This thread is purely out of curiosity and wanting to hear other peoples’ opinions. [name_m]How[/name_m] do you feel about double middle names? Would you give them your children? Why or why not?
I think double middle names are fine - my dad, half-brother, and half-brother’s two sons all have them. It’s sort of a tradition on my dad’s side of the family. I don’t think I would continue it the way they have (they all have D____ names and then a family surname as their two middles), but I would give two middle names to my children. Mostly because SO and I plan to use a middle name for each of our kids that honors family, and if it suited the rest of the name I’d add another name that I just really loved.
Whether other people choose 1 or 2 or no middle name at all I have no opinion about, whatever works for them is great really. I wouldn’t think of someone any differently if they had 2 middle names. 3+ middles seems a bit excessive though unless you’re in the British royal family or something - like [name_f]Uma[/name_f] [name_m]Thurman[/name_m]'s daughter has 4 middle names, that [name_f]IMO[/name_f] is over the top.
Double middle names are just fine. We gave our children only one middle name because of family tradition, but it’s fine to have two. I can’t see why it would be a problem. [name_m]Even[/name_m] three middle names is okay. Four is somewhat excessive, but that’s just my personal opinion.
I do not care for them. When will they ever be heard? The middle name is seldom heard anyway and most forms only allow for one middle initial. When you add the possibility that it will be too long to use in a signature… I just don’t think they are practical.
I honestly found them a bit overwhelming. At times I also felt they sounded like a list instead of a name, especially when there are more than two middle names. I still feel the same way for the most part but have two middle names for our favorite girl combos. The reason is because of honoring. All of the names honor loved ones and there were names that we did not want to break up and wanted to honor together.
I dont really see the point. A middle name is rarely used as it is.
I’m not really a fan of double middle names, but people who use them have their reasons. My youngest brother has 2 middles, after our grandfathers, and that makes sense. Would I do it? Probably not. But I understand why my parents did.
I also figured I would have kids in Spain, where there are no middle names, so mentally, I prepared for that. I’m kind of indifferent to middle names now.
The “playing around” factor with 2 middles is fun, though, and it lets one use more names that they love, so why not.
I have a two middle names myself and really like it, so yes, I would (and plan on) definitely use two middle names.
Sometimes one name has a family connection, others I just really like both. What’s interesting is, that everytime I only use one middle name, the combo sounds fine, but when I add a last name it just sounds awful to my ears.
I totally understand that. I just don’t understand when people throw together like three outlandish names just because they think they’re all pretty. imo, it’s kind of ridiculous. But if they like that, who am I to tell them differently?!
My first daughter will have two middle names: [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] and [name_u]Gray[/name_u]. It’s an honor thing and it’s incredibly important to me to do so. After that, I’m really not sure. On the one hand, I love the idea and I’ve seen some stunning combos over here on Nameberry. In real life, though, people tend to give you side-eye for giving your child more than one middle name. For every argument saying that it’s unnecessary and no one will ever see it, you’ve supplied me with a defense: No one will ever see it, so who cares how many middle names there are?
Some names I like better with two middle names while others lend themselves to just one. I will never going in thinking “I HAVE to use two middle names.” No. If it comes organically and can honor someone or be rich in meaning, then I’ll use it.
If you’re honouring family members and they all flow well together, why not? It’s a name lover’s dream. The more names the better.
Growing up, I only ever heard of people having one middle name, if any (my dad and his siblings, his parents, etc. don’t have any middle names whatsoever…my cousins and I all have one middle name each). In school (and later on, when my interest in history grew), I learned about the royals and their extensive names. It wasn’t until I met my fiance (who has two middles) that I ever seen multiple middle names on an actual, “normal” person. I like them and we will likely use them when we have kids down the road. We’d probably use them as honor names, with the first name being something we both love. The names would have meaning, not just a bunch of fancy, long names that sound good together, but also sound like a law firm. That’s kind of my main thing against multiple middles…it can sound pretentious.