Filler middle names

General Name Discussion
1

Hey everyone,

I was wondering what nameberries thought of “filler” middle names, names that are SO overdone in the middle spot, they are almost cliched (for lack of better words). For example:

Girls - [name]Grace[/name], [name]Rose[/name], [name]Marie[/name], [name]Ann[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Jean[/name]…
Boys- [name]Michael[/name], [name]James[/name], [name]William[/name]…

I’m sure there is more.

Would YOU use a “filler” middle name? Did you? What are you thoughts on filler middle names in general?

Thanks!

2

I tend to like most filler names and I don’t really care if they are considered fillers. If I like a name I will use it. :slight_smile: My middle name is [name]Joy[/name], which I think people consider a filler name. I’ve always loved it even though I’ve known a few other people with the same middle name. They are “fillers” for a reason, in my opinion. They sound good with a lot of different names so that’s why people choose them. [name]One[/name] that I don’t care for is [name]Nicole[/name]. It just isn’t my style. I love [name]Grace[/name], [name]Rose[/name], [name]Joy[/name], [name]Faith[/name], [name]Hope[/name], [name]Marie[/name], [name]Ann[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Elise[/name]… They are all pretty! :slight_smile: For boys, I like [name]James[/name] and a lot of one syllable names, but I’m not sure they are all considered fillers. I don’t care for [name]Michael[/name], it’s not my style, but I do agree it sounds good in the middle with many names.

3

I honestly don’t agree that [name]Elizabeth[/name] and [name]James[/name] are “filler” middle names.

4

They are.
http://www.namenerds.com/uucn/advice/middle.html

Nearly every girl in my class either had [name]Marie[/name] or [name]Elizabeth[/name] as their middle names. [name]James[/name]? Definitely.

5

[name]Marie[/name] was the most common middle name in my school. My middle name is [name]Rose[/name] but it’s a long standing family name so… no matter how popular it gets my first daughter will have [name]Rose[/name] as her middle name.

6

I think that there are definitely names out there that are so overused in the mn spot that I almost feel my eyes glazing over when someone tells me their middle name is [name]Elizabeth[/name] or [name]Grace[/name] or…ect.

Most of these names are actually on my favorites list, I just would never consider them as mn. I think often they loose all their charm as mn because we hear it so much it barely registered but as a fn choice they shine. I think mn spot is THE place to be adventurous and outrageous and use that guilty pleasure name you aren’t brave enough to use in the first spot - so why choose the same name thousands of others put in the same place?

7

I agree. I would do cartwheels if I met a [name]Marie[/name] or [name]Rose[/name] as first names, but I want to gouge my eyes out when they are shuffled off to the middle spot.

And I definitely agree with you that the middle name should be more adventurous. [name]James[/name] [name]Oscar[/name]/[name]Oswald[/name] and [name]Alice[/name] [name]Persephone[/name] are names that will capture my attention more so than [name]James[/name] [name]Michael[/name] and [name]Alice[/name] [name]Marie[/name].

8

To me a “filler name” is just one that is simple, a lot of people use, and that goes well with a lot of names.
I see the middle name as a great opportunity to use something uncommon so I wouldn’t use a filler middle, but I think a lot of them are nice and very usable, even for first names.
I would never scorn a little [name]Ann[/name], [name]Jane[/name], [name]Joy[/name], [name]Grace[/name], or [name]Rose[/name] just because her name flows well with others! I think that’s a good quality.

9

I don’t mind filler names because to me it doesn’t matter what the name is in most cases as long as it sounds good or has some sort of meaning, which most fillers provide. My middle is [name]Grace[/name] and I was named after my great grandmother and my little sister’s middle name is [name]Joy[/name] after our grandmother [name]Joyce[/name].

10

I like [name]James[/name] and [name]Elizabeth[/name] particularly with new-age tryndee names. [name]Kayleigh[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name] is suddenly cute and [name]Brayden[/name] [name]James[/name] is shockingly handsome. They ground those names. I could do without the others, and usually don’t even like them (I kinda loath the name [name]Grace[/name]), however their appeal is so universal I can’t even consistently dislike them. [name]One[/name] combo I’m considering is [name]Edith[/name] [name]Cornelia[/name] [name]Grace[/name]. [name]Lovely[/name]. They have their place. I also like them as gender identifiers.

11

I have no problem at all with them if they are used for family significance, which I think a lot of them are. [name]Just[/name] for the sound sure, go braver, but I chuckled seeing [name]James[/name] [name]Michael[/name] up there - this would be a family name with such meaning for me I would never even dream of giving it up just because it might seem tame to some people. I am considering other options but only because I love names.

12

I don’t mind filler names, I just find it a bit funny. And I wouldn’t use them unless they were significant to me in some way. I don’t know how many people I know with [name]Marie[/name] & [name]James[/name] as a middle. I do think [name]Rose[/name] and [name]Marie[/name] especially are beautiful names, and I’d love to see them being used more as a first name.

13

I am one of those who would like to see the “filler” names take a leading role more often. I wanted to use [name]Rose[/name] so badly as a first name, but it is my cousin’s middle name. My aunt wanted me to ask her permission before using it. I said she could just keep it…

14

I think in certain situations they’re okay. If it’s really got a special meaning to you but you don’t like it enough to put as a first, okay. Or if you have a really unique first, I think it’s smart to have a simple, common, unobjectionable middle like [name]Rose[/name] or [name]James[/name]. [name]Casimir[/name] [name]Zebedee[/name] and [name]Boheme[/name] [name]Hero[/name] are quite over the top, but [name]Casimir[/name] [name]Michael[/name] and [name]Boheme[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name] seem unique but grounded. However, with a common first filler middles seem horrendously boring. An old friend of mine recently named her daughter [name]Zoe[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name], and both names are great, but it’s definitely not a particularly interesting combo.

15

For me it’s because I’ll probably end up with a son called [name]Joe[/name] (my granddads name) so using my nanna’s (his wife) first name ([name]Rose[/name]) as a first name for a daughter, I’d have [name]Rose[/name] and [name]Joe[/name] and that would be really weird. I love both names and I wish I could use them both in the first name slot.

::Edit:: And thinking about it, it’d even be weird if I did Ned and Rose as those were the names of my nanna’s parents.

16

I don’t like filler names, to me they are so over-done they are boring and show a lack of thought put into the name. It’s one thing if the name has some signification, but quite another if you just stick a name in there because you can’t think of anything else. I can understand getting stuck on picking out a middle name and all, but I wish more people would consider the middle name as an important part of the complete name, the middle name can serve as a back-up if the kid ends up disliking their first name for one thing. It’s also a place you can be a little more creative and wild in your selection.

A lot of the popular filler names actually would make for nice first names, but they get relegated to the the middle name slot, names like [name]Rose[/name], [name]Marie[/name], [name]Anne[/name], etc.

17

Hubs and I didn’t use filler middles but as someone who comes from a family of same name people our middles were the only to tell us apart most of the time. My middle is filler though not because it is the name of my paternal grandmother.

18

I like most of the so called ‘filler names’. I think the main reason they are so popular, just like any of those in the top 10 at any given time, is because they are lovely names that many people see the beauty in. Popular names are popular for a reason!

Admittedly, I do try and stay away from names that are too popular, just because my own was soo popular growing up that I wouldn’t want to put that on my children. But if a name that I truly loved was in style it wouldn’t stop me from using it.

So just because James, Rose, Grace, etc are considered overdone, doesn’t mean that I won’t consider them!

–
I’d also like to add however, that I do love middle names for the reason that they can be a little more adventurous that first names. I wouldn’t necessarily name my daughter Temperance, Lux or Wynn but I think they all make wonderful middle names! Just my opinion though.

19

In general, I’m against them. I’m [name]Ashley[/name] [name]Marie[/name] “just because”, and I always hated that there wasn’t more significance behind my name. Then again, [name]Grace[/name] will absolutely be somewhere in my daughter’s name, it’s my grandmother’s MN and it’s very important to me. I had at first ruled [name]Grace[/name] out completely, I didn’t want such a filler/popular name anywhere near my daughter, but in the end, I just couldn’t not use [name]Grace[/name]. And so, yeah, I could use something that means [name]Grace[/name], but that’s nowhere near as meaningful as [name]Grace[/name] actually is. And if [name]Marie[/name] had been my mom’s name, or if I had been named after some woman who had saved my mom’s life while she was pregnant with me or some such amazing thing, then yes, I would [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Marie[/name]. But they just picked it because it’s nice, and it accidentally honors two of my great aunts. I love the connection to my aunts now, but since it wasn’t on purpose I don’t really feel like I should have that special tie to my grandmother’s sisters.

Filler MNs is why I have embraced two MNs, too. [name]Even[/name] if each child ends up having [name]Rose[/name], [name]Grace[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Jane[/name], [name]Claire[/name], [name]James[/name], [name]John[/name], [name]Michael[/name], [name]William[/name], [name]Alexander[/name], and [name]Charles[/name] in their names, [name]Arianne[/name] [name]Eleanor[/name] [name]Rose[/name], [name]Isabelle[/name] [name]Aurora[/name] [name]Grace[/name], [name]Kaia[/name] [name]Elisabeth[/name] [name]Pearl[/name], [name]Charlotte[/name] [name]Olive[/name] [name]Jane[/name], [name]Violet[/name] [name]Ophelia[/name] [name]Claire[/name], [name]Asher[/name] [name]Patrick[/name] [name]James[/name], [name]Leopold[/name] [name]Everett[/name] [name]John[/name], [name]Zane[/name] [name]Ephraim[/name] [name]Michael[/name], [name]Jack[/name] [name]August[/name] [name]William[/name], [name]Zane[/name] [name]Alexander[/name] [name]Lev[/name], and [name]Everett[/name] [name]Joshua[/name] [name]Charles[/name] are much more interesting and less bland than [name]Arianne[/name] [name]Rose[/name], [name]Isabelle[/name] [name]Grace[/name], [name]Kaia[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Charlotte[/name] [name]Jane[/name], [name]Violet[/name] [name]Claire[/name], etc. are. :slight_smile:

20

We plan you using [name]James[/name] as a middle name, if we have a boy. It is a family name on SO’s side and it’s meaning Supplanter is the same as my name’s meaning. So, to us it is not filler. I think I am drawn to “filler” names bc many of them are one syllable. I tend to like 2 syllable first names and our last name is 2 syllables. I generally do not like 3 syllable names - too fussy for my taste. So, a one syllable middle name sounds best.