Many People Do Go By Their Middle Names

Fiona has finally figured out that her middle name is "Meredith." She's been going around all week announcing the fact, as toddlers do. Apropos of nothing, she'll declare "my middle name is Meredith."

The other night she was frustrated with me for making her do something and started in with the "why" questions. I wasn't in the mood to get into the endless loop of justification, so I cut her off with that old staple "because I'm your Daddy."

"You're not Daddy," she told me. "Your name is Bill."

I nodded; she figured out that her parents have names that other people call them months ago. But then Fiona made a new connection... almost:

"Bill's your middle name," she declared.

"No," I replied. "My first name is Bill" (leaving aside the whole issue of nicknames for a future conversation).

"Nooo," Fiona responded, with the inflection she uses when her parents say something intentionally silly such as calling an elephant a horse so that she can correct us. "Your first name is Daddy!"

Maybe I should double check my birth certificate.