middle name

American  

noun

middle names plural

1. the part of a person's name occurring between the first and family names, as a second given name or a maternal surname.

---

middle name British  

noun

1. a name between a person's first name and surname

2. a characteristic quality for which a person is known

   caution is my middle name

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• middle names
  plural

Etymology

Origin of middle name

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35

Example Sentences

Fernanda asked to be identified by only her middle name because of her immigration status.

From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026

Mama added that my middle name would be May, to honor his mother.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026

Ryu’s father, Andrew Lopez, said they chose “Jesse” for Ryu’s middle name because it means “gift from God.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2025

The BBC discovered that the takeover was funded by a bank transfer from a company owned by a UK-based Romanian lorry driver named Ionut Calin, who went by his middle name Robert.

From BBC • Nov. 17, 2025

And do you know what Mr. Gorringe’s middle name is, Diary?

From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman