[name_f]Do[/name_f] you think Sonder is usable as a middle name?
I love the sound of it and the meaning, “the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own”
It will almost certainly stay only as a guilty pleasure…just seeing what others think and gathering opinions
I think it’s weird I don’t really see it as a name and it reminds me of the [name_m]German[/name_m] word sonderbar meaning ‘strange, unusual’.
I could see it working on a male as a middle name, especially if Sonder was an honor name of some sort. It’s sort of odd and, after some research, the word is apparently made up. Well, the definition you listed, anyhow. This explains it…read through the various comments: https://www.quora.com/Is-sonder-a-real-English-word-the-realization-of-the-richness-of-others-lives
So…I don’t know. I like the attributed meaning, but don’t know if it works as an actual name on a child.
it makes me think of somber which is obviously negative, but then it has son- in it so I guess it could work as a male middle name
Yeah, it is a recently invented word. Which, doesn’t take away any of its credit, but since none of us are sure just how lasting it will be and how much it will catch on…I don’t know if I’d used it. It reminds me of saunter and somber both, depending on how you say it, as well as asunder. None of those are particularly great associations, but they’re not horrible.
I wasn’t aware of the invented word. When I clicked on the title I thought it might be a surname. It sounds quite like [name_m]Saunders[/name_m]. I think it could work as a middle name.
It reminds me of [name_m]Soren[/name_m], which is quite popular on Nameberry. I think it could definitely make a handsome, weighty middle. Something like [name_m]David[/name_m] Sonder might be too heavy, but something like [name_u]Elliot[/name_u] Sonder is wonderful. Sonder weighs down the otherwise light and rather effeminate [name_u]Elliot[/name_u].
I can definitely see Sonder as a middle name. It reads as a surname to me and so I wouldn’t think anything of it.
It seems a little fake-deep in my opinion. There’s also no actual dictionary pages listed for it when I Google it. The closest I can find is a wiktionary page. It just sounds like the parents were trying to gain cleverness brownie points by picking an unusual, superficially profound word as a middle, sort of like how the name [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] always ends with, “It spells [name_f]Heaven[/name_f] backwards!”
If you honestly love it, previous Berries have made some good points about similar sounding names, so I don’t think it will stick out too much. Personally though, it’s a cool sounding word with an interesting meaning, but I think there are better choices out there for a baby name, even for a middle.
It think it would get confused for [name_m]Xander[/name_m], [name_m]Alexander[/name_m], etc.
[name_m]Just[/name_m] so you know, Sonder is not a dictionary word. The definition you have originally comes from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, a website where the creator invents words for feelings and ideas. So Sonder is his invention rather than an actual English word.
That said, it has a nice, name-like sound, so I don’t think it would be difficult to wear at all. And if the name means something to you, that’s really what’s important 
EDIT: whoops, didn’t realize this had been mentioned already! Guess that’s what I get for not reading all the replies
I don’t like it because it sounds pretentious and the worst part is it’s not even a real word. It sounds like somber and its made-up meaning doesn’t even make much sense when bestowed on a baby. It’s like naming your child “Saudade” (which is a real word) or “[name_f]Deja[/name_f] Vu” just because the meaning is different. I just don’t get the charm.
I like it a lot!
Sonder works as a middle name. I would assume it was a variant of [name_u]Sander[/name_u]. The definition you listed is nonsense, though.