The missing middle initial!

[clovis-man]

Going back, it appears to be optional, as opposed to a tradition. Goerge H.W. Bush was always referred to as George Bush during his presidency (1989-1993), but as "George H.W. Bush" after George W. Bush (the lesser) started his run in 2000. Since WWII, some presidents do (Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Nixon), some don't (Johnson, Carter, Reagan, Clinton and Obama).

Sometimes it can backfire. In 1968, when Richard Nixon was nominated for president at the Republican convention, the person (can't remember who it was) who gave the impassioned nomination speech, ended it by saying his name: "Richard E. Nixon!!"

Amid the long and boistrous demonstration on the convention floor to celebrate the nomination, David Brinkley, the TV network commentator simply said: "M!!"

 

[The Judge]

The only Robin I know is the daughter of a friend. I consider Robin to be either male or female

Still very rare for girls over here I'd have thought, though, and very much an American import. Historically, definitely male only, since it's a diminutive of Robert -- as in Robin Hood, as Connavar noted, and also the pet name Elizabeth I gave to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester (if I'm remembering that accurately).

The name that has been winding me up for a while is that of the (female) writer, Lionel Shriver -- but having checked I see it wasn't her parents who gave her such a stupid first name, but one she picked for herself as an adolescent. Which explains a lot. And yes, she had Ann as a middle name I see.

Re alternative spellings, a female boss of mine called Vivien could hardly be civil to another woman in the firm who spelled her name Vivian -- the male spelling. (Mind you, I don't recall her being civil to many people...)

 

[Montero]

Learn something every day - didn't even know there were two spellings of Vivian.

Wombling sideways after historical names - the ones introduced by the puritans in the mid 17th century were interesting.
Patience, Prudence, Tacey (silence) - and the first two have survived until today.
The male ones included "Sorry for Sin" - funnily enough that didn't make it. Also heard of "Isiah nine" - for unto us a son is born.

Then there is Florence - came from Florence Nightingale who was conceived in Florence (or was it born?) and wasn't a girl's name until she became famous.

And is it just me, or do other folks dislike the idea of calling kids after the place where they were conceived?

 

[Toby Frost]

Not forgetting Praisegod Barebones MP, of the notorious Barebones Parliament!

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

If it wasnt a male name she wouldnt change from her real first name.

Well, no, Connavar, she was trying to disguise her identity because she didn't want all of the baggage associated with the books written under her previous name. It's true that her real name is Margaret rather than Megan (and that is a story in itself), but I would imagine that she was looking for something completely different. And as I said before, if you're really determined to disguise your identity leaving some ambiguity about your gender is a good way to do it.

Anyone who reads as many historical novels as I did in my wasted youth knows that Robin has long been a nickname for Robert -- even if that isn't the case here. But nicknames sometimes take on a life of their own (witness the fact that my father was and my grandson is named Jack), and sometimes that life can be as a girl's name, too -- sometimes, but not always, with a slight adjustment in the spelling. I conjecture that when parents name their daughters Robin they are thinking of the bird.

Do people think their child might have a better life if they had a gender neutral name? I doubt it.

I think they probably do and I think they are right -- or were, until some of these names became preempted as girl's names. A gender neutral name on a resumé, in a field where male applicants are likely to be given the preference, would give her a far better chance of being called in for an interview, where she would have the opportunity to make a good impression in person.

But to get back to the question of initials (I feel I really must) I know they are sometimes used as nicknames when a boy has the same name as his father and the parents don't want confusion and they don't want to call their son "Junior."

 

[Connavar]

Well, no, Connavar, she was trying to disguise her identity because she didn't want all of the baggage associated with the books written under her previous name. It's true that her real name is Margaret rather than Megan (and that is a story in itself), but I would imagine that she was looking for something completely different. And as I said before, if you're really determined to disguise your identity leaving some ambiguity about your gender is a good way to do it.

That was very understandable and i didnt know about her baggage with books under her previous name.

I think its a bit shame though some feel the need to disguise idenitity today. There are many female authors with female first names in fantasy. It shouldnt be a negative to have a name that show clearly the gender of the author.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Going back, it appears to be optional, as opposed to a tradition. ... Since WWII, some presidents do (Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Nixon), some don't (Johnson, Carter, Reagan, Clinton and Obama).

Sorry, I didn't see your post before. I did say a bit of tradition, not that it was mandatory.

But Johnson was very often referred to by all of his initials, LBJ. As for Obama, the White House website has him as Barack H. Obama. President Barack Obama | The White House

So that leaves us with Carter, Reagan, and Clinton. It would be interesting to know how they signed their names on official documents.

 

[Montero]

I can see the practicalities of a different initial to distinguish child from parent (though the practice of using the same name down the generations seems utterly daft to me. The practice seems to be about "you are of this dynasty" rather than "you are an individual").

One question - "Junior" and "the third" etc - is that purely a USA custom - not run into it in the UK?

 

[Clansman]

Learn something every day - didn't even know there were two spellings of Vivian.

Wombling sideways after historical names - the ones introduced by the puritans in the mid 17th century were interesting.
Patience, Prudence, Tacey (silence) - and the first two have survived until today.
The male ones included "Sorry for Sin" - funnily enough that didn't make it. Also heard of "Isiah nine" - for unto us a son is born.

Then there is Florence - came from Florence Nightingale who was conceived in Florence (or was it born?) and wasn't a girl's name until she became famous.

And is it just me, or do other folks dislike the idea of calling kids after the place where they were conceived?

One of my favourite puritan (Quaker, actually) names ever was not revealed until the penultimate story of Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse series. He always went by "Morse" because he hated his first name. For several books (and 2-hour films) he was simply "E. Morse". It is a spoiler to reveal it, so click and drag below if you don't care:


Endeavour

 

[icowdave]

Interesting thread. It's Richard K. Morgan in the US and Richard Morgan in the UK though the author apparently likes the "K" to be there even though it was not his idea. I like the K because it's what I know, same as Arthur C. Clarke, J.R.R. Tolkien or C.J. Cherryh. It's all in what we get used to. Take those initials out and the names don't look right to me at all.

Same goes for full name authors. Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Kristine Kathryn Rusch or Kathleen Ann Goonan would look odd shortened. Kim Robinson instead of Kim Stanley Robinson? I wonder if he went full name to avoid gender bias?

 

[AE35Unit]

Kim Robinson instead of Kim Stanley Robinson? I wonder if he went full name Robinson instead of Kim Stanley Robinson? I wonder if he went full name to avoid gender bias?

Could be yea! Personally if that were me i'd use K S Robinson-I think double initials sound quite SFnal!
This all makes me wonder what names we would pick as writers,would we use initials (Larry H Shone) or invent one (Hal J Shiner)?