Putting so much thought into my next child’s name, I got to thinking about my extended family members and their naming trends. Nearly all the boys amongst my cousins have the name [name_u]Michael[/name_u] as their middle or first name…
This is weird for two specific families: my brother’s share it as a middle name and two of my cousins (who are brothers) the eldest has it as his middle name and the younger one as his first. Their sister’s name is [name_f]Michelle[/name_f].
To top it all off, it’s not an honor or family name for my brothers (I’m not sure about my aunt’s lineage, however). Is this a common thing you’ve seen ?
My husband and I passed down my middle name to our daughter and if we have a son, we’re passing down his middle name. I have no intention of giving a second daughter the same middle but am struggling to find something I like that still holds a lot of meaning.
Would love to hear opinions and stories about shared names!!!
It’s completely up to you!
I knew a family with three boys, who all had the middle name [name_m]Daniel[/name_m]. I believe [name_m]Daniel[/name_m] was the only honour name they wanted to use, so they just went with it.
A guy I went to school with had three sisters and a brother and they all shared the first middle name [name_f]Maria[/name_f]. They were from [name_u]Holland[/name_u].
I know a pair of brothers at my high school who share the same honor name, but they each have two middle names so that they have a unique one as well. I honestly think it’s up to you whether you want to have them share a middle or not.
A friend of mine, and her three siblings, all have their mother’s maiden name as their middle names. Their first names are all uniquely ‘theirs’, and given how little middle names are used, it’s hardly an issue. In fact, my friend has said it means a lot to all four of them, to have the name. Her mom was the last one to carry the last name in their family line, so giving it to all four of her children as a middle name, is her way of keeping it going in some way. That’s why it means a lot to them.
[name_m]Friend[/name_m]'s oldest sibling, has given her first (and so far only) child the name as a middle name as well, but I’m not sure she’ll do it for all children. [name_m]Will[/name_m] have to see.
[name_u]Haven[/name_u]'t [name_u]Chelsea[/name_u] [name_m]Clinton[/name_m]'s children both got [name_m]Clinton[/name_m] as a middle name? I’m sure they have.
I don’t see anything wrong with it, especially if there is some sort of meaning behind it and as long as both parents are on board.
My family has that occurring in a few different branches. Some daughters were given the maiden name of their mothers as a middle name, while other males (brothers, cousins, and so on) were given the middle name from a grandfather or something. Generations ago, twins in my family were often given the same middle name, or male/female versions of a name. It happens.
If you like it and it feels special to you and you should go for it!
I’ve never heard of this situation before, and personally I wouldnt use it, but I get why you would do it : )
I appreciate the many responses! I do understand that with honor names, it makes sense to have overlap between siblings/cousins/etc. but with names that have no meaning… is it just a tie to the sibling along with the last name? With girls, I suppose it would be nice to have sisters that have the same middle name so that even if they take married names down the line, they’re still connected in that way.
I didn’t really entertain the idea before to pass down the same middle name between siblings (with my daughter’s, it is my mother’s middle name as well as mine, so it was an easy choice to keep passing along) because apart from my family, I hadn’t run into anyone else ever doing this.
I know that my mother was upset when her sister-in-law “took” [name_u]Michael[/name_u] as a name, so I think I always associated it as a bad thing.
My maiden name is awful (& fake! My grandpa changed it before WWII) so I have no intention of passing that one along
In your signature it says you’re Greek - I am as well! However I was raised in [name_u]America[/name_u] to a very Greek family, so I wondered if maybe this was a mediterranean thing… After your response I suppose it’s not, then
I would say its fine to use. I told my sister if I use [name_m]Haden[/name_m] as a middle I don’t care if she uses it as a first or middle. The only way it would be odd is if we both used it as a first. I don’t really care about shared middle names, but I know some people don’t like it.
In your signature it says you’re Greek - I am as well! However I was raised in [name_u]America[/name_u] to a very Greek family, so I wondered if maybe this was a mediterranean thing… After your response I suppose it’s not, then
I’m pretty unenthused about this practice, especially if it isn’t an honor name. I don’t think it really matters for cousins (if my son and my sister’s son are both named [name_u]Michael[/name_u], for example, I really don’t think it’s that big of a deal) but for siblings it just seems lazy. Actually, it seems a little lazy for cousins too, but you’d think people would try a little harder with their own children!
Very interesting perspective! I agree it can come across as lazy or thoughtless but I think there’s more to it than I originally gave thought to. All in all, it seems like a “to each their own” situation, but I personally don’t want to partake in that trend because it takes away a certain independence and identity a name should give. Unless of course a father or someone close passes away before birth and the next child is named in their honor or as a role model. Very, very different circumstance, that. So matching names will go without judgement from me and I just won’t choose to do so for my own kids.
