“How do we know who you are?” I’m asked abruptly at a car rental counter in Los Angeles – by an agent already perusing my passport, driver’s licence and International Driving Permit. That’s when I should’ve made a U-turn, but I persist through another speedbump.

“How do we know this isn’t your brother’s credit card?” I’m quizzed again. Well, I’m an only child, so there’s that … but you see that name on the front? That’s me, and it matches that passport.

Except, it’s not a perfect match. The card has my surname, but only my first initial: that’s all that fits. “Christopher Chamberlin” – 22 characters, with the space – becomes “C Chamberlin”, keeping it under the bank’s apparent 20-character cap. If Chris were my full first name, I’d be on cruise control down the highway, but as Christopher, the handbrake stays on.

Not even a credit card statement showing my full name is good enough. “That’s our policy,” I’m told, and there’s nothing I can do … except book a rideshare to my destination.

When it comes to names, though, airlines can also be prickly – but it’s often middle names causing the roadblocks.

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Recently, Qantas couldn’t check me through for a connecting flight because the connection had my middle name listed when the first flight didn’t. I could still travel, but with the hassle of visiting check-in again at that midway point to get my continuing boarding pass. Lesson learnt.

With Virgin Australia, I’ve had issues claiming Velocity points after international flights because of my middle name. I’d entered it on the flight booking, but my Velocity account – a relic from the early days of Virgin Blue – didn’t have that name on file. I’d need to update my Velocity account to match, and then retry my claim.

Still, it’s not always consistent. A recent journey on Delta saw my boarding pass printed as “Christoph”, and nobody said a word. At least, my full name was correct on the booking, so for this, I can’t be blamed.

Be warned, Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) can be pedantic about middle names, especially with Australian passports. Because our passports don’t have a separate “middle name” field, ANA advises Aussies to include any middle name as an extension of their given name to avoid delays at the airport – especially when booking ANA flights through partners such as Virgin Australia.

Leaving a middle name off a visa application can deem most visas unusable, when there’s a mismatch with your passport name. The same applies to United States ESTA applications, where a forgotten middle name requires a new ESTA – costing a second application fee.

Names that include apostrophes like O’Brien, or that begin with “Mc”, can also be problematic, requiring extra care when booking. Check with your airline, hotel or travel agent for the best approach if the system won’t accept your name as-is.

Australia’s pesky international arrivals card isn’t friendly on the name front, either. Longer names simply don’t fit – mine included. Here, my strategy is to make it look like I’ve tried. I’ll start neatly writing one letter per box … and then cram the rest in haphazardly to fit. At least, in the eyes of Border Force, that’s always been good enough to get a green light.