I am not expecting, and don’t plan to be soon, but I love trying to find unique name combinations. I have fallen in love with the name [name]Leland[/name], and have a hard time finding a middle name that would sound good with our last name and also make a good sibset should we choose to use it for a future child. I recently began reading [name]Ulysses[/name] by [name]James[/name] [name]Joyce[/name] (a very difficult read, for me anyway) and I was thinking that [name]Joyce[/name] might be an interesting choice for middle name for a boy. [name]Leland[/name] [name]Joyce[/name]. I like that. I like that if we did choose it for a sibset, our boys would both have two L’s in their first names and a y in their middle names, both would have two syllable first names and one syllable middles. [name]Both[/name] first names have calm-ish meanings (dove and meadow land) and both middle names have more exciting meanings (ardor and merry/joyus). I realize that [name]Joyce[/name] is seen as a predominantly female name, and one that is falling out of fashion as well, but what do you Berries think? [name]Unique[/name] and unusual in a good way, or a bad way? Is [name]Joyce[/name] only for females now? Is [name]Joyce[/name] just way too out of style for the time being, whether for a boy or a girl?
I like it a lot. Unusual in a good way, definitely. In the middle spot it’ll be just fine, but I wouldn’t put it in the first spot. Although he might not appreciate it as a child. That’s the only downside I see - he might not like being asked what his middle name is. Then again, you don’t hear [name]Joyce[/name] very much anymore, so it may not even be an issue.
I have mixed feelings on this. I actually love [name]Joyce[/name] as a middle name (for a girl), and I know that it was originally a male name… and, since [name]Gale[/name] is coming back into fashion for boys (ooh, [name]Leland[/name] [name]Gale[/name]!), it’s possible that [name]Joyce[/name] could too. However, you would probably get some odd looks over it and your son may not like it himself. If you love it, though, I say use it. 
The downside is that I don’t think you really have much precedent for it ever having been used as a boy’s name. Behindthename lists it as unisex which I guess is a plus, but in reality it was only a not very used name for boys for a short period of time between 1920 and 1940’s. That said it is about as popular as [name]Madison[/name] ever was for a boy. As a middle name it is probably okay but most people will see it as a girl’s name in a middle name spot.
Ha, I actually really like [name]Leland[/name] [name]Gale[/name]! And, as seen in my lovely signature, I was working with [name]Leland[/name] [name]Everett[/name] but our last name starts with a W, so his initials would be [name]LEW[/name]. This is not a deal breaker, but I’d prefer initials that didn’t spell anything.
[name]Leland[/name] [name]Gale[/name] definitely has more precedent than [name]Leland[/name] [name]Joyce[/name]. It also keeps the two-syllable first name and one-syllable middle, which flows nicely.
I see where you’re going with [name]Joyce[/name], and when I say it aloud it’s not bad. But boys have a very different perspective on names than girls, I think. They’re more wont to get embarrassed. It seems like the type of middle name he’d keep a secret in third grade.
I think this is true.
[name]Leland[/name] [name]Joyce[/name] is a cool combination. I don’t think [name]Joyce[/name] should be a problem in the mn spot.
I like the sound and look of [name]Leland[/name] [name]Joyce[/name] and it WAS and still IS a boys name so I think it’s still usable. Unisex is a term that should apply to both genders.
I think [name]Joyce[/name] would be fine in the middle spot. I highly doubt your [name]Leland[/name] would come across any girls his age who have [name]Joyce[/name] as a first name. For his generation [name]Joyce[/name] would be a grandma or great-grandma name.
Middle names are ‘anything goes’ in my book. Girls get traditionally male middle names, why not the opposite for boys?
Makes me think of [name]Sterling[/name] [name]Mallory[/name] [name]Archer[/name]
I wouldn’t use [name]Joyce[/name] in the middle for a boy. You may think [name]James[/name] [name]Joyce[/name], but his friends at school won’t. He’ll never be able to share his middle name without being teased.
I really really like [name]Leland[/name] [name]Joyce[/name] and [name]Leland[/name] [name]Gale[/name], they sound great. I can’t decide if the teasing would be that bad…