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[tenure_track]

Dear Forumites,

For my first publication, back in graduate school,  I used my first name, middle name and family name.  I like to use the middle name because it indicates that I am of mixed cultural heritage (something which is not otherwise obvious), and because there are several other people with the same combination of my first name + my last name. However, I am the only one in my academic subfield with these two names, as far as I know.

Five years later, the URL of my new webpage is simply firstname-lastname, and my official e-mail address where I have my TT position is firstname.lastname at Univ.edu.  (The IT people told me it would be too unwieldy to use my middle name in both of these). Many of my colleagues also refer to me as simply firstname-lastname for brevity's sake.

To complicate things, my middle name is fairly rare, and people unfamiliar with its cultural origin sometimes assume that it is a family name, so I have been incorrectly indexed in some conference programs as “Middle name Last name, First name.”

So here’s the question: for my subsequent publications, shall I continue using the rare middle name, which sets me apart from others and allows people to find my publications quickly by Googling or searching in databases? Or should I just switch to the simpler two-name style and let my colleagues filter out the other people named Firstname-Lastname to find my pubs?

Your responses would be appreciated.

[nardo]

Yes.  I use my full name.  When I get galleys where journals have initialized me, I explain that is not an option, because professionally people know me by my middle name, the first name honors my father, and they will respect who I am.

"He who steals my purse, steals trash. But he who steals my good name, steals all that I have." Othello, Act III, Sc. 3

(Note: I always feel like Mr. Spock when I go quoting Shakespeare by play, act, and scene)

[zeegirl]

I agree with Nardo; use it all.  All three of my names are relatively unusual, so the "uniqueness" of either pairing isn't an issue for me.  I use my original surname ('maiden' name) as a nod to my father, and all his support through my academic career--at the suggestion of my husband.  I added my husband's last name because he pushed me to finish the dissertation and move forward with publishing.

If it is who you are, then it is who you are.  Why fight it?

And Nardo, as long as you can do the "live long and prosper" finger thingy, you can quote Shakespeare all you want.

[case_insensitive]

Use it all.  I do.

[tamiam]

I use all three, as well.

Although there is someone with my same first and now-middle-but-before-I-got-married-last name who is now serving time for murdering her husband in a hilarious way. So I've given some consideration to dropping the middle name from here on. I dunno.

Indecisiveness in name-changing has been a continual irritation.

[case_insensitive]

Indecisiveness in name-changing has been a continual irritation.

Tell that to my fiance!

[nardo]

And Nardo, as long as you can do the "live long and prosper" finger thingy, you can quote Shakespeare all you want.

I can also do the one-eyebrow thingee . . .

[yellowtractor]

Use it all, and use it consistently--especially if the regular first name-last name combination is relatively common, and for precisely the reasons you mention (including Google).

[santommaso]

You could also use middle initial. I do.

[bibliothecula]

I use all three names, even though my first-last combination is unusual on its own.

[expatinuk]

All THREE names.... I insist on it. In fact I'm quite nasty to those who will ONLY write to me or address me as first name last name.

My don't USE my first name... and my second name is a DOUBLE NAME.

But most folks just call me by my nickname. To my face... NOT OFFICIALLY.

Although the idiot who was writing our RAE report constantly called me by my nickname... I hit her... with a wet mackerel. 

[august_leo]

Use all three. Maybe consider hyphenating first name-middle name when you submit to conferences.

I use August S. Leo. I am getting married in 2008 and plan to publish as August S. Leo Lion after then, with Leo Lion a last name not hyphenated, which I have seen before (ironically, my fiance and I are both leo's born in August). It was hard to come to this decision (legally I will become August S*** Leo Lion with Leo becoming a second middle name).

A prof I had in grad school told me before I submitted anything to just be consistent so that everything would be in 1 entry in the big search database for my field. I've been consistent so far, but soon will stop, but I've looked and no one should come between my two entries, as alphabetically they are something like le and li.

Sorry if I hyjacked you. I don't want this to be a maiden name/his name thing.

[trabb]

I'd use all three.

And there are some interesting things being said.  Nardo, you do realize that that quote is Iago, right?  And august_leo, is your middle name really something that the censors here would star out, or did you add the stars yourself?

[tenure_track]

Thanks Forumites for your timely advice!

I just wrote to the journal about to publish my article and managed to persuade the editor to make a last-minute change to the proofs to include all three names.

Interesting to hear the reasons others have given for keeping all three names.  When I got married, there was certainly no question of taking my spouse's name - four names are a bit too much!

My middle name is the nom de plume my grandmother used to publish her poetry, and the name we "shared" until she passed away, so I shall continue to use it as a tribute to her creative spirit and her unconditional support for my academic studies (unlike my parents).  It is not my legal name, so I couldn't get it printed on my dissertation, but I assume my future pubs will be more important than the dissertation.

[august_leo]

(my middle name is fine, I couldn't think of a fake S name on the spot).