fayth93

When I applied for college and filled out the application I only included my first middle name "Fayth" however I have another which is my mother's maiden name "McNeil". Do I need to contact my university and have both middle names put on record or should I keep just the one. As far as social security card and birth certificate, both are included on there, as well as my drivers license. Also on my school's ID card, should I include both names? I don't want any mix ups later on in life.

ladeeda6

You're fine if they have you SSN.

fayth93

Okay thank you.

Davidabb84

I have this problem too, (I have one middle name that's my great-grandfather's name, and also "Anthony," after St. Anthony, which is sort of a tradition in my family). I've gone with just one middle name through everything, and there's been no problems with FAFSA or any other application process.

romanigypsyeyes

I too have two middle names (Elizabeth Mae). I never use the Mae and it's never been a problem. I tried using it one time on a standardized test and it came back as my last name and caused all sorts of problems. Haven't made that mistake sense.

Yup as long as your ssn is correct, it's nbd.

AUGirl

It shouldn't be a problem.

I have a friend who didn't even know he had a second middle name until it came time to get his driver's license. But it never caused him any problems.

If it does, you can probably just submit a form to get it changed.

I had a problem with my university with my name. They had me down for S Marie Lastname. The problem is... I've never actually gone by my middle name. I don't know why that was, so I contacted the Registrar and they fixed it. It was really strange though, in some of my classes I was on the roster as Stephanie and others as Marie. Was confusing.

romanigypsyeyes

AU, you're not the only one. My boyfriend has grown used to responding to his middle name in classes. I just wish they'd leave our middle names off. Make things so much more complicated.

Writer1992

Yeah, I think you'll be fine.

I've always had this weird obsession with middle names, like I always want to know what other people's middle names are. I think it's because I don't have one and most of my siblings do. lol #FirstWorldProblems . Actually, I don't think it even qualifies as a problem.. smh

romanigypsyeyes

Writer, you can always give yourself one . My sister changed hers.

ladeeda6

My aunt gave herself one when she was a teenager and still uses it even though she never legally changed her name.

SEA_tide

In my experience, the use of a middle name in company and school records is optional. At my university alone, I have had my official records include my middle name, middle initial, or just my first and last name. I prefer the latter as I don't use my middle name or middle initial professionally.

As my university is located in the South, a lot of people have names that are passed down through the family and go by their middle name(s), a shortened version of their first or middle name(s), or a nickname that has no relation to their legal names, Trey being the most popular for guys. It can be very confusing searching for them in directories and such.

AUGirl

^Another really southern thing is the use of both the first and middle name. "Anne Marie", "Mary Katherine", "Anne Elizabeth", etc. It can be with guys too. That can be really confusing because they go by two names but you never know what they'll be listed as or professors never catch on that they go by both names.

But I think as long as your name is a close match, it's usually not an issue. Though it CAN be confusing. For reasons that SEA_tide said. For example, my dad goes by Steve but his birth name is Stephen. When filling out FAFSA and other things, I don't always know what to put and sometimes it doesn't accept one, so I have to go back and change it and put the other.

As long as you're consistent though when filling out forms, that shouldn't be an issue.

Davidabb84

I know FOUR girls who have two-word first names, example (not actually one of them) "Mary Elizabeth" AND they all prefer to be referred to using both.