forename vs. first name

[Torsten]

Hi,

Could you please tell me which of these words you prefer when referring to names:

First name, forename, given name or Christian name?
Surname or family name?

Thanks a lot,
Torsten

TOEIC listening, photographs: Building high

[Jamie (K)]

Assuming the person from a Western culture but not Finnish or Hungarian, my preference would be:

first name, middle name, last name

I sometimes replace "last name" with "surname", but that sounds very formal.

"Christian name" is a bit obsolete, because many people's first names are not Christian. "Xiaohong", "Sanjay" and "Latrina" are not Christian names. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a St. Xiaohong or a St. Sanjay, but I'd be very shocked if there were a St. Latrina.

I use "family name" when talking about people from Hungary or East Asia, where they put the family name first. That is followed by what I call the "personal name".

For a Russian, I refer to the "first name", "patronymic" and "last name".

For Mexicans I refer to the first name, middle name, mother's surname and father's surname.

For Iraqi Christians I refer to the first name, middle name, father's surname and grandfather's surname.

The word "forename" exists in English dictionaries, but I think only Germans use it.

[Torsten]

Hi Jamie,

Thanks for your detailed answer. As for the word forename, it seems that in addition to the Germans the British are using it too as this example shows.

TOEIC listening, photographs: A camera man

[Jamie (K)]

Hm. I thought most people had their forename removed shortly after birth.