If you had two very similar names on your list, one as a first name the other as a middle name, would you not use the middle name so you can use the first name?
Let’s say you have [name_f]Nora[/name_f] (mn) and [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] (fn) on your list.
[name_f]Nora[/name_f] sounds perfect in a combo, would you still use it even if [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] nn [name_f]Nora[/name_f] wouldn’t be a usable first name anymore?
Or would you save [name_f]Nora[/name_f] as a possible future nickname for [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]?
Personally, I would use [name_f]Nora[/name_f] as a possible nn for [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]. [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] has more substance for me than [name_f]Nora[/name_f] so I would use it. That way, you get two names for the price of one! Anyway, first names are more important than middle names. They’re the ones you use with the surname and in everyday life.
For me first names trump middle names. For example we are really loving [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f] right now, I also love the combo [name_f]Isobel[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] and would not use [name_f]Rose[/name_f] as a middle name if we used [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f] as a first. We also have a daughter named [name_f]Lilla[/name_f] [name_u]Clare[/name_u] and while we love the name [name_f]Clara[/name_f] we will never use it, I feel that this is the same thing. Sad, but true. As I would hate for any of my children to feel like they didn’t get their own name but a used variation of a siblings. I find that a lot of the names I like have overlap in the sounds that I am drawn to so for me and my husband it comes down to a this or that. [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f] or [name_f]Cecily[/name_f], [name_m]Jasper[/name_m] or [name_m]Oliver[/name_m], [name_m]Rufus[/name_m] or [name_m]Rupert[/name_m], [name_f]Iris[/name_f] or [name_f]Isobel[/name_f]… You obviously like that sound but we feel that we should only use it once.
I would choose to keep whichever one I felt a closer connection to. I would love to use [name_f]Eloise[/name_f] as a first name but I cannot let go of Maebry [name_f]Eloise[/name_f]. I adore [name_f]Eloise[/name_f] but I adore Maebry [name_f]Eloise[/name_f] even more.
A better example of my problem:
Let’s say I love Océane as a middle name and [name_f]Oceana[/name_f] as a first name.
I could only use Océane as a middle name since it would be a very [name_m]French[/name_m] first name for a non [name_m]French[/name_m] child.
Additionally, it doesn’t work as a nickname for [name_f]Oceana[/name_f] because of pronunciation differences in [name_m]German[/name_m] and the reason above (french name for non-french child).
A middle name with a [name_m]French[/name_m] pronunciation wouldn’t bother me though.
[name_f]Oceana[/name_f], while lovely, couldn’t be nicknamed Océane (as explained).
Now I’m wondering if it’s worth giving up Océane in the middle to be able to used the beloved [name_f]Oceana[/name_f] in the front, even if I wouldn’t get two names for the price of one.
(btw. [name_f]Oceana[/name_f] and Océane I used as stand-ins)
Sorry for being so complicated but I’ve been wondering what other people thought.
And thank you mischa, sarab.cook and lovemysweeties
I have both on my ‘backup’ list, and [name_f]Nora[/name_f] on my short. To me, [name_f]Nora[/name_f] has a different feel than [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]. If I named a daughter [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] I wouldn’t plan on using [name_f]Nora[/name_f], maybe [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] but now that I think about it that probably wouldn’t work out so well since it’s too similar to our dog’s name. (we kept her adopted name). Maybe [name_f]Lena[/name_f] or something then, if I were to use it. I also have [name_f]Julia[/name_f] and [name_f]Juliet[/name_f], which have different personalities to me. Basically I categorize my names by personality and pick one from that category for the short list. (If you’re curious, my girl and boy names match up by personality due to their placement). Middle names I don’t worry too much over, it’s fun to make a pretty name but in the end I might not use that particular middle name but might instead use my favorite middle name if it works well. [name_f]My[/name_f] current favorite middles are [name_u]Juniper[/name_u] and [name_f]Mavis[/name_f]. Although I’m more likely to use favorite firsts as a middle, most of my short list boy middles are on the backup list. While for my girl names, only Irene is.
However,
If I really wanted to use a name for a first and would potentially have to option to do it in the future, I wouldn’t use it or a nickname for it, even if I didn’t plan on using that nickname. I wouldn’t use Nora as a middle if I might have the option of naming a daughter Eleanor in the future, for example.