So I’ve recently decided to put my maiden name as my son’s 2nd middle name because I’m marrying his father so his hyphenated last name is unnecessary but I’m an only child of the only son so my maiden name will never be passed on in my known family so I don’t feel right totally getting rid of it. Additionally we plan to TTC after the wedding and I’ve always wanted a 2nd middle for a daughter as my childhood friend did and I always loved the elegance of it. Probably just because I’ve always been a sucker for royalty and they often have like 3+ given names. Anywhosie, I thought why not all potential names having a second middle name so I’ve been considering adding one to our top boys name [name_m]Augustus[/name_m] [name_u]Daniel[/name_u].
I do worry about my kids will feel about their names so I do post online about potential names a lot, including on Reddit, opening myself up to criticism. Personal tastes in large part can be overlooked but when asking for opinions on [name_m]Augustus[/name_m] [name_u]Daniel[/name_u] [name_m]Hugo[/name_m] v. [name_m]Augustus[/name_m] [name_u]Jasper[/name_u] [name_u]Daniel[/name_u] someone said unless I used my maiden name again, it’d be a huge bureaucratic headache for no reason, therefore selfish. Stating that they know someone who has two middle names and that it caused medical treatment delays and financial issues? Seems like what they’re referring to is certain systems character limits and not specifically two middle names but idk is having two middle names that much of a headache?
I think the 2nd middle name is valuable even if it’s not a maiden name because the initial middle names for all are family names so if they didn’t want to use their first name for whatever reason they’d have other names that are truly theirs without it being the name of a living family member.
Thoughts?
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I don’t have two middle names so I can’t really comment on how complicated it may or may not be. But imo I’ve never really understood the whole argument of the middle being some sort of default option if for some reason the first name doesn’t work out. Maybe it’s because I’ve never seen my own name as some sort of alternate option personally but I question how many irl actually view their middles as such. On the flip side my mother was raised in a family where she was called by her middle name and hated it because doing so DID complicate a lot of things on legal / formality type things.
Oh gosh. Okay so in my opinion (this is as someone who doesn’t have any middle name) I really don’t think it’s as big an issue as that person is making it out to be. Maybe it’s just my personal issues with Reddit, but everytime I’ve gone on there I’ve seen nothing but negativity… Yeah, it would probably be minimally easier to give just one middle names, but I can’t imagine it’s such a huge roadblock to the point where it wouldn’t be worth it. I think that wanting to add your maiden name is really sweet, understandable, and a great idea- and even if you end up using a different middle name, it’s a good idea so that your child can have a lot of options to choose from.
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I have a pretty trendy name for the year I was born, common middle and last as well, so I’ve definitely gone by [name_f]Rose[/name_f] in the case of two [name_u]Shelby[/name_u] As in the group, class, or work situations. I don’t like to but it works. But I’ve even gone to school with a girl with the same full name as me and I just went by Mustang that year lol and in my family I’m almost exclusively called [name_u]Shelby[/name_u] [name_f]Rose[/name_f], both together. That’s how I imagine my top girl’s name said by family, [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] [name_u]Ivy[/name_u] but also I want an honor name so she would have the 2nd middle name of [name_f]Renee[/name_f]. I don’t really have much of a reason for [name_m]Augustus[/name_m] [name_u]Daniel[/name_u] to have a 2nd middle name other than matching the other names, so maybe it is unnecessary but I like the idea.
[name_f]My[/name_f] daughter and plenty of my family members have two middle names (including some who have chosen to officially use their confirmation name). I’ve never had a problem filling out forms.
In your case, am I right in thinking it will be three names plus a double barrel last name? That might evoke at best a smile from real-life (not online) people (thinking “wow that’s regal sounding”/“fancy”) but that’s it. Otherwise and anyway, people just move on! You should use as many names that are appealing and meaningful to you - as always, so long as not offensive or a burden on the child. Good luck!
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No, my son currently has a hyphenated last name, but as I’m marrying his father and taking his name I want to move my maiden name to be his 2nd middle name so his name is going from [name_u]Arthur[/name_u] [name_u]Robert[/name_u] S__ton-Al__n to [name_u]Arthur[/name_u] [name_u]Robert[/name_u] Al__n S__ton sorry that looks weird but censoring for privacy. So the others would just be [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] [name_u]Ivy[/name_u] [name_f]Renee[/name_f] S__ton and [name_m]Augustus[/name_m] [name_u]Daniel[/name_u] [name_m]Hugo[/name_m] S__ton or whatever we chose instead. but 4 names total with the surname.
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I don’t find any of this problematic! Stay the course. 
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Where your reasoning for integrating it into your first sons name is so you can pass it down… have you considered using it for a second son as well. As they would also be able to pass it down so to speak.
With them being both A names and my maiden name starting with A, I don’t love the idea. Plus I dont love my maiden name that much its just already part of my first son’s name its just reordering it.
I have two and I’ve never had any issues 
I live in the southern US. One of my sisters and several of my cousins also have two middles. Most legal documents will drop one off, but thats not even really an issue (for me) as a lot also have a character count and some names are too long anyway. I hyphenated my last name on top of that when I got married almost a decade ago and I have had zero issues with anything. Again, I do have to drop the second middle a lot, but I don’t see how that could even cause that many actual complications or headaches and I’ve never experienced any problems in thirty years. People make a bigger deal out of it than I have personally ever experienced, so if you want to give your kid two middle names or five it really won’t have any truly negative effects outside of maybe a slight annoyance here and there if you or they become extra touchy about it.
[name_f]My[/name_f] father has lived over 70 years with two middle names and has never mentioned any trouble
I think the best thing to do is look into character limits etc on documents for where you live - are there any restrictions? Some places have them (which might make it complicated), others don’t (which hopefully would mean less trouble).
Overall, I think it’s fine to give two middles. Quite a number of the kids/teens I work with have two (a few have more) and there’s never been an issue in terms of school documents at least
Oh gosh firstly please stay off sites like Reddit it’s so negative!! Ridiculously negative!
[name_f]My[/name_f] daughter is [name_f]Lilia[/name_f] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] [name_f]Ella[/name_f] and has a hyphenated surname yes her name is long and people struggle with the hyphenated surname but no this has not caused any issues. [name_f]My[/name_f] daughter has social security set up, was registered at nursery very easily and when completing forms there is enough space to fill her whole name in. I do plan to ditch my surname from her name in the future as we plan to have more children and want them to just be Ory@ng for convenience especially as we both have surnames that are unusual belonging to cultures that are not the dominant culture in [name_u]England[/name_u] where we live. However we are not planning to remove my surname because of the reasons stated by Reddit 
In relation to adult life aside from me and my sister all my family have two middle names they have never encountered any issues.
I know Reddit is super negative but I would rather hear all the negative things people can think of before I use a name rather than after. I just always think about if child hates their name i want to be able to justify why I chose their name and hopefully help them like it too. Like I dont especially love my name, but my dad told me he named me after [name_u]Carrol[/name_u] [name_u]Shelby[/name_u], an entrepreneur, and how he wanted me to have a name he associated with perseverance and intelligence made me at least appreciate my name.
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I have two middle names and it has genuinely never come up in my life even once, except as a party fun fact. I have two middle names on my birth and marriage certs, my social security, all of my immigration paperwork, my diploma etc, I’ve never incountered a problem with it. Reddit will find a problem with anything, it’s what they do for fun.
I’ve got two middle names (and one of them is my mother’s surname, same as your child would have)! 
None of this has ever happened to me.
I don’t think it’s a headache. One of my middle names (my first one) is Elizabeth. Some forms don’t even have enough characters to include that entire name—and it’s always been completely fine. No hassle, no averse consequences. Easy peasy.
The only confusion I’ve ever had with my long name (four given names in total) is teachers being unsure whether my first name or my first middle name is my first name on the attendance roster. Which, truly, can happen to anyone. Having two middle names has never been a source of conflict or mayhem for me. I love my long name. I especially love that I wear both my parents’ surnames!
If you’d like to give a child two middle names, I absolutely say go for it!
I have two middle names and it’s never caused an issue at all with anything legal. You just have to make sure that on proper documents you’re filling out the full legal name. For instance, when applying to a job I only use my first middle name initial but when filing out an application for a passport I use my entire name. It has never caused any type of delay or issue at all. I say, if you like it go for it. I plan on giving one of my kids two middle names simply because I have two