[name]Cullen[/name] is my maiden name and I am trying to figure out a way to honor my dad’s side of the family…the only other family names from his side are just not my taste (Fredna, [name]Fanny[/name], [name]Mary[/name]…). Are there too many twilight connections though?
I’m really not a fan of surnames as girl’s names, but since [name]Cullen[/name] is a family name, it’s fine. I think some people might think you named your daughter after Twilight, but not if you tell them it was your maiden name, and most won’t know her middle name anyway.
I think if it’s your maiden name then it’s a great idea to use it as a middle name. Would be nice to pair it with a feminine first name. Have you got first name ideas?
We have 3 first name contenders right now; [name]Penelope[/name], [name]Eleanor[/name], and [name]Eden[/name]. I think [name]Penelope[/name] goes best with [name]Cullen[/name] as a middle name though. My other two daughters are [name]Lilian[/name] and [name]Sofia[/name].
I actually like how [name]Eleanor[/name] [name]Cullen[/name] flows. And it matches best with the other names. 
I think [name]Penelope[/name] goes best with [name]Lilian[/name] and [name]Sofia[/name] (I love [name]Sofia[/name] spelled this way!). I don’t know if you call your girls by nicknames, but [name]Lily[/name], [name]Sofie[/name] and [name]Penny[/name] are adorable together! I agree with you that [name]Penelope[/name] [name]Cullen[/name] has the best flow, too. [name]Eleanor[/name] [name]Cullen[/name] is nice too, but it makes me think more of [name]Edward[/name] [name]Cullen[/name] (thought that’s your dad’s name, right? So maybe you would like that). [name]Lily[/name] and [name]Ellie[/name] are quite close though, if that bothers you. [name]Eden[/name] would be very sweet with [name]Lilian[/name] and [name]Sofia[/name], but [name]Eden[/name] [name]Cullen[/name] just doesn’t sound great to me. That said, if it’s your favorite then I think that’s the most important thing!
I think [name]Cullen[/name] is completely fine as a middle name for a girl. I think surnames as middles for girls are a lot more common than we realize. I know two little girls with surname middles that are extremely surnamey (I can’t imagine anyone ever using them as first names), and they aren’t even their mother’s maiden names! So I think you can totally do it! Plus I bet when she’s older if you have her read the Twilight books she’ll get a kick out of it!