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CBattles6 t1_j52tjp3 wrote

I had an Indian friend in high school who did not have a middle name. The first time he was forced to include a middle initial on a standardized test, he chose "W." We later decided that it stood for "Wallace."

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derpy_viking t1_j55g2cr wrote

Is that an American thing? I have a middle name but I never use it and no one ever asked me for it.

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AspireAgain OP t1_j56icot wrote

It doesn't usually get used, with most people just using the middle initial when filling out forms.

Middle names are usually only commonly used when the individual is a criminal and the news needs to make sure that, for example, Lee Jeffrey Oswald isn't confused with Lee Harvey Oswald.

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derpy_viking t1_j56pgmh wrote

No, I mean virtually no one even uses a middle initial in Germany, although it’s really uncommon to not have at least two given names.

It’s not used on your headstone, over a scientific article, or on your business card. As far as I remember, I enrolled both, in school and in university, without requiring my second name. It’s only on my passport and on my bank statements – and with my bank I could have just skipped telling them my middle name.

Edit: I just wonder, I we are weird for not using it.

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AspireAgain OP t1_j570p8s wrote

From a US perspective most medical/legal/enrollment forms have a space for a middle initial. Most online consumer focused ones don't.

If you're dealing with school systems and program registrations and health care and etc , the Middle Initial field is ubiquitous, I suppose for the same reason Carver started using W - to avoid confusion. But it is very rarely a required field.

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