I was wondering how important middle names are to everyone.
However, I’m not talking about, are they important to give to a child or not but rather later in life.
As in:
Would you display all your child’s names in their room (just pretend you would at least display their first name even if you wouldn’t)?
When you sign them up for school and you could choose to either put down their full name or only first and last name, what would you go with? They are still only called by their first name but one lists they’d appear as FN MN LN.
Maybe my question is how much value do you give the middle name(s)?
I would post their full name at least once in their room although their first name or first initial will be in it more frequently.
I would go with first, middle, and last. Like my record has me in as last name, first name in their system so that’s what I would do for my kids.
I would probably be so proud of my beautiful name combos that I would say my kids first and middle names as often as I could without being socially awkward. So I guess I’d give a lot of value to the middle name.
I would absolutely post the full name in the room. By the time I have kids (in the next 2 years) I will have literally put years of research into the name so I’d want to show it off.
In terms of schooling I would use the full name as well.
I’m really in love with the combo’s DH and I have thought up so I’d want to show them off (without it being weird). I guess I place a decent amount of importance to the middle name. I feel like a middle name can really set the vibe for the name or make/break it.
Most forms have room for the middle name so I would put it down on school enrolment forms but I wouldn’t expect the teacher to call the child by his first and middle name together. Usually you are obliged to put down your full legal names on important documents but it depends what the form is obviously. I like middle names so I think if you have one you should use it sometimes.
My paternal grandfather, as a first generation American, wasn’t given a middle name; therefore, even though they shared the same first, my dad’s middle name prevented him from being a junior, giving him distinction. On the other hand, my husband has such a common first name, that when his mother registered him for kindergarten, she had them list his first and middle, which he now uses on EVERYTHING - bank checks, address labels, you name it!
I’ve never been thrilled with the idea of having a junior nor bestowing his oh-so-common name on our son, but it was I who actually suggested it after realizing that DH was relentlessly comparing his own name with each one of my wonderful suggestions; after the umpteenth veto, I was finally willing to embrace the same love DH reveres for the strength and meaning of his own name (not that I didn’t before, but it’s an entirely different story between admiring your husband’s very classic moniker and naming your son). All that to say: our junior will go by a variation of his middle name… so yes, highly valued in this case!
My parents were very strict on not volunteering unnecessary information - especially about our names - yet my DH’s were obviously not so strict. Other than our future little [name_m]Liam[/name_m], I’m not sure what we’ll decide to do once we have other children. (Side note: I LOVE classic, old-fashioned middles paired with off-beaten firsts!)
I would love to display the full in in his/her room! Adorable! I love the combos that we’ve picked (and I must love the combos we actually end up picking for a baby eventually). Maybe not the last name, but first and middle would be sweet.
Signing them up for school, just first and middle unless there’s a spot specifically for middle names. My middle name was always on the attendance sheets as a double first name and it drove me bonkers. It really depends what the registration form says. I’m kind of indifferent to whether or not the middle name goes on school forms.
To be honest, middle names are just filler (honour names) to me. I’m so bad at coming up with good combos, and would love to just give my child my maiden name as a middle (which is the most common way here; first name, mother’s maiden/last name, father’s last name). If I did that, I would just display my child’s first name in his/her room, but write the full name on school forms. Either way, my child would only be called by his/her first name.
Side note: I went to class with a [name_f]Jacqueline[/name_f] [name_f]Alicia[/name_f], whose first name I only found out after going to class with her for 10+ years. Obviously, in this case she went by her middle name, but I always found that interesting. Her parents never bothered to put her first name on any school forms. As someone who had her full name on school forms, but went by her middle name, I cannot say how much I envied her for not having to correct every new teacher she met
I don’t have a middle name, but I have a Chinese name that goes behind my surname. That was never used by anybody except for Chinese teachers. I like my name but it doesn’t sound great when it’s between my first name and surname, so when I moved to the US, I’d always leave the middle name spot blank, and just went by my first name-surname, and that’s what’s on my drivers license. My passport has my full name. Our kids will have Chinese names too, but we’re going to use the Chinese names as middle names, but it wouldn’t be super important. If they have Chinese teachers they’ll probably be the only ones using their Chinese names. As for putting their names up in the room, I think I’ll put just their first names. I guess it could be cool if I displayed their Chinese names in characters…
I don’t have a middle name and wish I did. There is no harm in having one and think they can come in useful.
For example, I have another person with the same name working in the same city and profession and people get us mixed up all the time.
I also have a friend who doesn’t have one and has a one syllable first name. This sounded fine until she married a guy with a one syllable surname , so her entire name is now two syllables and seven letters. She complains that she has the shortest name in the world and her signature looks made up!
My point being, circumstances might arise in the future which make important.
I don’t put much importance in middle names. Of course I want my kids to have them but they’re an afterthought. I don’t have any combos in mind for my favorite names. I don’t intend on displaying the mn. Of course on forms when asked I’ll include the mn.
However, if I have to compromise and put a favorite in the middle, then the fn will basically be a space filler. Ex) [name_f]Maya[/name_f] [name_f]Lotus[/name_f] & [name_m]Elijah[/name_m] [name_m]Fox[/name_m]. When able, I’d write their names as M. [name_f]Lotus[/name_f] & E. [name_m]Fox[/name_m]. When I was in grade school (late 80s/early 90s) forms asked what name the child should be called. Surely they still do this so I’d request that they be called [name_f]Lotus[/name_f] & [name_m]Fox[/name_m]. As for displaying their names at home, I’d put both fn & mn so they are aware of their real fn.
I would always put the middle name on official documents/school forms etc., as well as in their room (if I were going to put the name up anyway) - my own middle name is as much a part of my identity as my first, and I hope this would apply to my children as well.
I love my daughter’s middle name. When I made customized things on Shutterfly with her picture, I always put [name_f]Noemi[/name_f] [name_f]Xochitl[/name_f]. When we move into our new house, I would love to display her name somehow.
When she started daycare, her full name was on the form. Of course, I don’t expect her teachers to use her middle name (or to pronounce it). But I love when people ask what her middle name is and what it means. .
My middle name is a filler name, so I want beautiful middle names for my children.
So I really enjoy when middle names are kind of surprise or something you “find out”. Sometimes it’s one of the first things a person asks you, and sometimes they see the initial or something way down the line and are like “hey, what’s that stand for” and I just like that it’s not all thrown out in the open immediately. (This just happened with a good friend of mine I’ve known for 3 years now! It was kinda neat).
I love my daughter’s full name. Her middle is a very important honor name and while previously I would have never ever even though to have used it, I love it. That said, I don’t think I’d put her fn and mn on her wall. That’d be a lot of letters. I do have her first name up but she doesn’t have a full on nursery, so it’s more like [name_f]Lu[/name_f]'s corner.
She has her full name on important documents that don’t automatically ask for a middle initial, though many of them do. In those situations I enjoy that her middle initial is V, a less common letter. [name_f]Luella[/name_f] V. has some va va voom.
But yeah, I didn’t get name crazy until I was pregnant so while I definitely put a lot of heart and thought into her name, I wasn’t years deep in a name combination so that might also be why.
The school and other public entities only have their middle initial to use as my Mother did for me. Too easy to have their identity stolen or others to have access to their records. If they want to reveal it fine-their choice!
I would display just first name in the room, unless both names were short.
Yes, I would give a child a middle name. I grew up with a very common name, but for the first seven years of school, didn’t encounter anyone else with it at school. The next year was a rude awakening, as someone else had both the same first and last name as I did. To ensure I received credit for my work, I put my middle initial on my papers, so I was [name_f]Susan[/name_f] K Lastname. This problem grew over the years, and I was always able to point to the middle initial and grade on my paper when I was questioning a term grade that seemed low. They’d check my papers vs grade book and see they’d put some of my grades on the other person’s space in the grade book.
Also, I went to school with two boys who were cousins. The tradition in their family was to name the first son for the paternal grandfather, and the first daughter for the paternal grandmother. Both boys were [name_m]Anthony[/name_m] Lastname. Thankfully they had different middle names, so they were [name_m]Anthony[/name_m] B and [name_m]Anthony[/name_m] D throughout school. Their sisters, btw, were [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Maria[/name_f] and [name_f]Anne[/name_f] [name_f]Marie[/name_f].
My schoool forms all had a spot for my middle name however my parents filled them as LN, [name_f]Erin[/name_f] E so that how all of my school paperwork reads and even now that I’m married I sign things [name_f]Erin[/name_f] E. Marriedname.
My husband loves his middle name so all of his stuff say [name_m]Martin[/name_m] [name_m]Anthony[/name_m] Lastname.
With our hypothetical kids I don’t really know. The middles we have picked all have meaning but on paperwork I might just put their middle initial to save them from explaining their “out-there” middle names.
I can’t remember where I read it - it could have even been here on NB - but they are saying the use of the middle initial is now going out of style… even on resumes, which I thought was quite interesting
I’m right there with you, aym. An undiscovered middle name is fun to find out long after you’ve grown closer to the person also, V is one of my favorite initials!!
also, V is one of my favorite initials!!