Does anyone have any further information on this? betty in ga Colonists Forbidden Middle Names By Frances Willess Years ago in a "how to" genealogy book I read that in the early British Empire common people were forbidden to have middle names and only the royal family was allowed to have them. British subjects in the U.S. did not have middle names until after the Revolutionary War. Therefore I have doubted that my 3-great-grandfather John BARKLEY in Ireland in the mid-1700s was actually named John Calvin BARKLEY as some of his descendants believe; although I have no idea if that was actually the law. My grandfather was named Washington Irving BEASLEY. He had brothers and uncles named Andrew Jackson and Benjamin Franklin. The brothers were called Jack and Frank. I have often wondered what papa was called before he was big enough to give himself the name of B.I. -- that information didn't come down with the family story. RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine 6 September 2006, Vol. 9, No. 36