I have been wondering why you give a child three names. It seems to be quite the thing to do on nameberry but I’ve never known anyone in real life that has first name and 2 middles. In naming my own children the middle has been a family name that will never be used. I rarely use my childrens’ middle names - only when I monogram something. But the only monograms I have seen use 3 letters. I’ve never seen one with 4.
I do on occasion call my kids by their first and middle - usually when I’m preturbed. i.e…"[name]Frank[/name] [name]Reagan[/name], get in here!"
With my daughter I thought about a double name first name such as [name]Anna[/name]-[name]Grace[/name] [name]Louisa[/name] so I can understand that if “[name]Anna[/name]-[name]Grace[/name]” was her main moniker.
Please, no one take offense to this question. I would just like some insight as I see many berries absolutely grapple with the perfect 3 name balance and I really don’t know why. [name]Every[/name] form I fill out for doctors offices, schools, etc…has only 3 places for names. The third name probably doesn’t make it anywhere.
What is the point of 3 names and then a last name?
I’m not a fan of two middle names. I personally think it’s unnecessary. But some people do it as a way of honoring multiple people. I’m ok with people doing that. My friend’s son has two middle names and while it’s not my style, they are family names and it’s their son, so whatever. What I really don’t like is when people just use two middles for the sake of using them. Like they can’t choose between 3 names and use them all (when they have no significance other than liking the name). [name]Just[/name] my opinion though.
[name]One[/name] of my brothers and I each have two middle names… I know that mine both honor people, but I don’t know if his do or not.
And mine both start with the same letter, so on forms that ask for my middle initial, I just put R.
I don’t think I’ll give my kids two middles though… I just think it’s easier for a person to only have one.
My daughter has two middles as a spur of the moment thing. We had bounced around her first and middle names and towards the end of the pregnancy, kind of thought that it was missing something. With this baby, we knew we wanted to keep up with 2 middles, and just personally, think that for us two names work better.
I will probably use two middle names for each of my children unless I happen to have multiples. My SO and I are both very close to our parents and we wouldn’t want to choose a grandmother or grandfather to honour over the other. So, DD1 is likely to get both grandmothers’ names as middles and DS1 is likely to get both grandfathers’ names.
I’m not saying something’s wrong with it, [name]IMO[/name] it’s just really unnecessary. If people do it I’m not going to bash them or anything, it’s just my opinion.
Middle names in general could be seen as unnecessary if you don’t use them on a daily basis, so if you want to give your child 2 I don’t see the problem.
My sons have 1 middle name each, my DD has 2. None of their names are honouring. I wish I had given the boys 2 just because I love their names and each name means something to me with my DD.
I use my children’s middle names often (DD just her first) as terms of endearment or to get their attention. My DD’s 2nd middle name is like a secret family name, something special for just close family.
I’ve never had any problems out forms for my DD, never run out of space for her 2nd middle name. And I’ve filled out tons because she was born in a foreign country.
I plan on using two mns for all my children. When I first started to look at names seriously about 3 and a half years ago, I hated the idea. It seemed over-the-top and unnecessary but as the years went by, the idea has grown on me so much that I can’t imagine not using two mns. It used to be a common tradition in my family to use at least two mns (sometimes even three, four, or sometimes five middle names!), so I like that it would be going back to my family roots. I also plan on adopting so I like that I could, in theory, use a name I love, a name that honors my family, and a name that honors my child’s biological family, as well. Right now, most of my combos have a FN I love (which sometimes also honors family), a short family name in the middle somewhere, and another name I like or has significance for a second mn.
For example, [name]Isabelle[/name] [name]Aurora[/name] [name]Grace[/name] is my top pick for a girl. [name]Isabelle[/name] I just adore; [name]Grace[/name] is my grandmother’s mn; [name]Aurora[/name] means “dawn”–I like that it represents new beginnings. I think it’s important for my child to know that she can always start again–not just in terms of having a new family, but for anything. I have struggled with depression for years so the idea of a new dawn/new day and hope is very meaningful to me, and I would like to pass that onto my children. My favorite boys’ name consequently doesn’t honor anyone, but I just can’t bare to change it. Besides, I can’t imagine three better Bible characters other than [name]Caleb[/name], [name]Elijah[/name], and [name]Joseph[/name], so even though he wouldn’t have a connection to my family, he would have a connection to my family’s faith, which is more important, imo… I know this question sparks lots of (sometimes heated) conversations, but when it comes down to it, my answer is just that two MNs works for me. And if I ever get married and have children with my husband instead of just adopt alone, that way it would be so easy to honor both of our families, instead of just one at a time.
Besides, the middle names on forms thing wouldn’t be a huge deal–most moms I know who have kids with two mns end up just picking one… I don’t know why that would be a hassle! haha.
It seems excessive to me and it’s very inconvenient. I have two middle names and many forms (including some government forms) only accept one. That means that different docs list your name slightly differently, which can lead to trouble at the airport and so on. If you have some overwhelming reason for giving two middle names, go for it. I plan to spare my kids the hassle.
I have only one middle name, and at my graduation I remember it made me quite out of place. Because they read all our full names, and of everyone else in my degree I was one of very few with only one middle name.
I do have one friend who gave her son two middle names. It was a case of one being from her family, and the other being from her DHs. Another I know used two for her son because there were two they liked, and there is no certainty they’d ever get another boy so they used both.
Two middle names does make a name seem more regal and formal. I can definitely see the appeal in having two middle names on your university testamur.
I originally had only 1 mn for my older kids- when my first DH and I split we had planned to have a 3rd- had picked the names. We added those into their original names when we split. Sort of like passing our dream child back into the children we had?
So the trend was set when I remarried and had #3, the other 2 had 2 mns so she does as well.
Now TTC #4 I have actively debated whether or not to continue this trend.
I asked [name]Brooke[/name] what she thought- and she said use one if you want she wouldn’t mind. But I wonder if the child will mind?
The annoying thing is some postal/ official thing will only show one of the middle initals- changing the whole feel of the name.
I may go to one… maybe two. Time will tell, and some names just seem ‘right’ with 1, others seem better with 2.
My kids have two middle names as we wanted to honour family in their names, without giving them a family first name. Their first name is their own. The first names were chosen cause DH and I loved them. [name]Both[/name] their middle names honour family in different ways and because of that, I’d definitely give any future children 2 middles.
So far it hasn’t been inconvenient for us.
I have two middle names. I love it. I’m also in the process of renaming myself, and could not imagine having only one middle name.
I feel so…empty, and incomplete with only one. Weird and probably just me, but it’s how I feel.
I’m the ONLY one in my family with two middle names. No one else…except for like my third newborn cousin.
That being said, I don’t intend to give my kids two middle names just cause. But if I come across a combo of three names that I love together, and sound great, then if my DH allows it, I will.
Like [name]Dylan[/name] [name]Jeremy[/name] [name]James[/name], I LOVED. I’m a bit over [name]Dylan[/name] now, but I still love [name]Jeremy[/name] [name]James[/name] as a middle combo.
My third middle name makes it on every form pretty much. Minus my health card cause there’s only one slot for the middle initial.
Having another middle name adds more to my identity than just being three names. I know people with no middle name, and I’d absolutely HATE that. I like having a second middle name, it adds more to my story.
Totally agree, our fave girls name is [name]Claudie[/name] Seirian [name]Belle[/name], where each name honours 1 of our 3 grandmothers, ([name]Claudie[/name] - his paternal, Seirian - my maternal, [name]Belle[/name] - his maternal, I don’t know my paternal grandmother). If we have a son, we’d like to honour his maternal grandfather, [name]Norman[/name], and my maternal grandfather [name]William[/name]. Neither of us know our paternal grandfathers, so I guess we could just go with [name]William[/name] [name]Norman[/name] (or [name]North[/name], to honour [name]Norman[/name]) but for starters, neither are really our style, secondly we’d like our child to have his own unique name, and thirdly we want each of our children to have 1 Welsh name and neither [name]William[/name] or [name]Norman[/name] are Welsh. So it would be “Welsh name” [name]William[/name] [name]North[/name] more than likely, we’re choosing between Teifryn, Braith and [name]Emrys[/name].
If one child had two middles I’d want them all too.
To be honest though, I’d probably do it anyway. I don’t know if it’s different here in the UK, but my great-aunt had 2 middles, my best friend in school had 2 middles (she was [name]Rachel[/name] [name]Rebecca[/name] [name]Louise[/name], since her mother wanted [name]Rachel[/name] [name]Louise[/name] and her dad, [name]Rebecca[/name] [name]Louise[/name]) and my cousin gave one of her daughters 2 middle names. It doesn’t seem to be a big deal.
Being a name nerd who is considering giving her children 2 middles, and who has read many threads like this before, I pay extra attention to forms when filling out the name section. I notice most forms I fill in here either say “First name” then “Middle name(s)” then “Surname” or just have a long space saying “Given name(s)” and then “Surname”. So it doesn’t seem to be an issue at all.
I say to each their own, but totally agree with others who have said there is an argument that even [name]ONE[/name] initial is pointless since most of us only use our first name on a daily basis. But personally I’m very attached to my middle name. We use them a lot in our family, often referring to each other as “[name]Kelly[/name] [name]Marie[/name]” “[name]Amy[/name] [name]Megan[/name]” and “[name]Laura[/name] [name]Jane[/name]” (me), usually when talkign ABOUT each other rather than TO each other though. It is like a term of endearment. If I want for [name]Claudie[/name] Seirian [name]Belle[/name] for example, I’d like to sometimes call her [name]Claudie[/name]-[name]Belle[/name], and I know I would end up sometimes referring to her as [name]Claudie[/name] Seirian. I love all 3 names, all have special meaning, all would be used at times, and all would be a part of my childs identity.
So that’s why I will use them I love so many names, that the more I get to use the better! Though 2 middles is my limit ha, I actually went to school with a girl called [name]Lauren[/name] who had 4 middle names :S That’s way too much!
I’m not a huge fan of the two mn’s, but sometimes it is so striking! I didnt do it for my oldest son, so I didn’t do it for my second one, either just to be “fair,” I guess, but sometimes I wish I had. [name]Ethan[/name]'s (#2) middle name is [name]Scott[/name], after my dad. [name]Nicolas[/name] wasn’t named after anyone. My husband chose his first and middle name because he loved them. But we wanted to honor a family member the second time around. My regret with [name]Ethan[/name] is that we didn’t honor anyone on my husbands side of the family, and that obviously hurt his dads feelings when he found out. I wish it was something I considered during the naming process because now there is pressure to have a third boy (!!) so that we can honor DH’s side of the family.
I just think it makes the name flow even more prettily. It adds a certain beauty to the name, I think. As long as the names aren’t extremely long, I love it. Like [name]Annalise[/name] [name]Maria[/name] [name]Violet[/name] sounds like a mouthful, while [name]Jemima[/name] [name]Margot[/name] [name]Blaire[/name] sounds lovely.
My adorable son got two, and his father and I were given three. So I guess it’s up to oneself to judge, whether you like it or not. Personally it’s a family tradition.
In the UK it’s different, I think. Not as much as Nameberry seem to be telling everyone (The Telegraph Birth Announcements do NOT clearly represent the naming style of the whole of the UK), but it’s FAR more ‘acceptable’. Nobody would bat an eyelid at a [name]Matilda[/name] [name]June[/name] [name]Florence[/name] or [name]Isabel[/name] [name]Daisy[/name] [name]Beatrice[/name], really they wouldn’t. Although that isn’t to say [name]EVERY[/name] one has 2 middle names in the UK, which is the impression most Berries seem to have thanks to the Nameberry Blog posts regarding British names. I know plenty of badly named kids here too.
Anyway, I’m split half and half. Much of my family have two middle names (not including me, though) so I’ve grown up with the idea it was fairly normal. Lots of my friends have 2 middle names as well. I think it’s a nice way to honour more than one person and gives a more wider range of choices if the child ever chose to change their name later in life.
However, I agree dislike the idea of choosing 2 middle names to seem cool and unique. It sort of seems a bit trying-to-hard especially if they are simply for display - [name]Rose[/name] [name]Penelope[/name] [name]Isabella[/name], as an example. Whilst it’s lovely, it seems so empty and meaningless.
But each to their own. I’m not going to bother enlisting my naming style into other people. Completely pointless, and of course I have to respect other’s opinions on naming THEIR kids. Not my business.
I love so many names, that the more I get to use the better! Though 2 middles is my limit ha, I actually went to school with a girl called [name]Lauren[/name] who had 4 middle names :S That’s way too much!