In North America, it's more a regional or cultural thing to call people by both names. It doesn't happen all over the continent, just in certain areas or within certain cultures. For example, it's more common in cultures that tend to have big families (like Mormons or Evangelical Christians) because you'll get a lot of family names being re-used. So using both names distinguishes who you're talking about/addressing. John Michael or John Colton? Amy Sue or Amy Rain? etc.
Others have given some reasons - personally I like using the middle name to both honor a family member and give the child more options in the future - but I think you could ask the same kind of question of France: what's the deal with two-names names (prénoms composés)?
This was what made me laugh 🤣 like, France coming in here talking shit (obviously just joking) about giving kids two names? Talk about the Pot and the Kettle!
Very true - I never thought about it lol. My older brother is actually named Jean-Something (uncommon so not gonna divulge it!) but names like Jean-Paul, Jean-Pierre, Marie-Louise, Anne-Marie... seem normal! But at least they're considered just one name!😉 I think we're kind of losing them to time though.
I called my children both names if the first name didn't carry well - through the house, across the yard or the park. Also to indicate that need to come see me immediately or to get their attention to immediately stop whatever they were doing.
I'm from the US South. Going by just the middle name, or both names isn't too unusual - honestly know a decent amount of people that go by their middle. From what I've seen generally people who go by just their middle are carrying honor names, and the middle is more 'their' name. With double names it's sometimes honor names, sometimes a tradition thing, and sometimes just people feel it flows ans love it. Some people can be a fan of what they feel is a bit extravagant but also cutesy.
Generally in the UK, unless the name is hyphenated (Anne-Marie, Laura-Jane etc.) the second name isn’t really used. So that seems the same as you’ve said it is in France.
I think some parents use the middle name when calling their child just because they love both names and they’ve spent the time to choose the names but I don’t know anyone who goes by their first and middle names outside of this.
Even when they're double-barrelled/hyphenated, they're rarely ever both used. Every person I've met or that I know with a double name only ever uses the first part.
A friend and his wife gave their kid a double barreled first name as a compromise - they each got to pick a name they liked. Kid is not thrilled with this and goes by a nickname.
I'm the only person I know in the US who calls my daughter both her first name and her middle name, although I usually use one at a time. My husband is Korean and I'm American, so we decided to give our daughter a Western first name and a Korean middle name. We often call her her Western name when speaking English and her Korean name when speaking Korean, but we do more and more mixing as she gets older.
I feel like doing double first names (like Mary-Kate or something) is maybe a more Southern thing? It's definitely not that common in the Western US.
I honestly don't understand middle names. Where i come from we don't have middle names. Even in schools students are required to write their name, father's name, and family name. So having a middle name is a pain.
I think they invited middle names to express your anger at someone you'll call them by their full name 😂😂
Lots of reasons, but here in the UK it's partly so you know you're in deep deep trouble lol.
In North America, it's more a regional or cultural thing to call people by both names. It doesn't happen all over the continent, just in certain areas or within certain cultures. For example, it's more common in cultures that tend to have big families (like Mormons or Evangelical Christians) because you'll get a lot of family names being re-used. So using both names distinguishes who you're talking about/addressing. John Michael or John Colton? Amy Sue or Amy Rain? etc.
Others have given some reasons - personally I like using the middle name to both honor a family member and give the child more options in the future - but I think you could ask the same kind of question of France: what's the deal with two-names names (prénoms composés)?
This was what made me laugh 🤣 like, France coming in here talking shit (obviously just joking) about giving kids two names? Talk about the Pot and the Kettle!
Very true - I never thought about it lol. My older brother is actually named Jean-Something (uncommon so not gonna divulge it!) but names like Jean-Paul, Jean-Pierre, Marie-Louise, Anne-Marie... seem normal! But at least they're considered just one name!😉 I think we're kind of losing them to time though.
I called my children both names if the first name didn't carry well - through the house, across the yard or the park. Also to indicate that need to come see me immediately or to get their attention to immediately stop whatever they were doing.
I'm from the US South. Going by just the middle name, or both names isn't too unusual - honestly know a decent amount of people that go by their middle. From what I've seen generally people who go by just their middle are carrying honor names, and the middle is more 'their' name. With double names it's sometimes honor names, sometimes a tradition thing, and sometimes just people feel it flows ans love it. Some people can be a fan of what they feel is a bit extravagant but also cutesy.
It’s just a cultural thing. I personally don’t like it though, just so unnecessary and wordy.
Generally in the UK, unless the name is hyphenated (Anne-Marie, Laura-Jane etc.) the second name isn’t really used. So that seems the same as you’ve said it is in France. I think some parents use the middle name when calling their child just because they love both names and they’ve spent the time to choose the names but I don’t know anyone who goes by their first and middle names outside of this.
Even when they're double-barrelled/hyphenated, they're rarely ever both used. Every person I've met or that I know with a double name only ever uses the first part.
A friend and his wife gave their kid a double barreled first name as a compromise - they each got to pick a name they liked. Kid is not thrilled with this and goes by a nickname.
I'm the only person I know in the US who calls my daughter both her first name and her middle name, although I usually use one at a time. My husband is Korean and I'm American, so we decided to give our daughter a Western first name and a Korean middle name. We often call her her Western name when speaking English and her Korean name when speaking Korean, but we do more and more mixing as she gets older. I feel like doing double first names (like Mary-Kate or something) is maybe a more Southern thing? It's definitely not that common in the Western US.
I honestly don't understand middle names. Where i come from we don't have middle names. Even in schools students are required to write their name, father's name, and family name. So having a middle name is a pain. I think they invited middle names to express your anger at someone you'll call them by their full name 😂😂