It's more like a middle name, in the sense that it is used in official documents to distinguish people who have the same first and last name. Other countries h

It's more like a middle name, in the sense that it is used in official documents to distinguish people who have the same first and last name. Other countries have similar mechanisms, I remember when I was living in Brazil I had to provide nome da mãe (name of the mother) and nome do pai (name of the father) to get some documents done.