tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100513347252567500.post6601242464887272873..comments2023-10-17T13:33:51.141+02:00Comments on Something to Say: About Life in The Netherlands: The Middle RoadJenn in Hollandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02356887577439040747noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100513347252567500.post-46686876965293429552007-09-11T02:48:00.000+02:002007-09-11T02:48:00.000+02:00I had a middle name, but kicked it to the curb whe...I had a middle name, but kicked it to the curb when I was married to hang on to my maiden name. <BR/><BR/>Now Julia, and the nameless little person in my belly, have (and will have) a middles name: my maiden name. Dave only thought that was okay, but I thought it was brilliant.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100513347252567500.post-71353186764956791542007-09-10T21:39:00.000+02:002007-09-10T21:39:00.000+02:00The French love maiden names too. Mine is difficu...The French love maiden names too. Mine is difficult to pronounce even in English so I spend a lot of time spelling it out. They still manage to get it wrong even then..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100513347252567500.post-48011230969107547032007-09-10T21:00:00.000+02:002007-09-10T21:00:00.000+02:00I love the commiseration here and all your wonderf...I love the commiseration here and all your wonderful comments!<BR/>Most of all I appreciate you all returning to read me even though I have been a very bad blogging friend indeed.<BR/>I am okay! Just adjusting to what life means when you add full time work to it! Thanks to all for your support and enthusiasm and mostly for your patience as I sort myself out.<BR/>Mwah! To you all!!Jenn in Hollandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356887577439040747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100513347252567500.post-47544907267835664582007-09-10T20:59:00.000+02:002007-09-10T20:59:00.000+02:00That hyphen crap did me in. I never hyphenated. I ...That hyphen crap did me in. I never hyphenated. I just dropped the middle name -- so close, BTW, to your lusted-after middle name -- of Jean, and made my maiden name my middle name, and took the husband's name as the last name. We were in the process of divorcing. I won a huge award at the company I was newly working for. A woman who hated me for psychotic reasons had the elegant Tiffany crystal "trophy" engraved with the freakin' name hyphenated...fully aware that I was dropping the name and had never hyphenated. Ooooooh, I hate that bitch. I should not have read your blog today. Sorry. I'll leave now.Patois42https://www.blogger.com/profile/07764936858778730692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100513347252567500.post-78923472735041142622007-09-10T19:07:00.000+02:002007-09-10T19:07:00.000+02:00It's best to change your name and your address oft...It's best to change your name and your address often. A moving target is hard to hit!cathouse terihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02547258612468286876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100513347252567500.post-15272327370940750492007-09-10T17:35:00.000+02:002007-09-10T17:35:00.000+02:00I've had the same problem, and it has reared its u...I've had the same problem, and it has reared its ugly head here again when I registered in Germany. <BR/><BR/>I never changed my name legally when I got married, so my American passport lists me that way. My Dutch passport gives my maiden name, but says "spouse of" and gives my husband's last name. <BR/><BR/>Which means I got registered here under my husband's name, even though I don't have a single legal document with that name on it. ???<BR/><BR/>It started to spiral out of control when I applied for a new driver's license and was a real pain to straighten out...<BR/><BR/>I like Jane too. Maybe you could tack that on the end and call yourself Jennifer Gwilliam Taylor Jane. You know, just to keep everyone on their toes...Betsyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05451957392894462983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100513347252567500.post-28189218014563809062007-09-10T14:55:00.000+02:002007-09-10T14:55:00.000+02:00I also have no middle name. (My parents named me ...I also have no middle name. (My parents named me Mary-Beth, yes with the hyphen. But problems with a hypen in your FIRST name would be a whole nother blog post!) Never really bothered me, but my best friend in grade school was also middle nameless and she chose a new one every few years. I believe she settled on one and still uses it now, although it is not her legal middle name.<BR/><BR/>I end up with people assuming my name is Mary, and my middle name is Beth, or that my name is Elizabeth. Good grief. I think I will stay out of the Netherlands! :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100513347252567500.post-74004455256375299682007-09-10T08:07:00.000+02:002007-09-10T08:07:00.000+02:00If my new daughter in-law ever comes to live in Ho...If my new daughter in-law ever comes to live in Holland, she'll have a time. She never liked her first name and always went by her middle name. Once married, she officially dropped the first name. Now her driver's license reads: middle maiden married name.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100513347252567500.post-88363532599486624522007-09-10T07:54:00.000+02:002007-09-10T07:54:00.000+02:00I forgot about that Dutch habit of transposing all...I forgot about that Dutch habit of transposing all women's names into FIRST NAME LAST NAME MAIDEN NAME. I haven't used my maiden name in YEARS, and sometimes I have to think about how to spell it!<BR/><BR/>Funny, though, my parents gave me TWO middle names, and I was married previously, so if I followed Dutch custom I would be FIRST NAME MIDDLE NAME MIDDLE NAME MARRIED NAME MARRIED NAME MAIDEN NAME. Ack!Desert Songbirdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14320552900816326120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100513347252567500.post-28205476635407736352007-09-10T05:01:00.000+02:002007-09-10T05:01:00.000+02:00This is a fun list, I might have to do it myself. ...This is a fun list, I might have to do it myself. :)<BR/><BR/>I had some friends growing up who did not have middle names. I also know people who name their children with more than one middle name!Crystalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02046306355404937213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100513347252567500.post-50770152169837319282007-09-10T03:41:00.000+02:002007-09-10T03:41:00.000+02:00You know the funny thing is that I got harassed re...You know the funny thing is that I got harassed relentlessly by everyone I knew when I said that I was going to use my maiden name as my middle name after getting married. This caused plenty of confusion as I already use my middle name as my first name.<BR/><BR/>I want to send a link for this post to everyone who harassed me. "See, other people do use their maiden names!!"CableGirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03392330449567457998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100513347252567500.post-87625720331088248602007-09-10T03:23:00.000+02:002007-09-10T03:23:00.000+02:00Add me to the list of women who were middle namele...Add me to the list of women who were middle nameless until marriage.<BR/><BR/>For my parents, I ended up being the 1st of three girls. So I guess it was a good call on their part to carry on the name in some small way.Lori Lavender Luzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15394441222262940632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100513347252567500.post-47231519209293404542007-09-10T03:18:00.000+02:002007-09-10T03:18:00.000+02:00Jenn- I'm so glad you posted! I had this strange f...Jenn- I'm so glad you posted! I had this strange feeling something was wrong... isn't that so silly. This blog thing can be strange.<BR/>I agree with Brillig. I like Jennifer Jane. A lot.jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14511174413208544186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100513347252567500.post-15643297455648773242007-09-10T03:14:00.000+02:002007-09-10T03:14:00.000+02:00I can totally share your frustration. My mom didn...I can totally share your frustration. My mom didn't have a middle name and that used to confuse me as a child (key word being child). I kept my last name and it seems to really confuse people. It particularly confuses people when they find out we have kids. Sometimes I feel like telling them that my kids don't have a last name. The best part is for the longest time we relatives wouldn't put last names on any cards or gifts that they addressed to my boys.Alex Elliothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100513347252567500.post-17340148342406753952007-09-10T02:26:00.000+02:002007-09-10T02:26:00.000+02:00I'll play:J - JadedO - ObstreperousI - Inexplicabl...I'll play:<BR/><BR/>J - Jaded<BR/>O - Obstreperous<BR/>I - Inexplicablecathouse terihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02547258612468286876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100513347252567500.post-15626332749113705132007-09-10T01:50:00.000+02:002007-09-10T01:50:00.000+02:00I have a great middle name - it's the end of my mo...I have a great middle name - it's the end of my mother's name. I will keep it forever. And when I got married I didn't change my last name - to date this hasn't been a problem. On occasion, I take my husband's last name - if it suits me. "No, there's no one here by that name, Mr. IRS agent" :)Flower Childhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08611806187828172442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100513347252567500.post-64668659912233744332007-09-10T01:36:00.000+02:002007-09-10T01:36:00.000+02:00I guess part of it is the European penchant for mi...I guess part of it is the European penchant for middle names, church names, saint's names, etc., etc. It could have been worse. My BIL was a very, very young parent, and he named his children with the middle names of chi and omega, although not spelled that way - the birth certificate actually showed the greek letter - he and his then-wife did this so the boys couldn't be tracked "by the system." Both boys legally changed their names as soon as they were old enough to do so, lol.Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02362687820368214420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100513347252567500.post-14973998007425380862007-09-10T00:33:00.000+02:002007-09-10T00:33:00.000+02:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Brillighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13694582598855276158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100513347252567500.post-27312644691706068512007-09-10T00:17:00.000+02:002007-09-10T00:17:00.000+02:00I had several female friends as a kid who were wit...I had several female friends as a kid who were without middle names for the same reason. However, one of them had a serious feminist for a mom so that just didn't make sense.<BR/><BR/>But, I'm sorry, that was a long introduction? I was so happy to have something to read by you I was sorry to see it end.<BR/><BR/>And Mitchell for a middle name? I was tormented by all those girls with Elizabeth, Mary and Grace for middle names (it was a Catholic town afterall).soccer mom in denialhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15779961065417497337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100513347252567500.post-58149960207284236232007-09-09T23:32:00.000+02:002007-09-09T23:32:00.000+02:00Oh Darlin'! I would have warned you if I had know...Oh Darlin'! I would have warned you if I had known you too are middle nameless. But there aren't that many of us in the world these days and I just didn't think. I would feel sorry for you, except that there is one worse thing. Try no middle name, keeping your maiden name and being married to someone with a different last name. Then add children with different last names. It seems this country does not know how to identify me. I am listed at the doctor under the family name with my name hyphenated to it. But the insurance papers for me go under my last name. Then there are those occasions where I have filled out a form with "No middle name") because just putting a dash always leads to questions and explanations. So guess what middle name they enter in the form? Yep. I have evidence officially that my middle name is "No Middle Name" also abbreviated as "N.M.N". AAARRRGGGHH!!! It never ends. <BR/><BR/>Yep, ya shoulda stuck with "Jane".Fourier Analysthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09689357373595434853noreply@blogger.com