I notice that many of the members on here view their names as a complete picture, at least when inquiring for opinions: pairing first and middle names together as a package.
e.g. [name]Do[/name] you prefer [name]Elsie[/name] [name]Pearl[/name] or [name]Hester[/name] [name]Emer[/name]?
This suggests to me even though a first name has not been settled upon, it has been (permanently?) partnered with a middle name. What about [name]Elsie[/name] [name]Emer[/name]? etc.
When we named our girls we had the first names selected, and then worked to find middle names that worked with the first names.
Now, as I same sort for future children, I keep a separate list for first and middle names, (there are several reasons that a name can get kicked to the middle name list, not relevant here though…)
I prefer to use names that honor someone (family or close friend) for middle names, so that makes things easier. Now that I’ve used [name]Matthew[/name] and [name]Skye[/name] for middle names, I only have about 5 boys’ middles and about 8 girls’ on the list. So when I add a name to my first name list, I check it against each middle - write it down, say it out loud, and try to see which one (or maybe two) sounds best.
I have my list divided into four sections: Girls’ Names, Boys’ Names, Family Middle Names, and GP Middle Names. I do have combos that I love for my top fours, but those are in my head and not on an official list.
I usually find a first I like first then try to find a middle, but occasionally a middle will catch my fancy and I’ll looks for a first. For boys, I always try to use a family name, i.e. [name]Timothy[/name], [name]Steven[/name], [name]Tyler[/name], [name]Eugene[/name], or a honorary name i.e. [name]Richard[/name], [name]Shane[/name], [name]Andrew[/name].
I do a little bit of both. Since I’m still years from adopting (which I will be doing, rather than having my own children–right now, anyway), I’d rather keep several names I love rather than only keeping one favorite. Still, I have a pretty good idea what I would name a child right now ([name]Isabelle[/name] for a girl; [name]Caleb[/name] for a boy), and I have very close backups, too ([name]Arianne[/name] for a girl; [name]Everett[/name] for a boy). But I don’t know, the idea of just keeping a list of first names doesn’t feel very, well, fun. So I came up with MNs, too, and I’ve kept the list going for the past 3-4 years.
I’m fairly set on having a family connection somewhere… after I find a FN that I know will be on my short list (which isn’t very often, honestly… my list has been fairly set for the past year or two), I am on the look-out for MNs I like with it–which usually isn’t hard to find, since I’m on naming boards daily and I pretty much know what I’m looking for in my combos. The second MN usually honors family, and the first MN usually honors an idea or something important to me–like [name]Isabelle[/name] [name]Aurora[/name] [name]Grace[/name]. [name]Grace[/name] is my grandmother’s MN, [name]Isabelle[/name] I just love (although there are a million reasons why I love it), and [name]Aurora[/name], which means “dawn” is very significant to me. I love that it signifies so much hope, and I hope it’ll remind my children (particularly [name]Isabelle[/name]) that they’ll always have hope and a new day. It doesn’t end up that way for all my combos, but most have some connection like that that is meaningful to me.
But yes, when I make a post asking about combos, I’ve generally thought about pairing the names every which way and if I post about [name]Isabelle[/name] [name]Aurora[/name] [name]Grace[/name] vs. [name]Violet[/name] [name]Ophelia[/name] [name]Claire[/name], it’s because I’m completely in love with the combos as they are–[name]Isabelle[/name] [name]Ophelia[/name] [name]Grace[/name], [name]Violet[/name] [name]Aurora[/name] [name]Claire[/name], [name]Isabelle[/name] [name]Aurora[/name] [name]Claire[/name], [name]Violet[/name] [name]Ophelia[/name] [name]Grace[/name], [name]Violet[/name] [name]Aurora[/name] [name]Grace[/name], and [name]Isabelle[/name] [name]Ophelia[/name] [name]Claire[/name] just don’t appeal to me in the same way as my original combos do. There are some things I take into consideration before I manically post on Nameberry. haha.
I have a list, it ends up with all the possible names on it wether we are thinking for a first or middle. I then like to look up the rankings on each name on the SS list, especially my state ( not a fan of popular names). Then I like to look at the birth announcements of the two hospitals that are closest to me to see if any actual children have been born and given any of the names I like.(ie girls named [name]Rory[/name], when I am thinking about it for a boy- they would be his potential classmates) After that is when I decide which names I would prefer in the middle and which I would prefer as firsts. There are a few, like [name]Killian[/name], that I have loved as a first name for a long, long time and would love to use it as a first, but if we don’t agree, wouldn’t mind it in the middle spot- at least I would still get to use it! At that point I start putting together combos and even switching around pick that I have as firsts and middles just to see if a different possible combo strikes me. I always like to put names together in first and middle combos because I want the name we choose to flow well, in all possible ways it could be said. First to middle, first to middle to last, first to last, and what the intials would end up being, so that we dont have a [name]DIC[/name] or COC or a RAC. Ultimatly, I am not sure how I am going to get it down to one name, seeing as I can barely decide what to have for dinner on a night to night basis. It would have to be something we both feel is right and are happy with, maybe I will get a sign from above or the baby!
I decided who I want to honor with the name first, then we decided on the name. So for my first the mn was picked first while with my second the first name was chosen first. I don’t have a first name list and a middle name list. It’s just one big list.
I mostly keep a list of first names, and then play around with possible middle names separately. I think of middle names as a place for family names or possibly a ‘word’ name of some sort- but really, I am more interested in the first name. I don’t really use my mn at all, and so honestly, lots of people don’t even know what it is. So I feel like middle names are more for me, to have fun with and to create a nice sounding combination. Anyway- I have separate lists for middle names, and when I am throwing out FN MN combinations, it is usually to see what kind of reaction the overall flow/sound gets.
I’ve been keeping a list for many years now and boy, has my style changed ha! I do add names frequently to my list and I tend to mull over them before deciding if they stay or go, and to do this I’ll post on here or another forum I use, attain opinons from friends, and then look up it’s popularity and trendiness, which is a big factor for me.
If the name stays then I’ll begin the search for middle names, I do tend to have similar names crop up for middle names over and over again and these tend to be names that I like, rather than family names because I’ve already used my post important family name in a combo already. The middle names I go for tend to be names that I like but are too popular or trendy to use a first name, e.g. [name]Scarlett[/name], [name]Ruby[/name], [name]Imogen[/name], [name]Sebastian[/name], [name]Gabriel[/name] etc.
Once I’ve found the middle names I like I play about with combo’s and how the names fits with my other favourites, for example, I have recently found love for [name]Bennett[/name] but seeing it with [name]Isaac[/name], [name]Jude[/name], [name]Asher[/name] just didn’t work so the name is no longer on my list. Once I’m happy with a combo, or think I’m happy I’ll get further opinions on here and then that’s that it will be added to my list until I become bored of it haha!
haha.