Why do English names consist of three parts? Please tell me.

The general structure of an English name is: Christian name + self-given name + surname. For example, William Jafferson Clinton. but in many occasions, the middle name is often omitted, such as George Bush, and many people prefer to use nicknames instead of the formal Christian name, such as Bill Clinton. the above mentioned Christian names and middle names are also known as personal names. The personal names, nicknames and surnames of the English-speaking peoples are introduced as follows:Ⅰ. According to the custom of the English-speaking people, when a baby is baptized, the pastor or the parents or friends will give him or her a name, which is called a Christian name. Later the person may take a second name, which comes after the Christian name.

The sources of English personal names are roughly as follows:

1. Adoption of names of people from the Bible, Greco-Roman mythology, ancient celebrities, or literary masterpieces as Christian names.

2. Adopting the names of ancestors' places of origin, mountains and rivers, birds and animals, fish and insects, flowers and trees, etc. as Christian names.

3. Different variants of religious names.

4. The adoption of (diminutive) nicknames.

5. the creation of new Christian names by means of compositional techniques, such as inversion of order, merging.

6. using the mother's maiden name as a middle name.

Commonly used men's names in the English-speaking world are James, John, David, Daniel, Michael, and common women's names are Jane, Mary, Elizabeth, Ann, Sarah, Catherine.

II. Nicknames nicknames including love name, slightly called and nickname, is the English-speaking people between friends and relatives commonly used to express affectionate address, is derived from the basis of the Christian name. Usually there are the following cases:

1. Retain the first syllable. Such as Donald = Don, Timothy = Tim. If the name begins with a vowel, it can be derived from a nickname that begins with 'N', such as: Edward = Ned.2. +ie or -y such as: Don = Donnie, Tim = Timmy.3. The use of final syllables, such as: Anthony = Tony, Beuben = Ben.4. Two nicknames derived from a single Christian name e.g. Andrew = Andy & Drew.5. Irregular derivation e.g. One of William's nicknames is Bill.

III. SurnamesThe English had only first names and no surnames for a long time. It was not until the 16th century that the use of surnames became widespread. The main etymologies of English surnames are:

1. Direct borrowing of Christian names, such as Clinton.

2. Addition of affixes to Christian names to indicate descent, such as the suffixes -s, -son, -ing; the prefixes M'-, Mc-, Mac-, Fitz- and so on all denote the son or descendant of so-and-so.

3. The prefixes St.-, De-, Du=, La-, Le-, etc. are attached to religious names to indicate identity.

4. those reflecting place names, landforms or environmental features, e.g. Brook, Hill, etc.

5. those reflecting status or occupation, e.g. Carter, Smith.

6. those reflecting personal characteristics, e.g. Black, Longfellow.

7. those borrowing names of plants and animals, e.g. Bird, Rice.

8. those derived from the merger of two surnames, e.g. Burne-Jones.English Surnames, although appearing later than Christian names, are much more numerous. Commonly used: Smith, Miller,Johnson, Brown, Jones, Williams.

Ⅳ. A few notes

1. Earlier produced from the Bible, Greco-Roman mythology of the Church name is usually not borrowed as a surname.

2. It is customary for Englishmen to abbreviate both the Christian name and the middle name, as in the case of M. H. Thatcher, and for Americans to abbreviate only the middle name, as in the case of Ronald W. Reagan.

3. Names are sometimes preceded by interpersonal appellations, such as titles of office and rank.