What was Allen Ginsberg’s middle name?

Allen Ginsberg’s middle name was Louis.

He was born Irwin Allen Ginsberg on June 3, 1926, in Newark, New Jersey. “Louis” was his middle name, and he became known publicly by his middle and family names rather than by his birth first name.

Ginsberg became one of the most prominent poets associated with the Beat Generation. His major works include Howl, Kaddish, and America, and his public readings helped make postwar experimental poetry more visible in the United States.

The name detail can cause confusion because biographies often begin with his full birth name, Irwin Allen Ginsberg. His father, Louis Ginsberg, was also a poet and teacher, but the answer concerns Allen’s own middle name, not his father’s given name.