What are middle names for?

Question:#1. To further identify an individual.
#2. To honor an aunt, uncle, grandparent, or godmother/godfather (That is how genealogist trace ancestry, through these names. I.e., in 1400s & 1500s Germany, the boys middle name often was a grandfather or a godfather. I have Germans in my family tree with several sons, all with the SAME first name! with minor variations: Johann, Johannes, etc. Often they went by the MIDDLE name).
#3. Culture. I.e., a Filipino's middle name is the maiden name of the Mother.
#4. Spanish names (and others) include both the mother's maiden name and the father's surname together. Often this is used as a middle name with a surname being taken from their official position or place.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: #1. To further identify an individual.
#2. To honor an aunt, uncle, grandparent, or godmother/godfather (That is how genealogist trace ancestry, through these names. I.e., in 1400s & 1500s Germany, the boys middle name often was a grandfather or a godfather. I have Germans in my family tree with several sons, all with the SAME first name! with minor variations: Johann, Johannes, etc. Often they went by the MIDDLE name).
#3. Culture. I.e., a Filipino's middle name is the maiden name of the Mother.
#4. Spanish names (and others) include both the mother's maiden name and the father's surname together. Often this is used as a middle name with a surname being taken from their official position or place.

This is a really good question. Family heritage?

its just another way of further identifying a person
if there were two john smiths in a family, records would tell them apart (without of course digging into all the other aspects like physical features) by their middle name.
so john alan smith was excommunicated from the church, not john gregory smith, so the people wont be confused if its in a news story or such

Middle names are an interesting development. Besides being a great way to distinguish between people with the same first and last names, they also can have a good deal to do with the family itself.

For instance many old Norse names would be only two words long, consisting of a first personal name, and a second family name. The family name usually represented either the persons father or a trade or specialty the person was heavily involved in.

For example Eirbigja Thorgrimsson was the son of Thorgrim, who may have been named Thorgrim Joricksson, the son of Jorrick, and so on down the line. Eirbigjasson would be the last name of Eirbigja's progeny.

A middle name may have arisen in the Norse line by combining identifying traits of the person with the first two names, such as calling Thor the Potter, son of Erick: Thor Potter Ericksson.

The English became big fans of this as well. It wasn't uncommon for a man to be named Jonathon Wheelwright because his given name was Jonathon and he was a wheel maker/repairer.

Many middle eastern names were 3+ names long to account for family ancestry. I'm not good with coming up with them off the top of my head, so I don't have a good example for that one.

In modern naming, middle names tend to be given to honor relatives, such as naming a child William after the father and then Scott after the grandfather, and ending with the father's last name. My girlfriend for instance is named Lee after her grandfather, Anne after her mother, and then her father's family name.

Names and geneology are complicated but fun to research.

Sometimes it has religious reasons
Like Catholics who sometimes take a biblical name at Christning.

My grandchildren both have two middle names.
To solve a naming fight between the parents. whom each wanted a middle name after someone on their side....

My youngest son is David Charles after both his great great grandfathers....
there are also naming traditions...
My neice is Heather Elizabeth
My sister is Janet Elizabeth
My mother is Joan Elizabeth
Her Aunt was Pauline Elizabeth
The great grandmother was Sarah Elizabeth
her mother was Elizabeth