Why the sneering? You are either very young, born after the time when most people got married heterosexually and the woman took the man's name for the sake of the children's sense of family unity; or you've never lived in a big city or been a member of a large virtual community, where there might be 12 people named "Amy Barrett"—hence, a differentiating middle name.
Many family surnames are extremely common, like Smith or Brown, and most European-descended first names are also common because they are cultural or Biblical, like John, Matthew, etc. Therefore, middle names are a practical measure.
“Why the sneering? You are either very young, born after the time when most people got married heterosexually and the woman took the man’s name for the sake of the children’s sense of family unity; or you’ve never lived in a big city or been a member of a large virtual community, where there might be 12 people named “Amy Barrett”—hence, a differentiating middle name.”
Well, I’m nearing my 78th birthday, I was raised in a nuclear family with Christian values. I’ve been married for almost 52 years to the same woman and we have together successfully raised three children who are now grown and have their own families. So I don get your comment. If most of us can get along with two names and be differentiated sufficiently, without the need to use our middle names, I fail to see why a Federal Judge needs any additional descriptors. The do it because it’s “customary,” not that it really adds any value to them or what they do. It is a personal choice that I find to be self-serving.