Double Middle Names

I live in the southeastern US and don’t know many people who give their children double middle names. Since I was young, I have always loved the idea…probably because of a fascination with both names and British culture. I would also love to honor as many family members as possible at one time. It seems that on Nameberry there are many of you who give your children double middle names. So here are the questions 1) Of those whose children have double middle names, are you a [name]Brit[/name] or an American? 2) If you are American, what is the normal reaction you get when you tell people the name? (I know a child will only go by one name.) 3) [name]Do[/name] you think this will just be another trend in the US that will seem dated ten years down the road? Thanks in advance for your thoughts:)

I am in favor of no more than two middle names. It can be kind of pretentious, but then so what. I think some of it might have to do with genealogy research and finding names and wanting to honor more people while people are generally having fewer children, that could be one reason besides the emulation of British in [name]America[/name], or a valid justification of it.

I think it gets strange when given more than 2 middle names, but people love names and they want to use some of them up, or not leave out anyone who is important to them or fail to commemorate an important shared event. When 2 people with their own names and each have a family, large or small, and want to honor fathers and mothers and grandparents, aunts, uncles, their favorite musician whose concert was their first date, their favorite time of year, and the place they went on their honeymoon, and then not know how many children they’ll be able to have (or even want), and then have to both agree on a name, and they want to give the child “options,” it can get a little over-complicated.

I am a [name]Brit[/name] with two middle names. It is actually the most common number over here, at least out of the people I know. I can’t imagine it would ever be a problem anywhere, as middle names only have to be mentioned very rarely, and I should imagine any child, especially a little girl (it gives a princess vibe), would love having a wealth of pretty names.

The only negative feedback you could encounter would be someone thinking you pretentious, but if the names are not too flamboyant for your area (stear clear of, say, [name]Arabella[/name] [name]Tatiana[/name] [name]Seraphina[/name]) and honour family members, then I don’t think you’ll get many people thinking this wherever you live.

I also don’t think it will become dated. It has been usual practice in [name]Britain[/name] for centuries without dying out, and a number of names can’t really become dated (unless you give your child 20 middle names) as most people will always have a middle name and some parents will always want to give their child more than one. In my opinion, it is only names themselves which can become dated.

Good luck!

Like Twinkle, I’m also a [name]Brit[/name] with 2 middle names, and I agree that it is pretty common practice here. It would only really been seen as pretentious if all 3 names sounded very posh, I think.

The one think to be aware of is that sometimes on forms the second mn is missed off. All through secondary (high) school I was classified as [name]Eleanor[/name] [name]Lauren[/name] rather than [name]Eleanor[/name] [name]Lauren[/name] [name]Margaret[/name] and this was carried through university. So you need to think carefully about the order you put the names in and which you would prefer not to sometimes get knocked off.

“It seems that on Nameberry there are many of you who give your children double middle names. So here are the questions 1) Of those whose children have double middle names, are you a [name]Brit[/name] or an American? 2) If you are American, what is the normal reaction you get when you tell people the name? (I know a child will only go by one name.) 3) [name]Do[/name] you think this will just be another trend in the US that will seem dated ten years down the road? Thanks in advance for your thoughts:)”

  1. I’m an American. I have one middle name myself, but both of my daughters have 2 middle names. I’m due in the fall with my third daughter, who will also have 2 middle names.
  2. I’ve only ever gotten positive reactions, if any, to the fact that my kids have 2 middle names. I’ve gotten “what a great way to include multiple names you love” and “the sound of two middle names gives the full name good ‘flow’”. My oldest is [name]Ellie[/name] [name]Sarah[/name] [name]Jane[/name]. People always assume that “[name]Sarah[/name] [name]Jane[/name]” is kind of a double name, which I don’t mind, especially because neither of her middle names ever gets dropped off. The same is true with my younger daughter, [name]Clare[/name] [name]Emily[/name] [name]Ann[/name]. My third will most likely be [name]Lilah[/name] [name]Rosalie[/name] [name]Wynne[/name].
  3. I definitely dont think two middle names is a trend. Lots of people in my family have 2 middle names, and throughout history people have used two middle names to honor family members or just to include more names. I think two middle names sounds beautiful :slight_smile:

All my kids have double middle names. I’m American. When I tell people their two middle names, people often say it’s cool and interesting to have two middle names. I gave my children all two middle names because that gives me more chances to use names I like and so they’ll have more names to pick from if it turns out their first name doesn’t suit them.

Perfect! Those are exactly the responses I was hoping for for all of the reasons mentioned by all of you. That makes me feel so much better about choosing two middle names to honor more family members at once. Thank you all so much!

You’re very welcome! [name]Happy[/name] to help :smiley:
Oh, and congratulations, of course!

Looks like you already ave what you need, but I’ll throw mine in anyway…

  1. Of those whose children have double middle names, are you a [name]Brit[/name] or an American?
    American

  2. If you are American, what is the normal reaction you get when you tell people the name? (I know a child will only go by one name.)
    Sometimes no reaction, sometimes, “Wow, that’s pretty”, sometimes just, “Wow”

  3. [name]Do[/name] you think this will just be another trend in the US that will seem dated ten years down the road?
    I don’t think so. Generations of people have been given double middle names.