2311: Mozart's Middle Name Apr 14, 2021

Mozart had many middle names, but Amadeus was never one of them. His full baptismal name is Latinized Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart though he went also by other versions of this in his typical German-speaking contexts, reverting 'Wolfgangus' to 'Wolfgang', and Theophilus, which is Greek, he used the translated Gottlieb (lover of G-d). It is from this final name where Amadeus emerges, since this is also the Latin translation but evidence shows that he would have only ever used the Italian 'Amadeo' and French 'Amadè' in those respective contexts; since he used the Greek alongside the other Latinized forms in his names, he would not have actually used Amadeus. It is only in his death records that he is listed as "Wolfgang Amadeus", which variably uses a German and then Latin form.