@handdrawnviolist I'd say as long as you use your middle name on everything searchable (your IG, FB, Twitter, portfolio,) then it doesn't matter what name it is. Teju is a nickname from my full name and what everyone calls me, so I use that as my 'professional' name instead of my legal name. I only have my full name on legal documents etc, but even when working for a company my nickname was on all official things.
If you search 'Teju Abiola or Teju Abiola Art' then you'll find art related stuff, but if you search with my full first name, you won't find anything art related. I've made my nickname my brand. Someone I know personally added her middle name to her 'brand' because there is another artist who has the same first and last name in a similar field. Artists like Loish and Iraville are widely known by handles that are not their legal name, and that is what is on all their work. If they were to publish or create anything using their legal name it would be harder for people to find. Just think of J.D. Salinger, J.K. Rowling, or F. Scott Fitzgerald? Or Sade, Seal, Madonna, Cher, or Beyonce? Writers, actors, and musicians have pen names, stage names, and alter egos all the time, why not artists and illustrators? I'm sure you aren't the first to drop a last name in favor of a middle name.
You just have to be consistent. Your name becomes your brand as an artist. No one cares what your name is as long as they can find you and your work! I suggest googling yourself when you brand yourself; use your full name, your shortened name, then add art to the end, etc. What you want is for when people search for your work, you pop up