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A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name [1] that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a family or clan) who have a common surname.
Middle name as primary forename [ edit ] In England and the United States, some who choose to be known primarily by their middle name abbreviate their first name as an initial , e.g. J(ohn) Edgar Hoover , J(ohn) Paul Getty , J(ulius) Robert Oppenheimer and F(rancis) Scott (Key) Fitzgerald .
In Western culture, nearly all individuals possess at least one given name (also known as a first name, forename, or Christian name), together with a surname (also known as a last name or family name). In the name "James Smith", for example, James is the first name and Smith is the surname.
The most popular given names vary nationally, regionally, and culturally.Lists of widely used given names can consist of those most often bestowed upon infants born within the last year, thus reflecting the current naming trends, or else be composed of the personal names occurring most often within the total population.
A birth name is the name given to a person upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name.Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth register may by that fact alone become the person's legal name.
First/given/forename, middle, and last/family/surname with John Fitzgerald Kennedy as example. This shows a structure typical for Anglophonic cultures (and some others). Other cultures use other structures for full names. A surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family.
In more modern times, the terms have been used interchangeably with given name, first name and forename in traditionally Christian countries, and are still common in day-to-day use. Strictly speaking, the Christian name is not merely the forename distinctive of the individual member of a family, but the name given to the person (generally a ...
Ashley; Pronunciation / ˈ æ ʃ l i / Gender: Unisex: Language(s) English: Origin; Language(s) Old English: Word/name: Combination of æsċ and lēah: Meaning "Ash tree meadow" Region of origin