I was just scrolling through the 2012 Top 1000 for [name_f]England[/name_f] and [name_m]Wales[/name_m], and I noticed that beginning around number 500 on the girls’ list, there are a lot of hyphenated names on the list: [name_f]Amelia[/name_f]-[name_f]Lily[/name_f], [name_f]Ella[/name_f]-[name_f]Louise[/name_f], [name_f]Isla[/name_f]-[name_f]Rose[/name_f], and the like. I even noticed a couple of boys: [name_u]Alfie[/name_u]-[name_u]James[/name_u] and [name_u]Alfie[/name_u]-[name_u]Lee[/name_u].
On the American list, however, there’s nary a hyphen in sight.
I’d been dimly aware of this as a trend in [name_m]Britain[/name_m], but here’s my question: Am I seeing a British trend that hasn’t yet made it across the pond, or does the SSA simply not acknowledge hyphens? Are there a lot of [name_f]Kenna[/name_f]-[name_f]Rose[/name_f]'s, [name_f]Lydia[/name_f]-[name_f]Jane[/name_f]'s and [name_f]Savannah[/name_f]-[name_u]Leigh[/name_u]'s out there that we don’t know about?
And, while I’m wondering, does the SSA collect any information on middle names?
No, the SSA doesn’t have statistics on middle names. They also do not recognize any hyphens or other punctuation in a name, so if for instance someone’s first name is written down as [name_f]Mary[/name_f]-[name_f]Kate[/name_f] it will show up on their stats as Marykate (you will see a few names like those when you get down into the extended stats).
I’m not a fan of the British “hyphen trend”. Not only do some of the names look and sound that they’re forever stuck in childhood but people seem to use the same second names (eg. [name_f]Rose[/name_f], [name_f]Grace[/name_f], [name_u]Lou[/name_u] etc…) so the combos begin to sound the same after awhile. I hope this trend doesn’t travel.
@namefan Thanks for the info. Pretty much what I suspected was true.
@mischa I agree with everything you said. Although I’m not opposed to the occasional hyphen if there’s a good reason ([name_f]Emma[/name_f]-[name_f]Kate[/name_f], named after both grandmothers), scrolling down the list of hyphenated names became laughable because of the frequency of [name_f]Rose[/name_f], [name_f]Mae[/name_f], [name_f]Grace[/name_f], [name_u]Leigh[/name_u], [name_f]Marie[/name_f] and [name_f]Louise[/name_f]. It reminds me of the placeholder middles everyone seemed to have here in the states in the late 50’s and 60’s ([name_f]Ann[/name_f], [name_f]Marie[/name_f], etc.), but the hyphen makes them impossible to ignore.
Augh. Personally I really hate hyphen names. Chances are the kid is only going to go by thr first one anyway. Also no SSA doesn’t keep any middle name stats.
I actually like them I would much rather meet an [name_f]Ellie[/name_f]-[name_f]Mae[/name_f] then an [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] or a [name_u]Lexi[/name_u]-[name_f]Rose[/name_f] then a [name_u]Lexi[/name_u]. And [name_f]Amelia[/name_f]-[name_f]Lily[/name_f] seems inspired by [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] [name_f]Lily[/name_f] [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] who competed on the X factor
I’m fond of double names, no hyphen. [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Kate[/name_f], not [name_f]Mary[/name_f]-[name_f]Kate[/name_f]. My stepsister gave her kid a hyphenated middle and it was all I could do not to roll my eyes and say, “You know you could’ve given him two separate middles, right?” Of course, I was already irate over the fact that she hyphenated [name_m]BOTH[/name_m] of my dad’s names, his first and middle, effectively stealing both of them so I can’t use them… but that’s a rant for another day, lol.
I find hyphens awkward and difficult. Sometimes they mess up forms, some times they get separated, sometimes one is forced into being a middle name, and also I don’t like the look.
I prefer either double name with no hyphen, like [name_f]Marie[/name_f] [name_f]Soleil[/name_f], or smushed to one word like [name_f]Rosemarie[/name_f] or [name_f]Lilibeth[/name_f], to any of the hyphens. I mean I don’t especially want to see Isabellarose, but I’d prefer it to [name_f]Isabella[/name_f]-[name_f]Rose[/name_f].
Anyone I know that has a hyphenated name pretty much just goes by the first anyway. I’m not a fan of them myself and the combinations are usually sickeningly cutesy. If I hear of another [name_f]Ellie[/name_f]-[name_f]Mae[/name_f] I’ll probably scream.
Hyphens don’t bother me. In terms of the British [name_u]Alfie[/name_u]-[name_u]James[/name_u]/ [name_u]Lexi[/name_u]-[name_f]Rose[/name_f] thing, I’m not a fan, just because taking a nickname and tacking on a ‘filler’ type name just makes it so, so cutesy and hard to take seriously. That being said, I agree with [name_f]Ebony[/name_f] when she says she’d rather meet a [name_u]Lexi[/name_u]-[name_f]Rose[/name_f] than just a [name_u]Lexi[/name_u].
That being said, I think [name_m]John[/name_m]-[name_m]Simon[/name_m] [name_u]Francis[/name_u] and [name_m]John[/name_m]-[name_u]Francis[/name_u] [name_m]Simon[/name_m] are impossibly handsome.
I am an American with a hyphenated name and I love it!!! It is so much more personal than either one of the two names when they are combined by a true wizard of a namer. I am a freak about iambic pentameter and hyphenated names make this so much easier than finding non-weird musical names!
I love love love hyphenated names. They [name_f]DO[/name_f] NOT have to be Southern (not that there’s anything wrong with that [Seinfeld]) or stereotyped, they can be beautiful and elegant and breathtaking and unique.
Growing up in [name_u]America[/name_u] with one I can confirm firsthand that it is a pain in the butt in a way–if you are annoyed by extra attention. But everyone adores my name. They have to stop and pay attention. I have a full length name of 51 alpha characters and a hyphen and most databases can only contain 30 or so [name_u]MAX[/name_u]. And yeah, your kids’ names are much more severely limited now that we use databases for everything.
BUT, that is one major reason why I prefer hyphenated names! A double name with a space [name_m]WILL[/name_m] be counted as a first middle name on SSA records. If you want a true double first name, you gotta hyphenate or full-on-combine the two with no space. I had to call my college ten times to get my diploma printed correctly and they still did it wrong. In newspaper announcements my second middle name was abbreviated from “[name_f]Gail[/name_f]” to “GA” making people think it was a bizarre form of [name_f]Georgia[/name_f]. I couldn’t send out my high school grad invites from Josten’s because they SPELLED OUT first “[name_u]Dash[/name_u]” and then “Hyphen” instead of typing a “-” and they were too late to be fixed a third time, so I had to make handmade ones. Trials and tribulations for your child? Maybe! But I adore these stories I have made with my name.
As far at the eternal argument about a kid’s life being difficult if they have a crazy name, as I said, I have a ridiculous name, and [name_f]EVERY[/name_f] SINGLE [name_f]ONE[/name_f] is difficult to say, spell, read, and write. But it gave me extreme character. I have a short spunky nickname (that everyone STILL can’t say or spell and I have to repeat: [name_f]MEG[/name_f]. Yeah, something that easy will STILL cause kids problems) and every time someone finally figured out my name, they knew it for basically the rest of their lives. Haha. It’s a talking point. They’re difficult or uncommon, not Kreigh8ive.
I also think that the last name can have a huge impact on it, but it needn’t make the total decision. You can find a beautiful hyphenated name to go with just about any last name, imo.
Also I do think this is a thing (trend?) that will eventually hop the pond. It seems like stuff that is bizarre at first (remember everyone scorning [name_f]Julia[/name_f] [name_m]Roberts[/name_m] when she named her twins [name_m]Phinnaeus[/name_m] and [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] like six years ago? I did not meet one person on the [name_u]West[/name_u] Coast of [name_u]America[/name_u] that could even TOLERATE those names, they thought it was more CRAZY celebrity naming. They said the same about [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] Disick like a year ago.) or that people feel SUPER strongly against always seems to grow on them and they soften to it. All it takes is one extremely elegant British or [name_m]French[/name_m] actress to make a hyphenated name seem like a possibility for the average American.
Hyphens are ugly and unnecessary. That said, I do like double barreled names. Right now I’m in love with [name_f]Faye[/name_f] [name_f]Matilda[/name_f].
