1 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hi 2 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren fog Obam here with another classic episode 3 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:31,240 Speaker 1: for you today. Today's question is what's in a name? 4 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:36,680 Speaker 1: A middle name? To be precise, Hey, brain Stuff, Luren 5 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 1: fog Obam here. Few things perplexed expectant parents more than 6 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: picking just the right name for their child. And the 7 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:46,560 Speaker 1: middle name is no exception. It must have both gravitas 8 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 1: and joy to vieve and set the tone for a 9 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 1: lifetime of repetition on official forms. But what's in a 10 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:56,120 Speaker 1: middle name? Anyway? In ancient Rome, people often had five names. 11 00:00:56,240 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 1: The first three were like today's modern surname, middle name, 12 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:02,840 Speaker 1: and last name. The last two names usually revealed the 13 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:06,720 Speaker 1: person's place or clan of origin. The modern tradition of 14 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:09,480 Speaker 1: inserting a middle name or two into a child's moniker 15 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 1: most likely began in the Middle Ages, when parents gave 16 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 1: babies a personalized first name and a saints name for 17 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:19,520 Speaker 1: middle name, followed by a surname. By the mid eighteen hundreds, 18 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:22,720 Speaker 1: this European habit had entered the United States, brought along 19 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:26,480 Speaker 1: by immigrants, and began to take on new significance. Middle 20 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:29,800 Speaker 1: Names inspired by saints were sometimes replaced by non religious 21 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 1: middle names, such as a maternal maiden name. By the 22 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:36,040 Speaker 1: time the Civil War began in eighteen sixty one, middle 23 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:39,240 Speaker 1: names were given purely at the parents discretion. Any name 24 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,319 Speaker 1: of their liking was fair game, and were often aspirational 25 00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:45,959 Speaker 1: in nature, with two or three middle names given. After all, 26 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: a hypothetical name of Peter Aurelius Oliver Smith carries a 27 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:52,800 Speaker 1: little bit more weight than plain old Pete Smith, doesn't it. 28 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:55,280 Speaker 1: The idea of a middle name took hold in the 29 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:57,920 Speaker 1: United States, and by the start of World War Two 30 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 1: in nineteen fourteen, official in sprint forms became the first 31 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:05,440 Speaker 1: government documents to request applicants middle names. Middle names were 32 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:08,360 Speaker 1: so much the norm that when computers became routinely used 33 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:12,600 Speaker 1: for US citizenship documents, they were programmed to recognize three names, 34 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:16,440 Speaker 1: not two or four, only three. If a middle name 35 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:19,600 Speaker 1: wasn't entered, the program would automatically insert n m I, 36 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:28,880 Speaker 1: which was a military abbreviation for no middle initial. Today's 37 00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: episode was originally produced by Tristan McNeil and is based 38 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:33,920 Speaker 1: on the article why do we have middle Names? On 39 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: how Stuff Works dot Com written by Laurie L. D. 40 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production of I heart Radio in partnership 41 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 1: with how stuff Works dot Com and is produced by 42 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:44,639 Speaker 1: Tyler Clay. For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the 43 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 1: iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or ever you listen to 44 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:48,320 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.