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
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[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.
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TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Jamie (K)]

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