Yesterday my friends and I watched the movie „Walk the Line“, a biography of Jonny Cash. Interested in the life of the famous American singer I did a little research and found out that Mr. Cash’s real first name is actually not John, but J R. And here’s the fascinating thing: J R stands for nothing. No kidding! His parents couldn’t agree on a name, so they just chose initials.
That seems ridiculous to Austrians, but in fact Cash is not an individual case, especially at his time (1940s). Sometimes it’s also the middle name that consisted of initials only. The probably most well-known example is Harry S Truman. Today this practice isn’t so common anymore, except for the Amish. They’d make the first letter of their mother’s maiden name their children’s middle name.
Since those letter-names are no abbreviations, it’s wrong to use a period after them.
Regards,
B Leonhardsberger
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