[name]Hi[/name], Berries! So [name]Sunshine[/name] is my #1 guilty pleasure name (I even think the nickname [name]Sunny[/name] is super sweet). I know that it’s way too insubstantial to ever be a first name, but lately I’ve been wondering if it could work in the middle name spot. If I were to use it, the first name would definitely be much less fanciful.
So, what does everyone think? Would [name]Sunshine[/name] be okay in the middle or is it even too GP for that?
I think it depends on where you live, what sort of people you associate with, etc, though it’s definitely quite far out (in the slang sense as well, since it’s quite popular with hippies still, not that that is a bad thing, but YMMV). You might just get away with it, though I’d be inclined to give the child two middle names I think, to balance it out (eg, for a totally random example, [name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Penelope[/name] [name]Sunshine[/name] ____ ). [name]Sunny[/name] is a bit more wearable, I think.
I had a search on behindthename for names that mean sun or something to do with sun, just out of curiosity. There isn’t much that would be wearable in an english country, but there is [name]Theia[/name] (greek goddess who was mother to a sun god), Tesni (my favourite, a welsh name meaning warmth from the sun), [name]Eloise[/name] (sometimes connected to the greek word [name]Helios[/name], though possibly wrongly so), [name]Elanor[/name] (via a lord of the rings connection, meaning sun star, but still wearable), and Sunniva (the closest to sunshine in spirit, a Norwegian name meaning sun gift.) These might have all of the warmth with none of the flimsiness, but again, YMMV.
I think it’s fine as a middle name, but only as a middle. Very few people will be using her middle name so it doesn’t matter so much.
Absolutely. Nothing wrong with a whimsical middle name-- it lends that unexpected something when the first name is more substantial
It depends on the first. [name]Sophia[/name] [name]Sunshine[/name] or [name]Cecilia[/name] [name]Sunshine[/name] or [name]Marie[/name] [name]Sunshine[/name]- sure. But [name]Drusilla[/name] [name]Sunshine[/name] or [name]Eulalia[/name] [name]Sunshine[/name] or even [name]Beatrix[/name] [name]Sunshine[/name]- probably not. I think you need at least one “safe” name in every combo- some people just can’t or don’t want to have a really unique name or a name that’ll cause any kind of confusion. In cases where you use and adventurous first, I’d recommend going with a more traditional middle.
I grew up with a girl who’s middle name was [name]Ann[/name] [name]Sunshine[/name]. She loved it.
I don’t like [name]Sunshine[/name] very much, but I love [name]Sunny[/name] for a nn. We have a patient who’s in her 40s that comes in my office named [name]Sunshine[/name] and I think it’s weird for a women’s name. She goes by her middle name though.
I think [name]Sunshine[/name] is a wonderful middle name! The word itself makes me happy 
I think almost anything is usable in the middle name spot. I agree with babylemonade, too: I think that her example of using two middle names is a great idea, so as to balance it out more. People won’t be calling your little one by her middle name, and most likely won’t be using it/ hearing it almost at all, so if you like [name]Sunshine[/name] but know that it’s too cutesy and out there to use as a first name, I’d go ahead and push it into the middle name slot for use. [name]Sunny[/name] is cute–and you could always call her that as a nickname (particularly when she’s little, probably) which would be very adorable, I think.
What are you thinking of for her fn, anyways? It might just be - like any naming situation - of making sure the middle name fits well with the first, etc., so you can ponder over it more that way.
I think it’s fine, actually. My son is in school with a little girl named [name]Sunshine[/name] [name]Mckenzie[/name], which I think is too trendy, you know? She goes by [name]Sunny[/name], which I adore (who doesn’t love an adorable little [name]Sunny[/name]?). I think it’s safe as a mn, people probably won’t stare in awe, and when asked what her mn is, her little friends will say, “Luckyyyyyyy!” when they hear it’s [name]Sunshine[/name].
If you give her the mn [name]Sunshine[/name], though, then you should be careful with the fn. Not something too out-there, or trendy, or frilly, or unique. Something common enough that nobody will give it a second thought. Like: [name]Alice[/name], [name]Marie[/name], [name]Sophia[/name] (not sure about the alliteration), [name]Claire[/name], [name]Amelia[/name], [name]Emily[/name], [name]Gabrielle[/name], [name]Maria[/name], [name]Cassidy[/name], [name]Charlotte[/name], etc.
My sister-in-law has a fn that is the name of a month, and her mn is [name]Sunshine[/name]. She HATES it. LOATHES it. I don’t know if it’s her mn itself, or the combination, but she despises her name and always has.
That being said, I think as long as you don’t try to be cutesy with the fn, you will be a lot safer in the long run.
In my honest opinion I don’t think it’s usable. I love the idea of it and the nickname ‘[name]Sunny[/name]’ is definitely lovely but it’s just a tad too hippy and I don’t think it would suit the grown woman the little girl will eventually be. [name]Imagine[/name] a 45 year old named [name]Madelyn[/name] [name]Sunshine[/name] for example. I do think though that [name]Sunday[/name] could work well? Still sounds lovely and still has the NN ‘[name]Sunny[/name]’.
xx
Thanks for all the feedback! Good to know that other people like [name]Sunshine[/name] too. Odds are we probably won’t use [name]Sunshine[/name] as a middle name, but I like having it as an option. [name]Don[/name]'t have any combos set in stone yet, but I do like the sound of [name]Aya[/name] [name]Sunshine[/name].
I love the idea of [name]Sunshine[/name] as a middle name. [name]Sunshine[/name] is a guilty pleasure of mine as well. 
My daughter is [name]Lucia[/name] [name]Sunshine[/name], so I think it is useable for sure. We have gotten very positive feedback from purple who have heard her full name.