[poll] Names!

[pne]

To clarify slightly (hopefully): the "more than two middle names" was meant to read "more than two given names (i.e., more than one middle name)". And the "human" option is for those who would prefer to answer neither "male" nor "female"; I take it for granted that most people who chose "male" or "female" also consider themselves "human".

[Poll #482803] [Poll #482804]

Comments

[sparkofcreation.livejournal.com]

1. I use "first name" and "last name" in conversation, but "given name" and "surname" when doing translators' notes.

2. I capitalize my last name when filling out government forms—the US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) requires it, and so it's become a habit. Especially since if I'm typing on a line, the "p" in my last name tends to look like an "o", and it's hard enough to spell already. (Trust me on that one. Four letters, but impossible to spell.)

3. When I got married, I hyphenated my last name; but mostly I go by just my husband's surname. It's easier (see #2) and prettier.

4. He considered hyphenating his as well. I talked him out of it. (See #2-3.)

Oh, and I now have two given names and a hyphenated last name. Don't know if that counts as 3 or 4 names altogether.

[sparkofcreation.livejournal.com]

BTW in Spanish the word for "name" just means "given name" so we get into a lot of problems with that—not to mention the problems with the double last name!!

[elgrande.livejournal.com]

Interesting. The opposite is true of German, where "Name" on its own, when contrasted with "Vorname", means "last name". Come to think of it, I guess the Spanish meaning has confused me before.

name = given name

[pne.livejournal.com]

Same in Russian, apparently; "imya" is what I'd've translated as "name", but it's apparently also the word used for a given name.

When I asked a co-worker what would appear on a form that asks you to write your name, she said they usually say "FIO" -- an acronym for "Familiya, Imya, Otchestvo" (Family name, given name, patronymic).