Our first child, a daughter, is due any day now and we’re still a little stuck on middle names! We’re fairly set on [name]Aletta[/name] [name]Louisa[/name] (our family name is [name]May[/name]) but can’t decide whether to add another middle name into the mix. I had always wanted three names but as our family name is quite feminine I’m not sure if this would be overkill and DH isn’t convinced.
[name]Aletta[/name] [name]Louisa[/name] [name]Evelyn[/name] is a strong possibility if DD arrives on [name]August[/name] 5, my great-grandmother’s birthday, in her honour.
[name]Aletta[/name] [name]Louisa[/name] [name]Isabel[/name] is another contender in honour of DH’s maternal grandmother. She was the only grandparent he met and he was totally devoted to her; sadly she passed away six weeks before we married.
[name]Aletta[/name] is a name we have never heard used but which has appeared a few times in DH’s family tree amongst his South African relatives - it’s quite a popular Dutch name but apparently it is also a French or Spanish name. We love that it’s feminine and quite unusual, whilst also being a nod to his heritage. I also like that it’s an ‘A’ name as both my parents and my paternal grandmother have names beginning with ‘A’.
[name]Louisa[/name] is another name from DH’s South African family. My maternal aunt and my sister have the middle name [name]Louise[/name], which we considered, but we thought that [name]Louisa[/name] went better with our family name.
Does it seem as though we’re leaning too heavily on DH’s paternal family? I don’t want to upset any sides, particularly as the baby will be a first grandchild on both sides and a first great-grandchild for all of my grandparents.
We’d be grateful for your thoughts on how many middle names to go for, the combination and any alternative middle name suggestions!
I think that [name]Aletta[/name] [name]Louisa[/name] [name]Evelyn[/name] is beautiful, and it is honoring both families. Honestly, I think even if you used names that are more so from his family your family will be ecstatic about a healthy grandchild and the names won’t be as big of a deal. I agree that [name]Aletta[/name] is a beautiful name, I have never heard of it, so thanks for posting so I could hear such a great name!
[name]Aletta[/name] [name]Louisa[/name] is lovely! I think since there is a family tradition of A names on your side and [name]Louise[/name] is a name on your side (and so close to [name]Louisa[/name]) that your side is acknowledged enough! If you want to nod to your side a little more…I think while [name]Louisa[/name] [name]May[/name] does flow a little better than [name]Louise[/name] [name]May[/name], [name]Aletta[/name] [name]Louise[/name] flows a little better than [name]Aletta[/name] [name]Louisa[/name] (but just a little - I love [name]Aletta[/name] [name]Louisa[/name] too!).
As for how many middles, the combos you suggest are lovely and meaningful, I don’t think it’s overkill if you really want to do it, but since your husband seems not totally in favor, here are some things to consider: You and your husband and little [name]Aletta[/name] might be able to consider the -isa in [name]Louisa[/name] as a nod to [name]Isabel[/name]. If his concern is more about length than the number of names, you could consider [name]Aletta[/name] [name]Louisa[/name] [name]Eve[/name] or [name]Aletta[/name] [name]Louisa[/name] [name]Belle[/name] as nods to [name]Evelyn[/name] or [name]Isabel[/name]. With these shorter names hyphenating might even make sense, so you’re down technically to two names: [name]Aletta[/name] [name]Louisa[/name]-[name]Eve[/name] or [name]Aletta[/name] [name]Louisa[/name]-[name]Belle[/name].
I generally prefer the standard two names, but [name]Aletta[/name] [name]Louisa[/name] [name]Evelyn[/name] is so pretty! And it sounds great with your last name.
[name]Aletta[/name] is sooo pretty! Also I love that [name]Aletta[/name] [name]Louisa[/name] [name]May[/name] gives you two thirds of [name]Louisa[/name] [name]May[/name] [name]Alcott[/name] [name]Aletta[/name] [name]Louisa[/name] [name]May[/name] is enough, I think, but adding [name]Evelyn[/name] makes it even more beautiful. Can’t go wrong here!
[name]Aletta[/name] [name]Louisa[/name] [name]May[/name] is enough, I think, but adding [name]Evelyn[/name] makes it even more beautiful. Can’t go wrong here!