On Middle Names: a few questions for you đŸ€·

General Name Discussion
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Hi all!

I hope your day is going well, and if not, that it brightens soon :sun:

Today, I have a few questions on middle names if you wish to partake!

This sort of follows on from the 2026 Trends predictions - as in, what are people choosing for middles now, and what might they be going for in the future!! And so, for complete transparency, this may be used as research for a future Nameberry Newsletter! The polls will subsequently all be anonymous!

The Polls

Are there names that you’d only use in the middle spot?
  • Yes, I have a specific list of middle names
  • No, most of my names work as middle or first names
  • It’s a real mix for me
0 voters
What type of names do you gravitate towards for middle names?
  • Unusual or rare names
  • Family names
  • Honor names
  • Unisex names
  • Word names
  • Last names
  • Classic, traditional, or popular names
  • “Filler” middles names
  • Names that might be impractical up front
  • Short names
  • Long names
  • A middle name that provides a nickname
  • Whatever flows with the first name and last name
0 voters

Note: by ‘honor’ names, include names that honor friends, places, cultures, interests, books, heroes, etc. // by filler names, I’m thinking Rose, May, Grace, James, Jack - but you are welcome to interpret it as you wish. When it comes to ‘impractical as first names’, this could include issues with spelling, pronunciation, associations, teasing - anything that might give you pause about a name being used day-to-day. By ‘middle name that provides a nickname’, I mean something like Atticus John “AJ”, Eleanor Mabel “Ellie Mae”, or even something like Isobel Amelia “Bellamy”.

Which of these popular first/middle formulas do you like?
  • Popular first name + unique middle name
  • Unique first name + popular middle name
  • Non-honor first name + honor/family middle name.
  • Long/frilly first name + short middle name
  • Unisex first name + masc/fem middle name
  • Masc/fem first name + unisex middle name
  • Traditional first name + totally out there first name
  • Unique first name + unique middle name
  • Traditional first name + traditional middle name
0 voters

Thank you for voting!!!

If you wish, here are a few extra questions! Feel free to answer as many or as few as you want to but absolutely no pressure!

Additional Questions

Again, for transparency, I may use this as research for a newsletter, so if you’d be happy for me to quote you, please let me know - I can do so anonymously, or simply summarise your comment if you prefer. If not, no worries at all, it just helps with how I’m thinking!
Regardless, I won’t share any names (of children or just combos) unless you explicitly give me permission to do so :slight_smile:

Okay, actually onto the questions:

  1. Do you have names you’d only use in the middle spot? Why?

  2. Do you have a ‘go to’ formula when it comes to making combos?

  3. Have you noticed any trends among what middle names people are choosing recently?

  4. If you wish to share, how did you choose your child’s middle name/s? (or, if you don’t have children, feel free to answer this based on how you might choose in the future or how you’ve chosen middle names for you current combos!)

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I have names I would ever use in middle spot because they might be too much unusual for first name spot
[name_f][/name_f]I usually go with short first name and longer middle name when I’m suggesting combos, but prefer longer first name shorter middle name when I pick it for myself.
[name_f][/name_f]I would personally like to choose my favorite name in first name spot, then let partner to pick middles, but will be reasonable and agree with him first.

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    [name_f][/name_f]
  1. I have a few names I would only use as middles!! They are all either a) honours that are too common/variant spellings of common names (e.g. [name_f]Catelin[/name_f] & Jesse), or b) word/epithet names (e.g. Starkindler & Lionheart)
    2. [name_f][/name_f]
  2. Currently, my go-to formula for combos is something ancient (e.g. [name_f]Tisiphone[/name_f] & Caradoc), something from nature (e.g. Helvella & Starling), and something to honour (e.g. [name_f]Catelin[/name_f] & Florian). The order of these three isn’t fixed.
    3. [name_f][/name_f]
  3. All but one of the new babies I know of this year have honour names for middles!! And the one who isn’t, is matching/themed with her big sister.
    4. [name_f][/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f]

[name_m]Feel[/name_m] free to quote directly or paraphrase as you wish!!

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@Sorceress[name_f][/name_f] thank you for sharing! that’s intriguing you go with long+short for yourself, but short+long for others! do you think there’s any reason for that?
[name_f][/name_f]I think you choosing a first +partner choosing a middle sounds like it could be good deal, especially if a partner isn’t as invested in names!

[name_f][/name_f]

@bramblebee[name_f][/name_f] thank you for sharing [name_f][/name_f]- and for the permission to share! that totally makes sense about the honours and the bold names [name_f][/name_f]- Starkindler is so cool! I love that you have a formula too!
[name_f][/name_f]From some of my research, honour middles do seem to be the go to! and even those who aren’t using honors directly, are doing twists on family names/meaningful things! thanks again for the insight :slight_smile:

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[name_f][/name_f]

Yes! Some of them are simply honour names, but another common reason is that they don’t have a nickname I love. And as someone who’s big on nicknames, I couldn’t use a name like that as a first.

[name_f][/name_f][name_f][/name_f]

Not reaaally? I like variety in syllable length, but that’s more easily done with girl names! I feel like most of the boy names I like tend to be two syllables, so I’d realistically have to settle. Otherwise my only formula is that if[name_f][/name_f] the first name is really common, the middle name has to be more out-there!

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@tallemaja[name_f][/name_f] ooh, no nicknames you like is one I hadn’t even considered!! Thanks for sharing that!!

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    [name_f][/name_f]
  1. [name_f][/name_f]

    I do. It’s mostly because honor names belong in the middle spot for me. I would never consider my late grandmother’s name as a first, but I would have loved to use it as a middle name. A different reason that only occurred to me recently is to match the sibling names better, or rather, to avoid matchiness. A set like [name_m]Peter[/name_m] and [name_m]Paul[/name_m] for example would be too iconic to use on brothers for my taste, but if I had a [name_m]Peter[/name_m], I might still consider using [name_m]Paul[/name_m] as a middle name.

    [name_f][/name_f]
    2. [name_f][/name_f]
  2. [name_f][/name_f]

    Absolutely not. When making combos for fun, I just put things together to see what flows and vibes. When naming children, first and middle name are decided mostly separately, although the flow of the combo can (did!) influence the final choice.

    [name_f][/name_f]
    3. [name_f][/name_f]
  3. [name_f][/name_f]

    On Nameberry? I don’t think so. The “mild first, wild middle” formula doesn’t seem as ubiquitous any more as it used to be.

    [name_f][/name_f]
    4. [name_f][/name_f]
  4. [name_f][/name_f]

    Honestly, it was not spectacular at all. I wanted to honor my grandmother, which my husband vetoed, and he wanted to use no middle at all, which I vetoed. So we took the already rather short list of names we agree on, put one on ice for a potential future sister, and from the (all rather similar) three remaining names, we chose based on flow.

    [name_f][/name_f]
    5. [name_f][/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f]

[name_m]Feel[/name_m] free to use any of this, and thank you for all the work and consideration you’re putting into it!

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@Wandarine[name_f][/name_f] thank you for sharing this! The sibling point is such a good one [name_f][/name_f]- names moving to the ‘middle name’ list! I hadn’t thought of that!
[name_f][/name_f]And thank you for sharing your experience of naming R! It’s interesting how sort of [name_f][/name_f]- straight forward and practical it sounds [name_f][/name_f]- I think its easy to get caught up in the whimsy of making combos [name_f][/name_f]- and that doesn’t always align with actually naming a human!

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I do have a limited list of names I’d only use in the middle name spot, most of them are direct honor names (Jack, Cyrus) [name_f][/name_f] or names that feel too out there or impractical to use as a first name (Equinox, Eclipse)

[name_f][/name_f]

A lot of my children’s middle names are honor names, some of them are direct honors (Yosef, Emmanuel) and others are significant to me or a loved one [name_f][/name_f]- this could be a place, a nickname
 (Zakynthos, [name_m]Pythagoras[/name_m], [name_f]Goldie[/name_f], HĂșni). And some just added extra meaning to the name as a whole (Kineret, Rachamim)

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@Rosebeth[name_f][/name_f] thank you!! [name_f]Honour[/name_f] + out there seem to be the most common categories of middles! and I really love your indirect or more unexpected honours [name_f][/name_f]- they’re so clever :slight_smile:

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[name_m]Feel[/name_m] free to quote or paraphrase any or all of this!

[name_f][/name_f]
    [name_f][/name_f]
  1. We mostly use family names and honor names in the middle spot. Names such as [name_m]David[/name_m], [name_m]Charles[/name_m], [name_m]Michael[/name_m], etc are too traditional and common for a first name spot for us. However, when we use a more unusual first name we like the combo of pairing it with a more traditional middle name.
    2. [name_f][/name_f]
  2. First name is usually lower on the charts (under top 300 in US) and just a name we like. Middle name is usually a family member’s name we want to honor.
    3. [name_f][/name_f]
  3. In real life, I still see a lot of what I would call “filler” names for girls for middle names. Names like [name_f]Rose[/name_f], [name_f]Marie[/name_f], [name_f]Lynn[/name_f], [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], etc. Names that have been used as middle names for a very very long time and don’t hold any significance to them.
    4. [name_f][/name_f]
  4. We chose my son’s middle name as an honor name for my dad. [name_f]My[/name_f] dad is a very important part of our life and we wanted to honor him and show him what a big influence he’s been on all of us. It’s a very traditional and classic boy’s name that’s been in the top 10 for forever (in the US). So it’s not a name we would have ever used for a first name. However, his first name is a little more unusual, so pairing it with a more traditional middle name felt like the perfect combination. If we should have another child we’d most likely use my husband’s mom or dad’s name depending on if it was a boy or a girl so that we could honor one of his parents as well.
    5. [name_f][/name_f]
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@AmyVermeersch[name_f][/name_f] thank you so much for sharing your thoughts!! I loved hearing about how you picked your son’s name [name_f][/name_f]- it seems like youve got a good balance there :heart:

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[name_f]My[/name_f] first two children, both girls, I used family names. [name_f][/name_f] A favorite great-grandmother, my beloved grandmother. [name_f][/name_f] In the Jewish tradition, they were both passed – [name_f]Louisa[/name_f] for my first child, [name_f]Helen[/name_f] for my second.

[name_f][/name_f]

When my son was born, we agreed on having his middle name be his Hebrew name – I wanted [name_m]Benjamin[/name_m] or Gideon; we agreed on [name_m]Caleb[/name_m].

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@miloowen[name_f][/name_f] thank you for sharing! [name_f]Louisa[/name_f] and [name_f]Helen[/name_f] are lovely! Is it common for the middle name to be the Hebrew name among Jewish families?
[name_f][/name_f](I love [name_m]Gideon[/name_m] btw!)

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I’m a big fan of unusual names in the middle spot. For example, a boy name I’ve loved for years is Hephaestion. That’s a lot of name for a first name, and I’m not a huge fan of any of the obvious nicknames, so if I were to use it would probably go in the middle name spot.

[name_f][/name_f]

I will also say middle name I find the most difficult to come up with. I changed my own name several years ago now and I’m not the biggest fan of my middle name even though I chose it. I tried different combos and was trying to pick something I like for almost 2 years, finally I was just like “I choose this, it’s easy enough, I don’t care.” But I do care turns out.

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I’m fine to be quoted!

[name_f][/name_f]
    [name_f][/name_f]
  1. Yes. [name_f][/name_f] Sometimes I just don’t love the name enough up front (Alba), I don’t have the guts to use the name up front (Xanthe), or it’s an honor name that would be too confusing up front (Breccan to honor a B£cca, for example).
    2. [name_f][/name_f]
  2. Not really a go to formula, I would say, but I do try to include 1 familiar and one unusual name so it’s not too skewed in one direction or another (Ella [name_f]Jane[/name_f], too common, [name_f]Eloisia[/name_f] Giovannina, too much). [name_f][/name_f] And a family middle too.
    3. [name_f][/name_f]
  3. Not especially now—I noticed several years ago berries were obsessed with unusual word names (Apricity, [name_f]Wildflower[/name_f], [name_f]Sunshine[/name_f], [name_m]Hummingbird[/name_m], Blackbird, etc.) but that seems to have died down.
    4. [name_f][/name_f]
  4. I don’t have kiddos but if I did, I would probably pick two, one to honor family, and one to reference something else I love—a memory, a book, a hero, my faith.
    5. [name_f][/name_f]
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@krh21[name_f][/name_f] thank you so much for sharing [name_f][/name_f]- and that’s something to keep in mind [name_f][/name_f]- that middle names do matter more than we might think [name_f][/name_f]- which emphasizes why they might be important to care about!

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@ashthedreamer[name_f][/name_f] thank you for sharing!!! ooh, not loving the name enough (but also liking it enough to use it) is such an interesting one to balance [name_f][/name_f]- totally get where you’re coming from [name_f][/name_f]- I love [name_f]Florence[/name_f] and [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] but do I love them enough[name_f][/name_f]? [name_f]Love[/name_f] that idea of referencing something you love too!

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