I think names are better eclectic. It is weird when you think of sibsets matching closer in style, but within one child’s name, it can be more free-for-all. I think it is better to have a middle name that has some sort of meaning, and that is not always in style. I hated my old-fashioned middle name growing up… I think my first name was very “of the day” when I was born, but never really felt it was so trendy it hurts, like a [name]Madison[/name] or a [name]Kaylee[/name]. Perhaps I’m wrong about that. I think it was more like the fashionable imported style names, such names that are Irish tend to go out of style and new Irish names become “modern” in the US and then go out of style too. However, my name is Danish, and I think that might go along with the furniture tastes of the day. In fact, when I was very little, our living room was done in Danish Modern. What is “trendy” or “modern” doesn’t necessarily have to be insubstantial or tacky just because people get tired of it and go for something traditional or even newer.
But I digress. My middle name was supposed to be [name]Elizabeth[/name], which is very classic and traditional next to [name]Karen[/name]. It’s also fairly meaningless to my parents and merely “nice.” It flows. No one is upset by the mingling, but no one is in love with it either. They will put it up on craigslist when they get bored of it. It’s well-made, but they won’t make enough to replace the item, merely a percentage, but not diddly squat either. It’s not rare, but there will always be a buyer.
A lot of my peers got [name]Ann[/name] or [name]Lee[/name] or [name]Marie[/name], which to me, is more like something you might buy because, although you’re on a budget, you want to get things placed and move on with your life, and you’re not picky, you’re not in love with it, but once you fill that space, you’re less motivated to keep hunting for something that really makes the room. You have a place to put the remote and a glass of soda when you watch tv, and never look at it, it is just there. Of course, this does not address people to whom names like [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Ann[/name], [name]Lee[/name], or [name]Marie[/name] actually mean “tradition” to them. If the piece is really thought out, it belongs in the space rightfully, and to me, that is different than people who just don’t have the interest or attention span (or possibly skill) to put a room together. Or in this case, a name.
It’s really common around here to suggest offsetting a risky first name with a bland or uncontroversial middle name the same way most people don’t decorate 100% wackadoo. They put together a neutral “shell” of a room with a few really exotic pieces. You really notice these things but don’t feel they are out of place or overwhelming. It’s more delightful for most people that way. Some non-expert decorators might just fill a room with weird and outlandish stuff, but you have to have a good eye to make it work, and with names, a good ear. You can’t just slap things together, and I think with names, that is the “safety” option in the middle name that diverts from the style of the first name. Traditional or filler names just go with everything, so you’re in less danger of screwing it up. [name]Just[/name] because you like one style of name for a first name does not bind you into the style for the middle name, not the same way it narrows your options for sibling names if you want them to sound like a family.
Also, a lot of people take their chances in the middle name and put the safe name in the first spot. I think that is most likely my style - it is like having a house like everyone on the rest of your block, but when you feel familiar with someone enough to invite them in, they get to see into you more - what you’re really like. If you have a whole wall full of old family photos, or a sofa shaped like a piano, or did your kitchen retro-50s style, or extreme Victorian parlor style. A name is something of a hand-me-down or heirloom, even if it is in a modern style. It is really more an indicator of your parents’ style than your own, but I like having a middle name that I can reveal as I wish to or not, really meaningful and I’ve always thought, unusual, even if it has been out of style for a long time, even if it doesn’t “go” with my first name.
I really like this decorating metaphor!
