Middle names used as the common name

[Clyde Peterson]

The Daniel August Danielsson family of Grangärde (W) in the 1880's; most of the men (not all) used their middle names as the common name they were called by.
He used August. A son Johan Henry used Henry. Another son Erik Walfred used Walfred. But the oldest son Karl August used Karl (probably because his father used August). My question is: was this a common practice in Sweden to use their middle name as their commonly called first name?
Clyde D Peterson

[Jonas Kuschner (Jonas)]

Middle name in the American sense is simply not a valid concept in Swedish onomastics. Neither is it a meaningful term to use for instance in regard to German or British naming practices for that matter. (The present prince of Wales is called Charles Philip Arthur George - which is the middle name?)
 
People may have one, two, three or more first names, and may be called by any one (or in many cases two) of these names.

[Clyde Peterson]

Hello Jonas,
Thank you very much for that very thoughtful answer.
Regards, Clyde