Given names

Multiple and compound given names

In many Western cultures, people often have multiple given names. Most often the first one in sequence is the one that a person goes by, although exceptions are not uncommon, such as in the cases of Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (Reese) and Dame Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland (Barbara). The given name might also be used in compound form, as in, for example, John Paul or a hyphenated style like Bengt-Arne. A middle name might be part of a compound given name or might be, instead, a maiden name, a patronymic, or a baptismal name.