Known by middle name rather than first name - South West trait?

[Nick29]

My father was always known by his middle name, because he hated his first name (Horace).  He was named after his uncle on his mother's side, who promptly emigrated to Australia when my father was 2.  Not really surprising to see that his mother was also calling him by his middle name on the 1901 census, when he was 3 

[Gillg]

Both my brother & I were called by our middle names and we're a Lancashire family!  My cousins also had to endure being called by their first names in official circumstances. The others were lucky - their first names were quite nice, but my first name is awful and has haunted me throughout my life.  I've now trained my doctor's surgery to use my middle name and am busy training my dentist - why are they all so familiar these days?  In hospital I had to train all the nurses, one of whom tried to explain it to another by saying, " Her name is H----, but she likes to be known as G-----", as though it was a name I had chosen myself.

My first name was that of my father's sister and my brother's was that of my mother's grandfather, so that probably explains it, but why, oh why couldn't my parents have put those names as middle names, I wonder?

Gillg

[Shropshire Lass]

My Dad is in hospital in a four bed bay - James and John opposite him are known as Jim and Jack, he is known by a name unrelated to his first or second name and, luckily for the staff, the John next to him is known as John!

[Philezra]

What have I started?!!!!

thank you all - I think it clarifies the fact that it is NOT confined to the South West

Phil