Why was a given only 1 christian name

[groom]

Nearly everyone in my family, going back to at least the early 1800s, has a middle name and they certainly weren't well off, most were ag labs or worked on the docks. I think a lot was just choice and perhaps family tradition.

[LizzieW]

I would think my grandparents were working class but they and all their siblings and children had 2 Christian names.  Likewise my husband's family, however, his father became middle class and only one of his sons has 2 names.  Only one of our children has 2 names and that is our 2nd child, first son.  We called him Neil but M.I.L complained that we hadn't called him after his father, grandfather and g.grandfather, so we gave him that 2nd name when he was baptised.  He never uses it.  All my children have given their children 2 names. 

I don't think it's a class thing at all, when I was young it seemed to be the norm.

Lizzie

[smudwhisk]

My cousin's middle name is his mother's maiden name.  His son's middle name is Marley ... after Bob.   Not surprisingly my cousin and his wife are fans.

[barryd]

In the US having two or more Christian names does make make high office easier to obtain.

George W.Bush
George H. Bush
Lyndon B. Johnson
John F. Kennedy
Harry S. Truman etc. etc..

And for our Confederate RootsChatters

Jefferson C. Davis

 

[groom]

In the US having two or more Christian names does make make high office easier to obtain.

George W.Bush
George H. Bush
Lyndon B. Johnson
John F. Kennedy
Harry S. Truman etc. etc..

And for our Confederate RootsChatters

Jefferson C. Davis

In the case of Harry S Truman, the S was only an initial and didn't stand for anything. That question often comes up in quizzes.

[Nanna52]

I always felt that the first name was yours and the Middle name a family name.  In my case though I was named for my initials.  My mother didn't know if she could have children so when she found out she was expecting at the age of 35 decided that her daughters initials would be GEM, her little gem.  Mind you if I had been male my initials would have been DAM.   

[groom]

That's one thing that a lot of parents don't think about. A family friend's surname started with D and she was going to call her son Simon Oliver until it was pointed out the problems he would encounter if he had to initial anything. He is now Oliver Simon.

[Jool]

Hi Groom, on a similar note.  When my ex boss and his wife were expecting their first child they decided they liked the name Jack, but when they put it with their surname they thought better of it.  The surname was Cass 

By the way, I have 2 christian names, my middle name is the same as my mother's, we're certainly not middle class!

[Kay99]

I was only given one name because my mother hated having to sign her long name with two middle names!   

When my grandfather registered her he added his own grandmother's surname in addition to the two names he and my grandmother had agreed.   I understand he wasn't too popular