Oh the interesting question of the middle name. The question that one is asked whenever a new relationship shifts to the disclosure stage. The revealing response that a child was loved and given a spare and another was unimportant. Why was the middle name invented?
In some cultures a middle name was needed to differentiate people with common surnames. In others it was a way of honoring saints or ancestors. In aristocratic families it denoted lineage or status. Today it has become a common tradition in many cultures, the children bestowed with more than one middle name feel inner importance, their sense of self is well rooted.
What is your middle name? Does it carry any special meaning/significance?
For others the lack of a middle name or the denial of one can establish a life long feeling of discontent. A sense of belonging is paramount to a healthy development and if the base entry level..the very start of existence is considered not worthy of naming then an unworthiness is bestowed at birth.
It may seem insignificant and on the surface daily level of human interaction quite unimportant. However, when connections are made and one is asked…”what is your middle name”? Those that confidently reply with one of more feel a worthiness which contrasts unreasonably sharply with those unworthy of the honor.
As such, those children growing with the sense that their parents did not bother to give them more than one name are not differentiated, nor connected to their ancestors or bestowed with any status or love are hamstrung from day one. They are acutely aware of this lack of love and care from an early age, when their school mates proudly share their middle names and look down on those who only have one. The play ground hierarchy relegates those ‘one namers’ as unworthy. The pattern continues through life with the unworthy one namers constantly trying to justify why they only have one name.
Some ‘one namers’ attempt to give themselves a middle name in an act of self love and emotional growth. But it’s never quite the same as being given one on the most important day of your life by parents that care enough to choose one…
Thank you for reading.
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Living on the Edge 