Joe Biden, flanked by incoming US First Lady Jill Biden, takes the oath of office during the swearing-in ceremony of the 46th US president.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP
Even though Joe Biden was vice president for eight years, it turns out some people didn’t know the new president’s middle name until he was sworn in on Wednesday. His full name is Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., and it’s fair to say his middle name isn’t a common one. It’s his paternal grandmother’s maiden name — she was Mary Elizabeth Robinette before marrying Joseph Harry Biden. The president’s father was their first child, Joseph Robinette Biden Sr, who died in 2002 at age 86.
It’s far from the most unusual presidential middle name. President Warren Harding’s middle name was Gamaliel, though he’s best known as Warren G. Harding. President Harry Truman’s middle name was simply the letter S, and President Theodore Roosevelt didn’t have a middle name at all.
“Huge day for Robinette visibility,” tweeted Twitter user Ashley Feinberg. “Shout out to all the Robinettes out there who’ve been living in the shadows. Your time has come, solidarity with the Robinettes.”
One tweet referenced the enormous dove pin singer Lady Gaga wore to the inauguration, playing off the robin part of the name. “Robinette is what Lady Gaga was wearing,” wrote one Twitter user. And another simply riffed “Batman and Robinette.”
huge day for Robinette visibility, shout out to all the Robinettes out there who’ve been living in the shadows—your time has come, solidarity with the Robinettes
— Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) January 20, 2021
Robinette is what Lady Gaga was wearing
— Chana Montana (@SocksWearer) January 20, 2021
Tiny Robins everywhere are holding their tiny heads high.
— Cragger2 (@cragg_chris) January 20, 2021
My ex’s doofy cat was one of a brother/sister pair she named Batgal and Robinette. Batgal died, leaving Robinette with the dumbest, out-of-context name.
— The Pineapples (@OGPineapples) January 20, 2021
does that make him a small Robin? like a Hostess Donette?
— brose. (@brose750) January 20, 2021
But Biden’s not alone. Some social media users pointed out that actor Richard Brooks played assistant district attorney Paul Robinette on the TV show Law & Order. Author Mary Robinette Kowal has the name, too. “Why thank you!” she tweeted as her name trended.
