Why are some popular sites not requiring middle name or initial in their registrations?

Question

Here are some major sites that don't ask for middle names or initials:

I was under the impression that middle names are part of our full names and makes our identities as unique as possible.

I know this is not directly a programming question but this is more or less connected with data design.

[Falsehoods programmers believe about names](http://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-programmers-believe-about-names/): "5. People have exactly N names, for any value of N" — Damien_The_Unbeliever, Oct 23 '13 at 10:16
I knew a guy once who had only 1 name. I've also know people with 2, 3, 4, and 5 names... The idea of a middle name is mostly a western thing, and in no way makes your "identity". — Jason Whitehorn, Oct 23 '13 at 12:06
Great read on that link, Damien. Makes sense, Jason. I just honestly realized that. — tonex, Oct 25 '13 at 06:46

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 23 '13 at 10:16

1

Well, I don’t have a middle name. There is more than just one culture in this world…

If you start supporting one culture-specific artifact you might have to start thinking about all other cultures as well.

For amazon, to grep the first example, the middle name doesn’t matter. The parcels have to arrive and the bills have to get paid. That seems to work.

answered Oct 23 '13 at 10:16

Holger

Like Jason's take above, I just realized that not everyone has middle and last names. Now I know. – tonex Oct 25 '13 at 06:48

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