Google
English-Test.net
Find penpals and make new friends today!
 
something discarded; rubbish; garbage; refuse; nonsense
behalf
science
recovery
trash
full quiz correct answer
 
Username
Password
 Remember me? 
Search   Album   FAQ   Memberlist   Profile   Private messages   Register   Log in 

forename vs. first name



 
ESL/EFL Worksheets and Handouts for Students Printable, photocopiable, clearly structured
Designed for teachers and individual learners
For use in a classroom, at home, on your PC
ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
During studying? | what does "flimsiest of pretext" mean?
listening exercisestell a friend
Message
Author
forename vs. first name #1 (permalink) Fri Jan 04, 2008 17:10 pm   forename vs. first name
 

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
Torsten
Learning Coach
Torsten Daerr

Joined: 25 Sep 2003
Posts: 14503
Location: EU

forename vs. first name #2 (permalink) Fri Jan 04, 2008 22:43 pm   forename vs. first name
 

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.
Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 6552
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA

Learn all about English adverbs in this amusing storyEnglish grammar exercises — improve your English knowledge and vocabulary skillsAre you a native speaker of English? Then you should read this!Start exploring the English language today! Subscribe to free email English course
forename vs. first name #3 (permalink) Fri Jan 04, 2008 23:12 pm   forename vs. first name
 

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
Torsten
Learning Coach
Torsten Daerr

Joined: 25 Sep 2003
Posts: 14503
Location: EU

forename vs. first name #4 (permalink) Fri Jan 04, 2008 23:22 pm   forename vs. first name
 

Hm. I thought most people had their forename removed shortly after birth.
Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 6552
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA

Display posts from previous:   
During studying? | what does "flimsiest of pretext" mean?
ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms All times are GMT + 1 Hour
Page 1 of 1
Latest topics on ESL EFL Forums
'The success of the Eric Canal spurred an area of canal building.' Help!meaning of "go out on the toe"usage of "offer somebody resistance""amount to" or "amounts to"?Plural or singular in this case? Apples vs apple.Question about passage: For instance, he'd like to outlaw all leads involving...when do I use "had"?relative clause...Championship vs CompetitonPhrase "the monarchs have come here in the Fall"Don't know how to say something that happened oftenin the back of ... or at the back of...Usage of the word news (It's a terrible news vs. It's terrible news)

 
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Subscribe to FREE email English course
First name E-mail