I don’t like the concept of three middle names or more. It sounds like the parents are trying to copy royalty or nobility.
I’ve known people with no middle names. Middle names weren’t always universal like they are today. [name]Long[/name] ago, most people just had first names and last names. [name]Even[/name] in many cultures today, people don’t have middle names.
I’ve found an example of this in literature. In the book [name]Johnny[/name] Tremain, which takes place in colonial Massachusetts, [name]Cilla[/name] and [name]Isannah[/name] (two of the characters) find it unusual that the main character, [name]Johnny[/name], has a middle name (his MN was Lyte, which was his mother’s maiden name). Apparently, the two girls have no middle names. Though the book is fiction, it shows that there was a time when it was normal not to have a middle name.
I can’t find any info on the maiden/middle name change thing. It must be some weird Southern quirk! As for monograms, this is a huge consideration around here! I always make a monogram with a potential child’s name to make sure it looks pretty! [name]Phoebe[/name]'s birth announcement had a monogram, her crib bedding, and now she has tons of little dresses with monograms!
I am from the South, and have noticed that a lot of women do drop their middle name and replace it with their maiden name when they get married. I didn’t really even consider it. Maybe b/c I go by my middle name rather than my first name? I just personally don’t like the idea of giving up a first or middle name, but obviously giving up my maiden name didn’t bother me. Weird huh? I never thought much about it until I read these posts. By the way, my first name is Tequilla…thought some of you might get a kick out of that! =)
I know quite a lot of people who doesn’t have a middle name. They are fine with this, and usually tells me that they don’t understand the whole point of middle names.
I have an aunt who gave her five children four names each (first name, 3 middle names, plus the surname). I guess ehs just liked a lot of names.
I would never have even considered that dropping your middle name and replacing it with your maiden name was an option! I guess Im one that has never heard of this tradtion either (I’m not from the south). Most women I know just drop their maiden name entirely and take the husbands ln. I know a few women (mostly people w/ PhDs and MDs) who kept their lns as is. Im assuming this is because there were already established ad respected in their fields.
As far as mns go I prefer just one. No more no less. I would only add a second mn if there was a strong family reason behind it and I really wanted to honor 2 people. I know someone named [name]Stephanie[/name] who has no mn, her parents thought [name]Stephanie[/name] was long enough (she doesnt have a long ln either). She gave both of her kids mns though.
I do live in the south (just outside of New Orleans, actually) and I have never heard of the tradition of dropping the middle name, either. Most married women I meet either keep their maiden names, drop it and add the new last name, or keep the maiden name and add the last name (or hyphenate it) as well.
My grandmother is the only person I ever met who did not have a middle name, and she did not know why she did not get one either. In fact, she always felt slighted because her seven brothers and sisters all had them.
I did meet one person, before there were internet naming sites, who had about five middle names. I have no idea what the story is behind that one.
