I saw an announcement for a little [name]Mia[/name] [name]Halcyon[/name]-- which is such a change from all of the [name]Mia[/name] Isabellas and [name]Mia[/name] Roses and [name]Mia[/name] Lilys that it kind of made me reconsider [name]Mia[/name]. Does anyone have any full names that made them reconsider a name that they used to consider too boring or too trendy? Anyone else have names that the like only specific combos?
I’ve been coming up with unusual middles for top 100 names on a sticky note all day [name]Do[/name] middles make a difference to your perception of a name?
[name]Isabella[/name] [name]Maud[/name] (I like that this makes [name]Isabella[/name] sound a little medieval again :))
[name]Emily[/name] [name]Phaedra[/name]
[name]Lily[/name] [name]Artemis[/name] (delicacy + strength?)
[name]Grace[/name] [name]Romola[/name]
[name]Zoe[/name] [name]Marigold[/name] (I really, really, really love this one)
[name]Sarah[/name] [name]Evening[/name] (and this one)
[name]Allison[/name] [name]Yseult[/name] (see [name]Isabella[/name] comments)
[name]Makayla[/name] [name]Juno[/name] (well, [name]Michaela[/name] [name]Juno[/name])
[name]Julia[/name] [name]Mauve[/name]
[name]Kylie[/name] [name]Paloma[/name]
[name]Kayla[/name] [name]Hermione[/name], [name]Layla[/name] [name]Margery[/name] (and vice versa)
[name]Bella[/name] [name]Pascale[/name]
[name]Gianna[/name] [name]Delyth[/name]
[name]Maya[/name] [name]Christabel[/name]
[name]Serenity[/name] [name]Ellen[/name] ([name]Ellen[/name]'s not exactly a rare middle, but I think it really works here. [name]Both[/name] names seem a little more interesting, and [name]Serenity[/name] a bit more grounded).
[name]Mackenzie[/name] [name]Lark[/name]
[name]Scarlett[/name] [name]Oriana[/name] (might be a bit much. But it’s pretty sassy).
[name]Maria[/name] Everild
[name]London[/name] [name]Poesy[/name] ([name]London[/name] is nms in the extreme, but I like this. Maybe as a name of a [name]London[/name]-centric historic book blog more than as a daughter, but that’s ok).
[name]Lydia[/name] [name]Thisbe[/name]
Um, kind of loving [name]Mackenzie[/name] [name]Lark[/name]! :o
[name]Lark[/name] made me love [name]Agnes[/name] too, when [name]Jennifer[/name] [name]Connelly[/name] chose [name]Agnes[/name] [name]Lark[/name]. It’s like a magical middle name.
I love fun surprise middleware names! Having children myself and knowing many with kids, fun surprise middle names really do not get used as much as you would think. So while they look and sound cool, [name]IRL[/name] they do not nearly get the effect we wish.
[name]Sarah[/name] [name]Smith[/name] gets called that all the time. On her birth announcement, at her graduation, in her wedding program everyone is taken back by “[name]Sarah[/name] [name]Evening[/name] [name]Smith[/name]” but 95% of the time, she is just plain [name]Sarah[/name]. But in the same respect, s middle name is great for those names we love that we want tucked away to be seen at the right moment.
LOVELOVELOVE [name]Isabella[/name] [name]Maud[/name] and [name]Lydia[/name] [name]Thisbe[/name]! I quite like [name]Lily[/name] [name]Artemis[/name] and [name]Grace[/name] [name]Romola[/name], too. I always thought if I went back to [name]Isabella[/name] instead of [name]Isabelle[/name], and if I only used one MN, I would go for [name]Isabella[/name] [name]Poppy[/name]. I think that’s just so sweet.
I actually strive for this in many of my combos, since the majority of my favorites are so popular. I think something like [name]Isabelle[/name] [name]Aurora[/name] [name]Grace[/name] or [name]Olivia[/name] [name]Wren[/name] [name]Camille[/name] are so much more interesting than [name]Isabelle[/name] [name]Rose[/name] or [name]Olivia[/name] [name]Claire[/name], lovely though they are. I know that I would have liked to fall back on a less common MN, being an [name]Ashley[/name] my whole life, and it’s nice to have that balance of familiar/popular and unique/refreshing.
[name]Maya[/name] [name]Christabel[/name] - [name]Love[/name] this one. [name]Christabel[/name] (or [name]Christabelle[/name]) is one of my guilty pleasures. Great name!
[name]Love[/name] [name]Isabella[/name] [name]Maud[/name], [name]Zoe[/name] [name]Marigold[/name], [name]Allison[/name] [name]Yseult[/name], [name]Michaela[/name] [name]Juno[/name], and [name]Gianna[/name] [name]Delyth[/name]! I always thought something like [name]Mary[/name] [name]Wren[/name] or [name]Ava[/name] [name]Cordelia[/name] would be fun!
This is such a true note. While sometimes popular and rare names sound good matched with each other, there is something to balance.
I’m a [name]Jessica[/name] of the early 80s and my middle name was in the 400s at the time of my birth, and stylistically pretty different. I always loved that contrast!
I agree with you about [name]Zoe[/name] [name]Marigold[/name], and I really like [name]Emily[/name] [name]Phaedra[/name]!
And I hadn’t heard of [name]Agnes[/name] [name]Lark[/name] yet - that is a nice combo!
I’m torn, because I believe that middle names should be family names…but I also [name]LOVE[/name] the idea of pairing a more ordinary first name with an artistic, offbeat middle, particularly since my tastes have moved from the wildly obscure to the more mainstream. (I adore [name]Eloise[/name], [name]Alice[/name], and [name]Lydia[/name], but worry that they’re all becoming far too popular – or worse, trendy.)
Some favorite elaborate middles:
Valkyrie
[name]Artemis[/name]
[name]Dove[/name]
[name]Valentine[/name]
[name]Zephyr[/name]
[name]Holiday[/name]
[name]Allouette[/name]
[name]Andromeda[/name]
[name]Marigold[/name] (though it’s in my top 10 for a first name)
[name]Lavender[/name]
[name]Starling[/name]
[name]Adelvice[/name]
[name]Winter[/name]
Tesseract (yes, really – think ‘Wrinkle in Time’!)
[name]Autumn[/name]
[name]Vesper[/name]
[name]Sparrow[/name]
[name]Galaxy[/name]
[name]Fox[/name]
[name]Quince[/name]
[name]Ocean[/name]
Solace
[name]Arcadia[/name]
[name]Prospero[/name]
[name]Erasmus[/name]
Polaris
[name]Valor[/name]
Also, a suggestion: how about reversing the trend? I love the idea of a wild name up front with a more demure middle. Think of [name]Nicole[/name] [name]Richie[/name]'s daughter, [name]Winter[/name] [name]Kate[/name]. Why not [name]Lavender[/name] [name]Ann[/name], [name]Artemis[/name] [name]Lee[/name], [name]Vesper[/name] [name]May[/name] or [name]Autumn[/name] [name]Grace[/name]? Or [name]Erasmus[/name] [name]Jack[/name], Polaris [name]Cole[/name], [name]Valor[/name] [name]Luke[/name], and [name]Ocean[/name] [name]Paul[/name]?
I definitley like [name]Mia[/name] [name]Lily[/name] better than [name]Mia[/name] [name]Halcyon[/name].
Here’s some of what I would have chose with these names: ( they are not all under top 100)
[name]Isabella[/name] [name]Jane[/name] or [name]Isabella[/name] [name]Eleanor[/name].
[name]Emily[/name] [name]Dawn[/name] or [name]Emily[/name] [name]Olivia[/name]
[name]Lily[/name] [name]Grace[/name] or [name]Lily[/name] [name]Eve[/name]
[name]Zoe[/name] [name]Amelia[/name] or [name]Zoey[/name] [name]Blaire[/name]
[name]Maria[/name] [name]Evelyn[/name] or [name]Maria[/name] [name]Angelina[/name]
Yes I have some common boy names on my ‘compromise list’. Since I have some odd favorites and my fam & friends think boys need “manly” names, they’re names that I’d be willing to put in front IF the child is primarily called by their mn
Augusta_lee: two middles. Definitely justifiable if one is a family name! I like the unusual-usual ones too, though I think I would avoid [name]Anne[/name]/[name]Elizabeth[/name]/[name]Rose[/name]/[name]Jane[/name]/[name]James[/name]/[name]Alexander[/name] in the middle for those, since something like [name]Zuleika[/name] [name]Jane[/name] or [name]Zephyrine[/name] [name]Anne[/name] seem almost comical.
[name]Do[/name] middles make a difference to your perception of a name?