It's an annoying thing to have to deal with on a regular basis. I'm in the same boat, in that my father and I both have the same first and last names, so I've always gone by my middle name.
Except now when I go to networking events or interviews, I tell people my middle name L* and then they point that out that my name tag or application says my first name is M* and I have to go through the whole song and dance of explaining the situation.
I'm frustrated enough to be looking into getting it legally changed. You might want to consider that as well if only to not have to deal with those phone calls any more.
Same here. I get around this by never mentioning my first name unless I'm in a situation where it's legally required, like at a doctor's office or the DMV. That groups down to a small number of cases:
1. If they're working for me, like at the doctor's office, I ask them to please call me by my middle name. They're generally respectful about it and are used to dealing with nicknames and other aliases anyway.
2. In the DMV and other situations, I just grit my teeth and answer by my first name. It's not worth the hassle of explaining and they don't care anyway.
3. If I'm being hired, I fill out my paperwork "officially" and give it to HR, with the explanation that I go by my middle name for all legal purposes.
4. Banks are kind of weird because they perform official government functions, but they're still ultimately working for me. I've only had one bank flat-out refuse to put my middle name on my debit card and checks, and I explained to the branch manager why I was walking out the door before we'd finished opening my account.
I've thought about it, but as soon as I do, I think about all the paperwork inevitably involved in making sure my medical history follows me, my pensions and other financial records get updated, and all that other nonsense, and, having nearly half a century of paperwork that ought to be updated, and being an essentially lazy old cuss, I decide that I can live with the annoyance.
Except now when I go to networking events or interviews, I tell people my middle name L* and then they point that out that my name tag or application says my first name is M* and I have to go through the whole song and dance of explaining the situation.
I'm frustrated enough to be looking into getting it legally changed. You might want to consider that as well if only to not have to deal with those phone calls any more.