I liked the article. Thanks for posting. Speaking of Welshness, forgive me for sounding like an idiot, but is it a common thing for Welsh people to not have middle names? I have noticed that Ioan doesn't seem to have a middle name.
Matthew's full name is Matthew Rhys Evans, so don't know exactly if it would be typically Welsh. Maybe Ioan's parents felt that one name was enough.
Not everybody has several middle names. Judging from the birth-cards I get these last few years, it seems like middle names are not often used and first names become harder and harder to write and/or pronounce :razz:
I admit that I've never wondered whether it is common for Welsh people to not have middle names. Perhaps this has to do with the fact that where I live people usually either don't have middle names or don't use them.
It's very common for Welsh people to have middle names and often they are a second surname. For instance, my father's name is Ithel Rowland- Jones (his granny used to say that the middle name was adopted because there are so many Jones in Wales!
:hmm: In fact, I've often wondered if the habit of giving middle names originated from an effort to make coincidences of names less frequent.
I think you are probably correct on that point, Frances.
Amongst the Amish and Mennonites (my Mom's background), they have a ton of similar names as first name are often Biblical and surnames are repeated, so they use nicknames like Adam "Shorty" Miller, etc. Or they might be refered to by another relationship AdamAnnie and JosiahAnnie to distinguish people with similar names. Our branch of the family doesn't do that any more because we have more variety in naming now.
I guess it seems a little strange to me because I used to go by my middle name. Middle names are almost like must haves in the US. If you go to DMV or to the doctor's and they ask for middle name/inital and you say you don't have one, they look at you like you have two heads and act like the computer will keel over and die if they omit a middle name on the form. And for Mathew Rhys Evans, isn't Rhys just his mother's last name instead of a middle name such as "Matthew Jonathon Rhys"? So, it's kind of like a second last name? I don't know...today has been a long day :razz: .
And for Mathew Rhys Evans, isn't Rhys just his mother's last name instead of a middle name such as "Matthew Jonathon Rhys"? So, it's kind of like a second last name? I don't know...today has been a long day :razz: .
Rhys is a surname and a Christian name in Wales, so it's hard to tell. It doesn't have to be his mother's name - it could have been his father's (or some other relation's Christian name, or just one they liked :wink: ) For instance, my son is Scott Henry after his deceased Grandad, Harry, whereas my daughter has no middle names, because at that point, I was so sick of the complications that go with having four names myself (thank you, Welsh heritage!) that I vowed to keep it simple for her. now I am known as Coops at work!
Of course, actors add initials and names to their stage names as the are unable to register the same name as someone else (in the UK actor's union Equity, anyway - not sure about anywhere else :dunno
I believe that Jamie Bamber uses his mother's name as stage name (his name is Jamie St John Bamber Griffith). I somehow also remember that Matthew could not use Matthew Evans as his stage name, because it already existed and that he therefore chose Rhys, but I don't remember it specificially mentionned as being his mother's name, just 'other' name. (Off course it still could mean that it is his mother's name, but that the article didn't mention it. :dunno )
As far as names are concerned. When my favorite actress, Jane Seymour, had her first child and called her Katherine, somewhere 1982 I believe, I liked the name so much that I knew that if ever I had a daughter I would love to call her Katherine.... Ahum, that was untill I found out that my mother-in-law's first name was Catharina.... No way in :censored , that I could use that name, she would tell everybody that I named my daughter after her... And I didn't want my daughter to be named after someone. So we went for another name. Narrowed the choice between Iris and Kerry, but we were remembered of an Australian familie-member by the name of Kerrie, so it became Iris.
And just to add, I suggested Iris' second name Serena, based on Jane Seymour's character Serina in Battlestar Galactica, but more because the name pronounced in Dutch sounded so serene and had a real gentle ring to it. A serene flower.
That's a pretty thought, "a serene flower".
Stevie - The Actor's guilds have the same situations here. No repeats of names ( at least of living actors). I imagine if an actor is planning on crossing the ocean to work, you'd want to make sure your name suited both guilds. I would imagine Ioan didn't have to worry about running into someone else with that name or similar than if he'd have used John Griffith or Griffiths.