How inconvenient is having four names?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I should add that the first middle name is a cultural birth name and the second is the same name all our kids have (my last name because I never took DH’s). It has been recommended to keep the birth name in some form (DH doesn’t care about using it) and since we’re not using it as the first name, 4 names is the only option I see.

+1. Our DC is adopted. She has her birth name, the name we gave her, my last name, and DH's last name. This is the norm in many latin american cultures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Americans are so ridiculous. Of course it’s fine. Anyone who bats an eye at this has been living under a rock for the past 50 years.

I think the inconvenience, if there is any, would be in filling out forms and such, not in the reactions of “ridiculous” Americans.

[Anonymous]

My son has four because we decided not to hyphenate both parents last names. Many forms it fits in, some it does not. On most forms in the US it's easier to have only three, but it's not a huge deal.

[Anonymous]

I have 4 and I hate it. Would undo it but for the hassle of it. Gave my kids 3 names.

[Anonymous]

We have Alexandra Cecilia Lucia Lastname. We all love her name and all the kids agree she got the best name.

We sometimes write her middle name as CeciliaLucia or CL on applications depending on space, but gov't docs have her proper full name, no problem.

[Anonymous]

I think the problem is going to be on identification, where everything needs to match exactly if you want to get on a plane, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I think the problem is going to be on identification, where everything needs to match exactly if you want to get on a plane, etc.

It's not a problem.

[Anonymous]

Mine has four names and likes it. Two last names no hyphen. I thought in school they’d only use one but they choose both. Not a big deal.

[Anonymous]

[guardian]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I should add that the first middle name is a cultural birth name and the second is the same name all our kids have (my last name because I never took DH’s). It has been recommended to keep the birth name in some form (DH doesn’t care about using it) and since we’re not using it as the first name, 4 names is the only option I see.

+1. Our DC is adopted. She has her birth name, the name we gave her, my last name, and DH's last name. This is the norm in many latin american cultures.

No, the norm is the reverse for the last name and no one is asking about adoption. We kept the fist name and birth mom used our middle name so a nice compromise and only last name change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think the problem is going to be on identification, where everything needs to match exactly if you want to get on a plane, etc.

It's not a problem.

Because you don’t work for the state department. Yes it can be a problem.

I have a sense this isn’t an adoption. Birth name i’m guessing op meant by family tradition name b/c she said dh doesn’t care. To me meant all boys in a family are named larlo.

[Anonymous]

I have four names from marriage. I put my original middle name and maiden name as two separate names in the middle name block for official forms. Kind of a pain but it works. Airline boarding passes look weird but apparently come up fine on the scanners for ID checks. I tend to use one of the middle names everywhere and keep the other one only when absolutely needed - you need to be consistent with this.

My friend has a lot more trouble with a Roman numeral. I think trying to put two things into a last name field is a bigger issue than the middle name field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think the problem is going to be on identification, where everything needs to match exactly if you want to get on a plane, etc.

It's not a problem.

Because you don’t work for the state department. Yes it can be a problem.

I have a sense this isn’t an adoption. Birth name i’m guessing op meant by family tradition name b/c she said dh doesn’t care. To me meant all boys in a family are named larlo.

NP here. I do work for the state department and so do many second/third generation immigrants. 4 names is the norm for anyone from South America. This is such a nonissue. If you worked with people who traveled more than once every century you’d understand. It’s a big world out there and there are lots of different naming traditions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think the problem is going to be on identification, where everything needs to match exactly if you want to get on a plane, etc.

It's not a problem.

NP here. It’s not a problem, per se, but’s it’s annoying. Tickets say Firstnamemiddlename Firstlastnamesecondlastname and heaven help the poor airport staff who have to try to figure out how to pronounce or separate 4 names that were squashed together with no capitals to distinguish them.

[Anonymous]

It didn’t much hurt George Herbert Walker Bush.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think the problem is going to be on identification, where everything needs to match exactly if you want to get on a plane, etc.

It's not a problem.

Because you don’t work for the state department. Yes it can be a problem.

I have a sense this isn’t an adoption. Birth name i’m guessing op meant by family tradition name b/c she said dh doesn’t care. To me meant all boys in a family are named larlo.

So it will be a problem if you work for the state department? Because many of us with 4 names have said it’s not a problem. And yes, OP has stated that the birth name is due to an adoption, so keeping that name is important, IMO, and trumps the slight inconvenience of when 4 names is an issue.