I’ve seen many people posting about middle names, and it got me thinking how and why do people choose a mn?
[name]Do[/name] you just pick it out of the list of names you like, or does it have to be after a family member or friend?
All of my children are named after someone in our family.
My first - [name]Justin[/name] [name]Patrick[/name] ([name]Patrick[/name] is my husband’s name)
My second - [name]Jacob[/name] [name]Justin[/name] (my 1st passed away when he was 2 mo.)
My third - [name]Alanna[/name] [name]Rose[/name] ([name]Rose[/name] was my great grandmother’s name)
Now I’m pg w/ my 4th, and we are most likely going to give her the mn [name]James[/name] after my husband’s brother who passed away. But now I’m wondering if we decide not to go with [name]James[/name], what will we choose…
So I was just wondering how ppl decide on middle names.
My first two sons were named after family members:
[name]David[/name] [name]Jesse[/name] ([name]Jesse[/name] after his gr-grandfather and gr-gr uncle)
[name]Matthew[/name] [name]Hayes[/name] ([name]Hayes[/name] after his gr-grandfather and gr uncle)
My first daughter (who passed away at birth) [name]Destiny[/name] [name]Christanna[/name] [name]Mae[/name] ([name]Anna[/name] after gr grandmother, [name]Mae[/name] after mother, both grandmothers, both gr grandmothers, gr gr grandmother)
My second daughter was a miracle child after a very difficult pregnancy (we were told she most likely had Down’s Syndrome, had a hole in her heart, I required emergency surgery to place a cervical cerclage at 19 1/2 weeks pregnancy and complete bedrest after this to get her here safely. ) She was born at 35 1/2 weeks with absolutely no health problems (the hole in her heart wall closed completely before birth, she is not Down’s, she had no breathing or other problems at birth except mild jaundice and is now 4 1/2 and very healthy and happy. I was 42 1/2 when I gave birth to her. Her name is [name]Liberty[/name] [name]Grace[/name] [name]Miracle[/name] ([name]Grace[/name] because God gave us the grace to get through each difficult day of her pregnancy and [name]Miracle[/name] because she is our own private miracle)
Thank you [name]Lord[/name] for this healthy beautiful child. I am sorry for the loss of your precious 2 month old Being the mother of a deceased child of any age is belonging to a club none of us want to be a member of. I miss my little [name]Destiny[/name] every day.
First, I am very sorry for your son’s passing. That is so sad! I know I’ve commented on your polls before, but I can’t remember what names you said you liked.
I don’t have any children, so I’ll go by those I know, my siblings:
My older brother is [name]Benjamin[/name] [name]Alexander[/name]. My mother wanted to use [name]Benjamin[/name] because she wanted to honor her maternal grandfather, [name]Joseph[/name] [name]Ben[/name] (turns out it may have actually been [name]Joseph[/name] [name]Bernard[/name], there was a records mix-up). His middle name was another name that they had considered for a first name, but it wasn’t their absolute favorite.
My twin sister is [name]Sarah[/name] [name]Price[/name], a name my mom had picked out for a girl even when she was pregnant with my brother. It is a family name, through and through. I don’t know exactly what relation she is to me, but [name]Sarah[/name] [name]Price[/name] is a distant relative of my mother’s grandmother, or so I recall.
My name is [name]Lauren[/name] [name]Elyse[/name], a name I think was thrown together, as it doesn’t “fit” with my other siblings. My dad picked it, one part from a TV show, and another part from a name he loved. Like I said before, my mom had a B and G name picked out from the start, but she didn’t have two of either…
Personally, I don’t plan to honor anyone directly with family names as middle names, unless I use [name]James[/name] (EVERYONE in my family is named [name]James[/name], it seems!), but I genuinely like the name as well…Go with what you love!
To me, baby names are a way to be creative. There’s not much I can do with a first name alone. By adding a middle name, I have a chance to create something truly unique and beautiful. It’s my way of making a name my own…putting my own originality into it. And, of course, should there ever be another child with the same first & last name, the middle name is a way to distinguish between the two. It can give an individual identity to both of them.
I generally just search until I find something that clicks. Until I get that “aha!” moment. If it happens to be a family name, then great! But I don’t choose family names simply to honor someone. It has to sound good, and add to the originality as well. I feel like I’m being dishonorable by saying that, but honestly, my family has never been that close. If I am going to honor someone, I want it to be someone who has made a large impact on my life. Otherwise I may end up regretting it.
[name]Hudson[/name] [name]Atticus[/name]- [name]Atticus[/name] from To Kill A Mockingbird, as I was readint rhe book both when I met my husband and discovered I was pregnant!
[name]Savanna[/name] [name]Parker[/name]- [name]Parker[/name] is the last name of a dear friend of the family
[name]Alexis[/name] [name]Jade[/name]- All my sisters (I have 4) middle names start with the letter ‘J’, as do both my brothers names.
[name]Nash[/name] [name]Keaton[/name]- I just love, love the name [name]Keaton[/name]… no meaning here ;p
[name]Courtney[/name] [name]Paige[/name]- [name]Paige[/name] is also another name my husband and I both loved (which nameberry readers helped pick out!)
I do not have any children, yet, but my husband and I already know our future children’s middle names. To us they must have some significance.
Our first daughter will have the middle name [name]Adeline[/name]. It is my grandma’s middle name and I just love her to pieces. I can’t imagine life without her, and would love to honor her in some way.
Our second daughter will have the middle name [name]Alice[/name]. [name]Both[/name] of my husband’s grandma’s are named [name]Alice[/name]. Its a one stop shop
If we could work the name “anna” or “ann” into a name that would help honor as well. My other grandma’s first name is [name]Anna[/name], and my mom’s name is [name]Roxann[/name]. Another two-fer!
Our future boys’ middles are picked out, but not sure of the order. Here are our options.
[name]August[/name] - My husband’s grandfather’s middle name. My husband used to spend a few weeks each summer with this grandfather…They’re really close. And he’s SUCH a cute old man! LOL!
[name]Daniel[/name] - My husband’s name. His middle name is his father’s name…Might be a nice tradition to pass on
[name]Anthony[/name] - The name of a friend of ours that passed away when I was in high school.
In the end I picked my daughters middle names basically because I liked the way sounded with their firsts. There is a bit more to there middles than that but had I not liked they we they sounded I wouldn’t have chose them.
[name]Kira[/name] [name]Berlin[/name] - We were thinking of using a place name for her middle name like [name]Paris[/name], [name]London[/name], ect. [name]Berlin[/name] wasn’t in any of the baby books that we owned but we really liked the way it sounded with [name]Kira[/name]. For me I tie it to the significance of the [name]Berlin[/name] wall coming down as well but my husband just likes the name.
[name]Mia[/name] [name]Taylor[/name] - Well, [name]Mia[/name] was going to be [name]Samantha[/name] [name]Rae[/name] until 3 weeks before she was born. After we decided on [name]Mia[/name] for her first name we were stumped for a middle. I had made the joke that we were going to name her after the doctor if we couldn’t find a middle name for her. [name]Taylor[/name] was OB’s last name and when I said [name]Mia[/name] and [name]Taylor[/name] together we both loved the combo.
That’s so funny, because when my youngest brother was born, my parents had no idea what to name him, so they decided to name him after his paediatrition. Unfortunately though, Dr’s name was [name]Ronald[/name] and my parents weren’t sold! LOL! So he ended up [name]David[/name] [name]Benjamin[/name] - [name]Benjamin[/name] is our Grandma’s maiden name.
My other brother is [name]Michael[/name] [name]John[/name] and also named after family - our Uncle [name]Michael[/name] and our Dad, [name]John[/name]! I was the unlucky one who missed out on a meaningful name - I got [name]Erin[/name] [name]Louise[/name] just because it sounded nice (in 1986!!).
Is it just me or are boys more often named after family members than girls?
Well [name]Taylor[/name] wasn’t the doctor who actually delivered [name]Mia[/name]. Her first name was [name]Lisa[/name] (mine too) [name]Mia[/name] [name]Lisa[/name] doesn’t really sound that great. His first name was [name]William[/name] so had [name]Mia[/name] some how been a boy I would have been fine with [name]William[/name] too. Maybe we should all seek out doctors whose names we like even if they’re not liked by our significant others. That way when push comes to shove and still no one agrees on a name, suggesting the name of the doctor who helped bring your little joy into the world might sound like a great idea. Of course you’ll eventually win in the end.
I also think more boys are named after family members than girls are but I don’t know if that’s fact.
since my daughters father and I could not decide on any names he chose the middle and i chose the first. So it kind of worked backwards since i wanted the names to sound good together. He chose [name]Aveline[/name] as the middle name, just because he liked the sound of it. I had two names with me at the hospital [name]Anais[/name] and [name]Lila[/name] (leela). Since [name]Anais[/name] [name]Aveline[/name] didnt flow so well I chose [name]Lila[/name] [name]Aveline[/name].
Ours are all based on some sort of namesake together with liking the name
1st: [name]Audrey[/name] – for my mentor/colleague/friend
2nd: [name]Atlas[/name] – probably the most prominent name in my paternal line (we’re not sure who the original [name]Atlas[/name] was that spawned so many namesakes, but I’ve tried counting them and always give up) plus my husband always loved it
3rd, if a girl: [name]Margaret[/name] – for two family members on my husband’s side
3rd, if a boy: ??? still looking! have certain family names chosen, but no agreements with husband yet
We generally go with more traditional family names in the middle name spot to balance out our more quirky taste in first names. I really enjoy the thought of honoring family and continuing traditions, and then I know that if my child ever decides he doesn’t like his name, he has a good solid, traditional name to fall back on.
That being said, I will not use a name that I don’t like, even if it is a dear family member who I would love to honor. If that is that case, I’d get creative and think of a name that starts with the same letter, has the same meaning, is an international variation, etc.
and still no one agrees on a name, suggesting the name of the doctor who helped bring your little joy into the world might sound like a great idea. Of course you’ll eventually win in the end.