Hello all! [name_f]My[/name_f] wife and I are expecting our 3rd child, and we are not finding out the gender, however, we have picked out names for each possibility. If it’s a girl, we have an idea to name her with a double first name honoring two grandmothers; we also have a possible middle name. The full name would be [name_f]Zaida[/name_f] [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] Helene; the meaning is “shining lady of peace and purity”. We would call her [name_f]Zaida[/name_f] [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] or perhaps the pet name Zaida-Cat. However, I’ve begun wondering 2 things:
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How double first names work and how we go about this. [name_f]Do[/name_f] we need a hyphen or not? How does this look on a birth certificate? If anyone has double name advice, I would love to hear it.
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Is this going to be too complicated when introducing her? One of these names (Zaida), while not difficult, is not a familiar name in the US; will this trip people up? It’s not a familiar double name like [name_f]Marybeth[/name_f] or [name_f]Anne[/name_f] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]. [name_f]My[/name_f] alternative idea was to name her [name_f]Zaida[/name_f] [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] as a 1st and middle name, introduce her as [name_f]Zaida[/name_f], but call her [name_f]Zaida[/name_f] [name_f]Catherine[/name_f], and hope it catches on. Both my wife and I love the combo of both names together and would call her that (and hope that’s how she introduces herself). But perhaps it would be more confusing if we introduce her with one name then only refer to her with 2.
[name_f]My[/name_f] wife is ready to name her all 3 names; I’m the one that is a bit apprehensive about it all. I would appreciate your thoughts on this.
I don’t have any experience with double first names and how they would work on a birth certificate so im afraid I can’t give any solid advice there. I don’t believe that a hyphen is necessary, however I wonder if both names together would be too long to fit on legal documents as a first name. for instance, would the full two names show up or would there be letters missing? and would that bother you?
if that would be a dealbreaker, I think it’s entirely okay to have Z as the first name and then C and H as a double middle, legally, but introduce her as Z@ida C@therine or Z@ida-C@t (I love that nickname btw).
everyone ive ever known who goes by a double name has it as their first and middle, and they’ve just introduced themself as the full double name. so I would say that if you use Z and C as a first and middle then you should introduce her to people using the name you want them to use—that is, introduce her as Z C because then people would call her Z C. if you introduce her as just Z, people will likely just call her that.
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I don’t have any experience but I don’t think you need a hyphen if you don’t want one. I would look up the rules specifically where you are to check how many letters you’re allowed in a name.
I don’t think it will be complicated because of [name_f]Zaida[/name_f], but because it’s quite long and even shorter double names often get one half dropped. I do think you’ll find others start to call her [name_f]Zaida[/name_f] (or potentially Catherine) rather than both - regardless if it’s a double first, hyphenated or a first and middle, regardless of how you introduce her.
Still, if [name_f]Zaida[/name_f] [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] is what you call her, it might catch on and I think I’d use them as a double first name (if your location permits it) and then have a middle, so both are always there, and may be used.
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- You do not need a hyphen. In fact, in most states special characters are allowed but computer systems will not allow special characters. So, applying for forms can be tricky, but this is less of a problem IRL. Furthermore, the USA will the name “smooshed” in their system for the SSN statistics, where you put a space or not. (So [name_f]Maria[/name_f] [name_f]Francesca[/name_f] is allowed but it will be reported Mariafrancesca on the name statistics for the year, same if it were hyphenated Maria-Francesca.)
Like I said, this has little impact on everyday use. People where I live use double names all the time and have no problem. The school system will even register it correctly and your child will receive their diploma with the double name on it in most cases. The reason federal forms online do this is because what symbols are legal when naming vary by state. 
If you want to make sure the initial documents show [name_f]Zaida[/name_f] [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] as a double name, I would make sure the C in [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] is distinctly capitalized, and well under the “first name” portion. Then I’d make sure there is a bigger space between the first names and the middle name.
- I think [name_f]Zaida[/name_f] [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] is a very pretty name and quite usable.
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I would hyphenate for sure.
Reasons: I find the only double names that don’t need hyphenating are those starting with [name_f]Mary[/name_f] or maybe [name_f]Anne[/name_f], but either way they’re known combinations: [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Anne[/name_f], [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Ellen[/name_f], [name_f]Anne[/name_f] [name_f]Sophie[/name_f] etc.
[name_f]My[/name_f] friends who have “hoped” the double names of their kids would stick have been disappointed. Eg my friend has a daughter, [name_f]Ella[/name_f] [name_f]Grace[/name_f], and she wanted this to be a double first but it only gets used as a double first among family and some old friends, and even then only sometimes. For everyone else, it’s just [name_f]Ella[/name_f].
So I would definitely hyphenate to give it the best chance possible of sticking.
Take or leave, but how about Zaida-Kate as the first name or as a nickname? I think [name_f]Zaida[/name_f] flows better to [name_f]Kate[/name_f] than [name_f]Cat[/name_f], and to me Zaida-Cat sounds a little like a pop singer or cartoon (superhero) cat (which may be part of the appeal ;)). I really like all three names though, [name_f]Helene[/name_f] is so lovely too.
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Lengthy and multiple names are rather a thing in my family. [name_f]My[/name_f] name is Saorse [name_f]Eilidh[/name_f] [name_f]Wren[/name_f] Care. One first name and three middle names. [name_f]My[/name_f] daughter just named her daughter [name_f]Scout[/name_f] [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] [name_f]Eve[/name_f]. One first name and two middle names. I filled out the birth certificate paperwork and the social security number paperwork for [name_f]Scout[/name_f]. Neither one had me putting letters in boxes (with my name, or your daughter’s, one would likely run out of boxes). On neither of our Social Security cards are our names smooshed together as one name. I did make certain to leave plenty of space between Scout’s two middle names and use clearly defined capital letters. I do this for my name, too.
I would not hyphenate the names. I know that you might love the idea of everyone calling your daughter [name_f]Zaida[/name_f] [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] for her entire life, but she is going to grow into her own person. You have chosen a marvelous name in [name_f]Zaida[/name_f] [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] [name_f]Helene[/name_f]. She may grow into an edgy, artistic sort for whom [name_f]Zaida[/name_f] is the perfect fit. Maybe she becomes the consummate professional and likes the more formal [name_f]Catherine[/name_f]. [name_m]Or[/name_m] perhaps she embraces her softer side and [name_f]Helene[/name_f] is her moniker of choice.
You will likely find that the name you call her isn’t the same name that others in her life call her. This is very common when children are given multiple names. [name_f]My[/name_f] Scottish family calls me Saorse, my American family calls me [name_f]Wren[/name_f], and my [name_m]German[/name_m] family calls me Care. Friends in each of those places or affiliated with different periods of my life call me different variations on my name. It is all my name, all a part of me, just as your daughter’s beautiful name will all be a part of her.
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If [name_f]Zaida[/name_f] [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] is what she will be called and if that is the name you want her to write at the top of her school papers then I would just use it as a first name on the birth certificate. If you don’t, I just can’t see it catching on. Parents often use their children’s first and middle names together but I wouldn’t begin doing it as well unless introduced to them that way.
[name_f]Zaida[/name_f] [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] is lovely and it’s also very long. [name_m]Just[/name_m] as a name like [name_f]Alexandria[/name_f] or [name_f]Evangelina[/name_f] is likely to be shortened I imagine [name_f]Zaida[/name_f] [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] will likely get shorted by her peers at some point.
I have a double first name (my full name meaning Leader of Mercy) but I always go by the second part of my name
I’d say there’s nothing to worry about. If you introduce her as [name_f]Zaida[/name_f] [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] instead of just calling her [name_f]Zaida[/name_f] people would mostly understand. Besides if I were you I’d relish the opportunity for an explanation behind the meaning of [name_f]Zaida[/name_f] [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] [name_f]Helene[/name_f]