hyphenated first name or not?

After much deliberation and some lovely suggestions for alternatives on here we’ve decided on [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] [name_f]Maia[/name_f]. Now I quite like the idea of calling her [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] [name_f]Maia[/name_f] as a first name instead of having [name_f]Maia[/name_f] as middle name. Should I hyphenate the 2 names or leave them separate but just call her [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] [name_f]Maia[/name_f] as if they were hyphenated?

Personally, I would not use a hyphen. That way she can have the choice to just go by [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] even if family calls her by both names.

I agree. I wouldn’t use a hyphen.

I’m not a fan of the hyphen in naming, and I agree with the above posters. [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] [name_f]Maia[/name_f] can be called [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] or [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] [name_f]Maia[/name_f]. It doesn’t tie her (or you) to one over the other.

I prefer unhyphenated names, however I do feel that having a hyphen signifies to others, leaving zero room for doubt, that this is her FULL first name not a fn/mn combo. Regardless, I think if you hyphenate or not, you still have full reign to either call her [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] or [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] [name_f]Maia[/name_f].

All that said, if I heard a little girl being called [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] [name_f]Maia[/name_f] and that was what was written in the “first name” slot on a document then that is what I would call her unless I heard her being called just [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] a bit as well. I think it’s something that parents have to be fairly diligent about.

I’d keep [name_f]Maia[/name_f] in the middle, she’ll likely only go by [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] in the end

Thanks I was unsure and you’re all right, with no hyphen it does give more freedom should she or we decide to go by one name or the other as she gets older.