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

Calibration is this laptop's middle name, with a MUX Switch that boosts your gaming performance by 5-10%. —Kelsey Fogarty, PC Magazine, 9 June 2026

Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honor her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales. —Audrey Schmidt, PEOPLE, 4 June 2026

Raised by his mother in the mountains of Harlan, Kentucky, the adolescent Pritchett chose to join his middle name and his stepfather’s last to form a new identity, that of Arthur Smith. —Jonathan Rowe, SPIN, 1 June 2026

Andy Samberg Some celebs prefer their middle name to their first, while others take on a stage name just to sound cooler. —Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 29 May 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