My friend and I are writing a book and we’ve given one of our characters a hyphenated first name ([name_f]Emma[/name_f]-[name_f]Jane[/name_f]). This has gotten me thinking about hyphenated names vs double names with a space vs double names without a space.
For example, when I was in middle school I dreamed of growing up and having twin girls named [name_f]AnnaLee[/name_f] and EmilyAnn. (I’ve since moved on from that dream, lol) Double names with no space, and the beginning of the second name capitalized.
But I also know someone in my church who’s name is [name_f]Mary[/name_f]-family_last_name. And a [name_f]Mary[/name_f]-[name_m]Thomas[/name_m]. They both go by both names.
And there’s someone else in my church who’s first name is [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Raine[/name_f]. Most of us call her just [name_f]Anna[/name_f], though, even though both names are her first.
So, I guess my completely hypothetical question is, if someone were to go by two first names, would it be better to hyphenate them, use a space, or not use a space and capitalize the beginning of the second name? I’ve heard that hyphens don’t always show up on documents, and that if someone uses a space the second first name will end up in the middle spot regardless, but if there isn’t a space then the capitalization will get lost on computers and things (a [name_f]LeeAnn[/name_f] at my school got her name on the back of our shirts as [name_f]Leeann[/name_f]).
Does anybody have any experience with this? I’m really curious. Which way would you say is the best? And if you hyphenate the name or go with no space+capitalization would you also use a middle name?
My mom legally changed her name when she was 18 from a separate first and middle to a one-word name with capital letter - so as an example, if she was [name_u]Ruby[/name_u] [name_f]Anne[/name_f] (went by [name_u]Ruby[/name_u]) before, she is RubyAnne now. It’s normal to me on her, but I don’t actually like it in general - I generally prefer names like [name_u]Ruby[/name_u]-[name_f]Anne[/name_f] or even just [name_u]Ruby[/name_u] [name_f]Anne[/name_f]. I also know an Ellamarie. As for also having a middle, I think it depends - if it’s an established contracted name like [name_f]Roseanne[/name_f] or [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f] or [name_f]Annmarie[/name_f] then yes; if it’s hyphenated then maybe not, but if you do it should probably be a short one.
I prefer two separate names. For example [name_f]Lily[/name_f] [name_f]Anne[/name_f] [name_u]Vesper[/name_u], I would call her [name_f]Lily[/name_f] [name_f]Anne[/name_f]. And [name_f]Edie[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] [name_f]Clementine[/name_f] or [name_f]Indie[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] [name_f]Clementine[/name_f], two combos on my short list, they would go by [name_f]Edie[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] or [name_f]Indie[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f].
My next choice would by using a hyphen. I am not fond of the smushing of names; [name_f]LilyAnne[/name_f], EdieRose, IndieRose.
I think it would be easiest to hyphenate them if they are both the first name (i.e. I know a girl whose first name is [name_m]John[/name_m]-[name_f]Rose[/name_f] and her middle is [name_f]Melody[/name_f]).
But if it is just a double name that is the middle and first name, a space would probably work better (a lot of people in my family and from where I grew up do this i.e. [name_f]Sarah[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f], [name_f]Gracie[/name_f] [name_u]Jo[/name_u], [name_u]Penny[/name_u] [name_u]Rae[/name_u], and even [name_u]Brady[/name_u] [name_m]Wayne[/name_m], [name_m]Gregory[/name_m] [name_u]Monroe[/name_u], and [name_u]Alex[/name_u] [name_u]Reid[/name_u] for boys).
And if I were going to smooth the two together like with [name_f]EmmyLou[/name_f], I’d do what one of my high school teachers did and just leave the second name uncapitalized ([name_f]Annaleigh[/name_f] instead of [name_f]AnnaLeigh[/name_f] and [name_f]Gracelyn[/name_f] instead of [name_f]GraceLyn[/name_f]).
Personally, if I did any of these I would still use a middle name regardless (i.e. [name_f]Lena[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f], [name_f]Lena[/name_f]-[name_f]Rose[/name_f] [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f], or LenaRose [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f])
I don’t like the look of a hyphen in a name, so I would stick to [name_f]Lily[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f], [name_m]John[/name_m] [name_m]Patrick[/name_m], etc.
Hyphens are annoying, there’s really no point! If you’re going to use two names as first names, just use it like [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Sophia[/name_f] or [name_m]John[/name_m] [name_m]Paul[/name_m]. No hyphens but a space. AnnaSophia would look ridiculous.