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Middle Name, Not First Name
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i could def see how that would be a prob. systems need exact names often to process as it is usually a pass/fail on a name as shortened names, names out of order or nicknames come out as a fail. i had a friend who i was taking to honduras once and his name was andy wright. when i bought the airline tix i thought "i better use his given name" so i put down Andrew Wright. when we got to the airport (this was about 7yrs ago) they would not give him a boarding pass because his name actually was Andy Wright, not Andrew Wright and Andy was on his DL. Andrew came up as a fail on the system
Gus wrote: "Does anyone else besides me primarily use their middle name as their preferred name?Me.
Has doing so ever given you mild grief or inconvenienced you in any way?"
Yes.
Most of the trouble has been since 9/11. That's when I had to change all of my frequent flier cards to my legal first name. Also, there are some legal documents that list my full middle name, then my first initial. They think the legal first name is actually my middle name.
The worst, though, was back in grades 1-12. The teachers would call roll on the first day (or week) of school, and I would always forget to answer.
Pain in the butt, sometimes.
fun part about this though is when you find out that they guy you have known for 20 yrs as Rusty is really Claude
i have a first and middle name, but don't go by either. no legal problems though.
My husband goes by his middle name, Perry, so we rhyme.
My husband goes by his middle name. I don't think he's had a lot of problems but it does make him sound like he's a liar. Because when people ask for his name on the phone he has to pause to think which one to give them.
I know surprising number of people who simply don't use their official forename and use some other name. I know, for example, a Michael who is known by everybody as Eamon (a name that is not on the register); and my uncle Granville was called by everybody outside the family as George.
My middle name is John. No one calls me that. Why did you people decide to go by your middle names?The HR system requires that I be identified by my legal first name; problem is, everyone here knows me as "Gus", so every time there's an administrative change that needs to be made, no one knows who "Gus" is.
What do you mean by "requires that I be identified by"? Like, they have to call you that in the hallway? Will they get in trouble if they don't? Will someone leap from behind the trash can and say "Aha! I caught you calling him Gustavo! 20 push ups for you!"
RandomAnthony wrote: "My middle name is John. No one calls me that. Why did you people decide to go by your middle names?"Because their first names are awful? I used to wish I had a middle name so I could go by it.
RandomAnthony wrote: "Why did you people decide to go by your middle names?"The choice was made for me.
My parents named me for both of my grandfathers. Which came first was decided by tradition. It's my father's first name, and his father's, and his father's.
My mom always wanted me called after her own dad, so that's what they used day-to-day.
A prime example of why it would be important to share you prefer to go by your middle name:When my dad was hospitalized for an aneurysm, he was in the recovery room after brain surgery. I went to visit him and was disheartened to know that he'd been unresponsive for considerably longer than he should've been. The doctors, the nurses... everyone tried to get him to respond, "John! JOHN! If you can hear me, wiggle the fingers on your left hand. John! JOHN!" I didn't actually hear that part. I kept calling to get an update on his condition and there was no change... no change... and they were starting to suspect the worst. My stepmother did hear them, though. She had a court trial to cover that day and was unable to be at the hospital for the surgery. But when she got off from work after filing her story, she went straight to the hospital. Mind you, this was before everyone had cell phones. And she told them he didn't go by "John"... he went by his middle name, Steve. His name is John Stephen. He opened his eyes immediately when they starting talking to Steve.
Gretchen wrote: "RandomAnthony wrote: "My middle name is John. No one calls me that. Why did you people decide to go by your middle names?"Because their first names are awful? I used to wish I had a middle name..."
I thought you liked the name Gretchen but thought most people with it were bitchy. I like the name Gretchen. But it's not mine. So I'd have to live with it for a while before I could say for sure, and that might be a little weird.:)
I go by my middle name because that's what my parents decided. No one ever calls me by my first name, ever.
RA, the reason why my company's HR system does this is because they use your SS # to enter your personal data into the system. Even though I've asked them to use my preferred name instead. Asswipes.
RA, the reason why my company's HR system does this is because they use your SS # to enter your personal data into the system. Even though I've asked them to use my preferred name instead. Asswipes.
Do you know why you have no middle name, Gretchen? My mom doesn't have one either. With her it seems that my grandma just shrugged her shoulders when the dude was filling out the birth certificate and that was that.I have the same middle name as my grandpa - Ashley - which was a more masculine name in his day. I'm fine with it now, but as a kid I was mortified that the other kids would get wind of my "girlie" middle name. Thus never used it, and even went out of my way to keep it a secret.
Gretchen wrote: "I don't have a middle name. :("
Yes you do. It's "trouble."
Yes you do. It's "trouble."
I used to have an uncle we always called Uncle Bud. When my ex-wife met him for the first time, she heard his wife call him Rex. Later she asked me, because she was confused (it didn't take much), "What the f____ is his name?"I told her his name was Newton. Newton? Yup. First name Newton, middle name Rector. Hence "Rex."
RA, I like my name now but I hated it when I was younger. And yes, Gretchens are bitchy. Or maybe we decided snotty was a better description since we aren't exactly mean.Tadpole, I don't have a middle name because my parents couldn't afford one. They charge you by the letter and Gretchen is pretty long already.
Charge you by the letter? I thought names for babies were free... ? Boy now I'm confused.My brother's name is Richard Benjamin, named after my Dad Richard, but we all called him Ben. In middle school he decided that Rich was much cooler and told all the teachers to call him that. He was very proud of himself, until after a couple weeks he kept getting into trouble for not answering to Rich. He's been Ben ever since.
Also, my Mom's name is Flora Evonne, but she always went by Evonne. We have decided that Flora is her secret identity that comes out only when she's feeling quite creative, perky &/or dastardly, because Evonne is much too proper & nice to act that way. :)
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Me too. Sally is just so unhip. People always give me the same line: "so... your name is really Sara? {face scrunch} so... why do you go by Sally then?" insinuating that it is just so weird, terminally weird, and tgat I must have had a really good reason.
Heidi wrote: "When my dad was hospitalized for an aneurysm - - -..."I was in hospital recently and for a variety of reasons I got shunted between three different hospitals. One hospital put a label at the top of my bed with my official name (Anthony Buckley) that appeared in their records, but also with the name I like to be called (Tony). The doctors and nurses in each of the hospitals I attended were equally good and equally friendly. But I felt at home in that particular one much more quickly.
Incidentally, Gretchen and Sally are great names.
So if you prefer Tony why to you put yourself forward as Anthony???? Both my first & second name suck!
Gail wrote: "So if you prefer Tony why to you put yourself forward as Anthony???? Both my first & second name suck!"I've no idea. "Gail" is an ok name. I wonder why so many of us dislike our own names. I really don't like mine much either.
I love my name. :) Heidi Noel. It's waaaay better than what my mother had chosen for me originally - Holly Noel (guess which month is my birthday month).
Gretchen wrote: "Tadpole, I don't have a middle name because my parents couldn't afford one. They charge you by the letter and Gretchen is pretty long already. ..."Cosmic Sher wrote: Charge you by the letter? I thought names for babies were free... ? Boy now I'm confused.
Yeah, ok. The South Carolina State Patrol officer didn't think it was funny either.
There's a pizza place across the street from me. One time they lost my to-go order, told me that I had never even called, etc: this was false and I cussed at 'em and walked out. It wasn't loud but it wasn't pretty either. I let a good 8 months go by without going there, so they'd forget me. But just to be safe, now when I call in a to-go order, to make sure they don't mess with my food I give them my middle name, since it was "Ben" you know, who called in and caused that problem that one time.
heh. You can't be too safe when it comes to food, Ben.
I've pulled that kind of stunt before, especially with pizza joints that offer specials. The pizza joints where I live usually process your order via your phone number; if I call and they say "Gus", I'll answer no, that person used to have this number, I'm a new customer, and, voila, free pizza. My wife does this too.
I thought you were serious also about charging per letter, Gretchen.:)
I don't know why I keep on trying that joke when no one ever thinks it's funny except me. I guess it's to amuse myself!
My Grandfather's name was Charles but my grandmother always liked the name Jeffrey. So when she had my uncle she named him Charles Jeffrey and called him Jeff. All throughout my childhood he was always uncle Jeff. I was probably about 16 or so when one day I asked my mom why she always called him Chuck. I didn't know that his name wasn't Jeffrey. Ever since then I started to call him Chuck.
Gretchen wrote: "I don't know why I keep on trying that joke when no one ever thinks it's funny except me. I guess it's to amuse myself!"I thought it was kind of funny. :)
Gus - I like the name Gus; it would be a good bartender name! I also have always liked the name Gretchen. Not to be corny, but my favorite doll as a little girl was named Gretchen by my sister... awww! :)
Thanks, Joy. Better than saying you had a dog named Gretchen.
A friend of mine would call me "Gretchen" and "Inga" for fun. I love both of those names (in addition to mine). Gretchen's really a VERY awesome name. I've never met a Gretchen I didn't adore. Nor an Inga, for that matter...
Heidi wrote: "I've never met a Gretchen I didn't adore."
I didn't either. At least not until I joined TC.
I didn't either. At least not until I joined TC.
So, you're saying you DON'T adore our Gretchen? Don't put me on the defensive, Clark!!
She knows I'm just goofing on her.
I use my initials, L.J., because so many of the work environments I've been in had other Lindas. One had five! But my legal name is Linda, so in some situations, I have to identify myself that way. So I hesitate sometimes too, wondering: Do they know me as Linda or L.J.? Someday, I'll change it legally and minimize the confusion. But my family will always call me Linda.
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I like both names, Sally. She's good either way.
Does anyone else besides me primarily use their middle name as their preferred name? Has doing so ever given you mild grief or inconvenienced you in any way?
This is happening to me at my current job. The HR system requires that I be identified by my legal first name; problem is, everyone here knows me as "Gus", so every time there's an administrative change that needs to be made, no one knows who "Gus" is. This was especially galling when no one in payroll could figure out who I was, so I didn't get paid last week. Oh joy.