How to take single item out of List?

Question

I often get Lists that contain a single item, like {name} or {{2,3,4}}.

Is there a function that simply takes the item out of the List without needing to use Part, like #[[1]]&?

Answer 1

You can use First as in First@{{2,3,4}}. Not entirely sure though, why this should be preferable to [[1]].