Two middle names, or just Chinese name?

I just wanted to get a bit of discussion going around our baby’s name. Our baby will be the firstborn of her generation in both families… my husband is Chinese and I’m of English descent. We plan to give our children Chinese names as well as a western given name that they would predominantly go by.

We’d sort of decided just to have three names: First + Chinese + Surname

But I’ve been wondering whether we should include the tradition of my culture, to have a middle name, such as First + Middle + Chinese + Surname

example (made up names)
[name]Laura[/name] Ai-Ping Chu - 3 names
vs
[name]Laura[/name] [name]Kate[/name] Ai-Ping Chu - 4 names

The reason for doing just three names would be that I don’t have any particular attachment to the custom of middle names. There’s less names to have to worry about picking, keeps it simple, there aren’t too many names.

The reason for doing four names would be mainly to have the “first middle” combo that Aussies are so used to. When we tell people we’re having trouble getting the Chinese name because of a number of factors, they often say “oh yes and you have to make sure it flows nicely too!” Which isn’t true- we actually would never say the names together. It’s not meant to flow, they’re meant to be used in separate situations. For example, I’d never call her [name]Laura[/name] Ai-Ping. It’s not like how sometimes families call people with their middle name eg [name]Laura[/name] [name]Kate[/name]; you’d either be calling her [name]Laura[/name], or Ai-Ping, never both together. So, if we added another middle name in there, it’d prevent people from trying (or struggling) to call her [name]Laura[/name] Ai-Ping… they’d just say [name]Laura[/name] [name]Kate[/name], if they wanted to use a middle name.

Also I like names so it would be nice to pick more than one and have nice combo that flows, and to get to use some of the names we like but wouldn’t use as a first name. And another reason is that if my husband and I don’t really like the sound of the Chinese name that our family helps us to choose, then it would be a bit nicer to have chosen two names that we chose for sound, plus one we chose for meaning/culture… than just one of each.

But on the other hand - I don’t need to use a middle name to honour anyone, and we don’t have a middle name we’re desperate to use, so we honestly could go either way - I’m just not sure what I prefer! Would love to hear some people’s thoughts and opinions.

[name]Just[/name] to put it in context a bit more… this is how the hypothetical names would be, if we used 3 or 4

4 names
Usual name: [name]Laura[/name] Chu
Full name (Australian format): [name]Laura[/name] [name]Kate[/name] Ai-Ping Chu
Full name ([name]Asian[/name] format): [name]Laura[/name] [name]Kate[/name] Chu Ai-Ping
Full Chinese name: Chu Ai-Ping

3 names
Usual name: [name]Laura[/name] Chu
Full name (Australian format): [name]Laura[/name] Ai-Ping Chu
Full name ([name]Asian[/name] format): [name]Laura[/name] Chu Ai-Ping
Full Chinese name: Chu Ai-Ping

It’s wonderful that you have chosen to honour your child’s Chinese heritage. I wouldn’t normally advise people to use two middle names just for simplicity’s sake due to the numerous official forms we have to fill out throughout our lives. However, in your case, living in Australia, I think the four name option of First + Middle + Chinese + Surname would allow you to choose two names that you both love and also avoid confusion for people who would be tempted to call your daughter [name]Laura[/name] Ai-Ping. I think all of your names are short enough that you wouldn’t get bogged down with the bureaucracy. The first name is two syllables and the others are one syllable so I don’t think that it would be too much of an issue. [name]Laura[/name] [name]Kate[/name] is a very pretty mix of traditional and spunkiness and [name]Laura[/name] [name]Kate[/name] Ai-Ping Chu looks like a more substantial and complete name to me than just [name]Laura[/name] Ai-Ping Chu. [name]Hope[/name] this all makes sense. All the best, [name]Mischa[/name].

I am Chinese (100%) and lived in Australia for 13 years. My husband is Caucasian but not that it makes much difference in this case.

My name is First + Chinese (2 syllables) + Last Name

In my 13 years living in Australia, it has never been a problem going with just my first name. A few friends were curious what my middle name was, but they never used it (I have a familiar but not frequently used first name that started with “[name]Chris[/name]” but they usually call my fully name and no nickname).

Now I live in the US, and just my first name has never been a problem either.

I don’t know if things have changed, but when I lived in Australia I don’t recall calling any of my friends with their first and middle name together. In fact, I hardly know any of my friends’ middle name to be honest!

I guess just go with what you two want. I just want to share that not having a non-Chinese middle name was never a problem for me.

There are actually many traditional methods Chinese use to name their babies

check out this article on babytalk.sg /ultimate-guide-to-choosing-your-baby-chinese-name/
how to guide to give your baby a good chinese name

Not my personal experience but my Chinese colleague and her Dutch partner choose the First + Chinese + Surname combination for their children. The Chinese name really serves as a middle name most of the time and they rarely use it in their day to day lives. But family in [name_f]China[/name_f] know the kids by their Chinese ‘middle names’ so they do use these names when visiting family there. Because of this they picked the western first name and Chinese middle name to be similar in sound. I guess something similar to:

[name_u]June[/name_u] [name_m]Jun[/name_m] Chu
or
[name_f]May[/name_f] [name_f]Mei[/name_f] Chu
or
[name_f]Suzy[/name_f] Susu Chu

[name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps! :slight_smile: