middle name

noun

1

: a name between one's first name and surname

2

: a term that is particularly apt to denote a person's qualities or affinities

Patience is her middle name.

Examples of middle name in a Sentence

President John F. Kennedy's middle name was “Fitzgerald.”

Recent Examples on the Web

Varela said a customer service representative refused to help fix an issue with his daughter’s ticket, which had incorrectly listed her last name as her middle name due to an error his wife accidentally made when booking the flight a few months ago. — Thom Jensen, NBC news, 20 July 2026

The family arrived early to address an issue with Varela’s daughter’s ticket, which reportedly had her middle name in the last name field. — Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 20 July 2026

Her middle names pay tribute to her late great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and her late grandmother, Princess Diana. — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 14 July 2026

Horatio, the middle name of the Charles Underwood, appears only in the record of his birth, on February 19, 1807, to Richard and Elisabeth Underwood of Pleasant Row in London, and in the report on the inquest into his untimely death. — Literary Hub, 10 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1835, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for middle name

• aspartame
• counterclaim
• overcame
• underframe
• username
• acclaim
• aflame
• airframe
• ballgame
• became
• declaim
• defame

Kids Definition

middle name

noun

1

: a name between one's first name and last name

2

: a term that names a notable quality of a person

patience is her middle name