People's names in several cultures include one or more additional names placed between the first given name and the surname. In Canada and the United States all such names are specifically referred to as middle name(s); in most European countries they would simply be regarded as second, third, etc. given names. In some countries there is usually only one middle name, and in the United States and Canada it is often abbreviated to the middle initial (e.g. James Ronald Bass becomes James R. Bass, which is usually standard for signatures) or omitted entirely in everyday use (e.g. just James B...