OK hopefully a easy one, just want to check with our French friends that this is the correct parsing for this name
Didier/ /Saint Melin
in the bio page of his web site he is referred to as Saint Melin a few times
and on the BFI site

Quoting ninehours:

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OK hopefully a easy one, just want to check with our French friends that this is the correct parsing for this name
Didier/ /Saint Melin

This is correct. In France, middle names are only second given names, and Saint is always part of family names.

BTW, in the online, I quite often find french actors (actresses) with de or De as middle name. This cannot be. De or de are always part of family name.

Quoting Prof. Kingsfield:

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NEVER say always.

Well, I really would be inclined to say "always" when it comes to putting "Saint" in the last name field. I can honestly say that I've never encountered a single example where "Saint" would belong in the middle name field. Instead, I can't shake the feeling that it's this ambigious "well, theoretically anything's possible" attitude that causes many users - those who won't automatically go looking for documentation - to keep entering such names wrong. First example I could think of: Susan Saint James. Let's see: out of her 33 profiles in the database, 12 have her incorrectly listed as Susan/Saint/James... 

I suppose there could be an exception to Saint, De or de being part of the last name, but until someone comes up with one I'm quite comfortable sticking them all in the last name.

Quoting surfeur51:

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I wrote :
"In France, middle names are only second given names, and Saint is always part of family names."

In France, for french names, there is no exception, whatever one may think. Saint (which is much more often that St that is mainly used for town or village names), has never been a given name, so cannot be in the middle name field.  One may maintain there are exceptions, but there are none.

To the best of my knowledge, that is indeed correct.

Quoting kdh1949:

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The only performer I remember who has Saint spelled out is Susan Saint James.

This thread is about French name parsing... are you sure that Susan Saint James is French ???

Quoting surfeur51:

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Quoting ninehours:

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OK hopefully a easy one, just want to check with our French friends that this is the correct parsing for this name
Didier/ /Saint Melin

This is correct. In France, middle names are only second given names, and Saint is always part of family names.

BTW, in the online, I quite often find french actors (actresses) with de or De as middle name. This cannot be. De or de are always part of family name.

I think you missed the point, my friend. I don't care about your claim, there is no place on the planet that i am aware that controls naming bu force of LAW, names remain something that is probably the most personal possession any individual has, and culture or not each individual is in total control of how his OWN name is to be parsed. That is why I say will NEVER say ALWAYS and I encourage you to not pretend, theer are several millions of people of France, YOU don't KNOW all of them, and I can probably safely say that there is at least ONE exception to your ALWAYS, probably many more...but i understaned the point you are trying to make.  In short, you presume far more knowledge than you actually possess, Yves, unless perhaps you work for the French Census Bureau.   One thing I can guarantee you as an American, and we are nothing if not fiercely independent, if someone  not me, tried to dictate to me how I would parse my name, they would get told very politely but very directly to talk a long walk off something very short. So my position remains the same as previously stated in this thread, I am not interested in any cultural guessing games, we start out from a position which presents the data in the appropriate appearance, per the credits and then if somethimng else can be documneted ...outstanding, I am right there with you.

In reading tim's post on this i was struck by his apparent ummm cultural disappointment, which I am afraid I don't understand. Setting aside that it is Susan//Saint James, I have to wonder Susan/Saint/ James or Susan//Saint James they appear the same except for the different COLOR of the type, I presume that Tim is not Susan saint James so his apparent personal sadness leaves me confused, and even more to the point since the argument would be one of accuracy (which as it relates to the data is fine) but to sound like there is something personal going on is just too strange for me. I am not going to send her any cards, I have never interviewed her nor do I expect to, so the personal investment that some seem to attach to this question is just way too confusing.

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Quoting lmoelleb:

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Quoting Woola:

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I think you missed the point, my friend. I don't care about your claim, there is no place on the planet that i am aware that controls naming bu force of LAW, ...

Denmark does. Since 1526 for the nobles, since 1828 for everyone else, last revised 2006. So, now you are aware of at least one place.

Quote:

...
Setting aside that it is Susan//Saint James, I have to wonder Susan/Saint/ James or Susan//Saint James they appear the same except for the different COLOR of the type ...

Depends if you display last name first. And obviously they behave quite differently when you order by last name.

Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him, Horatio. That is truly strange< lars, but an interesting bit of trivia. Do they tell people what their name will be as well.

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