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Are Middle Initials a Thing of the Past?

Bruce Szalwinski
/
Creative Commons

Imagine two people. One of them is named Betsy Kaplan, the other, Betsy F.P.R. Academic studies suggest people, on average, would infer a higher intellectual capacity for Betsy F.P.R. Kaplan and be more likely to admire her and think she made more money than plain old Betsy Kaplan. A middle initial, says the scholarly literature, is basically a free ticket to higher status. 

Which makes it odd that each successive generation is less likely, overall, to use them. 

This hour, we go deep into middle initials and the middle names behind them. Would people feel the same about a person named Samuel Jackson, Philip Dick, William Buckley or Johnny Goode, and how did Abraham Lincoln amount to anything with no middle name?

 You can leave your comments below, email us at colin@wnpr.org, or tweet us @wnprcolin.

GUESTS:

Anna Mormack was unable to join us but you can access her blog, "Onomastics Outside the Box"or tweether. 

Colin McEnroe is a radio host, newspaper columnist, magazine writer, author, playwright, lecturer, moderator, college instructor and occasional singer. Colin can be reached at colin@ctpublic.org.
Chion Wolf is the host of Audacious with Chion Wolf on Connecticut Public.
Betsy started as an intern at WNPR in 2011 after earning a Master's Degree in American and Museum Studies from Trinity College. She served as the Senior Producer for 'The Colin McEnroe Show' for several years before stepping down in 2021 and returning to her previous career as a registered nurse. She still produces shows with Colin and the team when her schedule allows.

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