative about giving out their SSNs. And I don't blame them in the least. I passed up opening a charge account at a store in the mall not too long ago because the clerk insisted that I give her my SSN. I'd never been asked for my SSN when opening charge accounts at other stores, and I wasn't about to start giving it out to shopclerks at this particular store now.
"2) There are two million people in Suffolk County who take out enough time between flipping each other the bird on the L.I.E. to actually read or view something from the Liberry."
@@@@ Well right now at the height of IRS tax form preparer's season, it seems like all two million of them of coming into the library just to use the photocopiers (as well as pick up tax forms).
"As much as I dislike the USE of middle names, I find both these things curiously reassuring. Also, I see your point about distinguishing between the various Maria Velasquezes, but surely better funding of the INS could eliminate much of that problem (joke, Nan)?"
@@@@ Well, I'm no friend of the INS. Personally, I think we need better funding for education in this country -- for a lot our own citizens as well as for newcomers. :)
"Well, I guess I'm surprised by two things here:"
@@@@ When you get surprised, Daividh, do your eyebrows shoot up to your hairline and a comical little cartoon question-mark pops up over your head? :)
"1) There's actually a public database left in Die Vereinigten Staaten (your papuhs, plees!) that doesn't rely on the good ol' SSN ("Not To Be Used For Identification", mine says, but it's JFK era and the world then still equated BIG, INTRUSIVE GOVERNMENT with nasty totalitarianism). Hats off to youse guys!"
@@@@ Thank ye! But, you know, with people hearing more and more on the news these days about the new crime of "identity theft", people are becoming less cooperative about giving out their SSNs. And I don't blame them in the least. I passed up opening a charge account at a store in the mall not too long ago because the clerk insisted that I give her my SSN. I'd never been asked for my SSN when opening charge accounts at other stores, and I wasn't about to start giving it out to shopclerks at this particular store now.
"2) There are two million people in Suffolk County who take out enough time between flipping each other the bird on the L.I.E. to actually read or view something from the Liberry."
@@@@ Well right now at the height of IRS tax form preparer's season, it seems like all two million of them of coming into the library just to use the photocopiers (as well as pick up tax forms).
"As much as I dislike the USE of middle names, I find both these things curiously reassuring. Also, I see your point about distinguishing between the various Maria Velasquezes, but surely better funding of the INS could eliminate much of that problem (joke, Nan)?"
@@@@ Well, I'm no friend of the INS. Personally, I think we need better funding for education in this country -- for a lot our own citizens as well as for newcomers. :)
1
Hey Nan,
What's a "hairline"? Seems I remember something like that dimly, but not sure. :)
Shouldn't we hold a little contest or something to select an honorary middle name for Selwyn? He oughta share the misery with the rest of us. I'd be willing to kick in a token prize in the form of a plastic miniature Kintuckie license plate that reads "BUBBA". Saw some at Wal-Mart (visit #5).
Strange they had BUBBA, BRIANNA, and JOSE, but no NANAEA/NAN, LIBERTY, or DAIVIDH/DAVE. What moron picks these things, anyway?
- Da.
What's a "hairline"? Seems I remember something like that dimly, but not sure. :)
Shouldn't we hold a little contest or something to select an honorary middle name for Selwyn? He oughta share the misery with the rest of us. I'd be willing to kick in a token prize in the form of a plastic miniature Kintuckie license plate that reads "BUBBA". Saw some at Wal-Mart (visit #5).
Strange they had BUBBA, BRIANNA, and JOSE, but no NANAEA/NAN, LIBERTY, or DAIVIDH/DAVE. What moron picks these things, anyway?
- Da.
1
I definitely think that holding a contest to select an honorary middle name for Selwyn is an excellent idea. But that prize you proposed sounds more like the bubba-prize than First Prize. :)
Is Selwyn a "he"? Strange... I'd gotten vibes that Selwyn might be a "she". Selwyn is going to have to straighten out at least one of us on that matter, so we don't give him/her a middle name that might cause his/her parents some concern. :)
-- Nanaea
Is Selwyn a "he"? Strange... I'd gotten vibes that Selwyn might be a "she". Selwyn is going to have to straighten out at least one of us on that matter, so we don't give him/her a middle name that might cause his/her parents some concern. :)
-- Nanaea
1
Not that it's any of my business, because I'm definately just butting in, but as for my two cents, I had always thought selwyn a she myself. I read the postings everyday, simply because of the extensive knowledge i find in the postings of Nanaea, Davidh, and the other guy who's name has completely slipped my mind. Starts with P, ends with Lovs or something along those lines. Every now and again I slip in my own little opion, as well:)
1
Have to re-think this...
Okay, seeing as how Selwyn is posting from Denmark, I'm going to reverse my original conviction that Selwyn is a "she", and now say that Selwyn is a "he". For the simple reason that I think Selwyn is more likely to be a masculine name in Europe than it is in America.
So, which is it, Selwyn? :)
-- Nanaea
Okay, seeing as how Selwyn is posting from Denmark, I'm going to reverse my original conviction that Selwyn is a "she", and now say that Selwyn is a "he". For the simple reason that I think Selwyn is more likely to be a masculine name in Europe than it is in America.
So, which is it, Selwyn? :)
-- Nanaea
1