[name_m]Hi[/name_m]
I am curious as to what the general thought of a double first name is. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you like double first names? [name_f]Do[/name_f] you like double first names with or without hyphens? [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think double first names are manageable? [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think double first names ever get used all the time?
I like names such as [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Kate[/name_f] without a hyphen. I don’t like hyphens personally.
So what do you all think?
I think they work without a hyphen. Double names can be very pretty and add so much character to otherwise classic, well-known names.
[name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Kate[/name_f] is a great example of that.
Southern double names are my favourite and I’d name my daugther [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f] in a heartbeat.
I like double names, but I prefer them without the hyphen. I think you have to be prepared that part of the name may be dropped at some point or in some circumstances. I know a [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f] and I love her name!
I think they’re tough. I know a few people with double firsts, and oftentimes the second name gets dropped. One of my friends likes that because she prefers the first part of her name, but the other hates it because she likes being called by the full name. Both have hyphens. I think a hyphen makes a name slightly less likely to be split, but everyone I’ve ever known with a double first (even a common one like [name_f]Mary[/name_f]-[name_f]Kate[/name_f]) has had the experience of the cut off second name.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t use a double first name- I think they can be quite lovely- it’s just that you should go in prepared for people to not comply. If that will frustrate you, I don’t think it’s a good idea. But if you’re okay with [name_f]Lily[/name_f] [name_f]May[/name_f] becoming just [name_f]Lily[/name_f], go for it.
I am not a fan. I prefer [name_f]Anna[/name_f] as first and [name_f]Kate[/name_f] as middle, [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Kate[/name_f] sounds great, but I’d rather she has a choice to write just [name_f]Anna[/name_f] than having to deal with double first names (it’s a hassle, imo). And I personally don’t like hyphen.
I think double names can be very cute however. My name is [name_u]Jamie[/name_u]-[name_u]Lee[/name_u] and I only really get called that my the people closest to me that know that’s what I like to be called. Pretty much every person I meet, although I introduce myself as [name_u]Jamie[/name_u]-[name_u]Lee[/name_u] they will go ahead and call me [name_u]Jamie[/name_u] anyway. This can be very annoying and I’m often too polite to correct them, even though it so frustrating.
If you absolutely love a double name, I’d just be prepared for them to predominately use the first name! And if you’re okay with that then definitely go for it! 
It’s not something you hear often or at all where I live. I think if someone here used a double barrelled name it would sound like they were trying to put on Southern airs.
However, recently the nn I love for my top combo, sounds like a double barrelled name, [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f], and while she will likely just go by [name_f]Pippa[/name_f], it makes me see the appeal in the two name options!
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you like double first names?
I like very few and they tend to be non-common ones.
However, I also like some more common ones as nicknames for longer names, [name_f]Emma[/name_f] [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] becomes “[name_f]Emma[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f]”, [name_f]Lily[/name_f] [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] “[name_f]Lily[/name_f] [name_f]Kate[/name_f]”, [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] [name_f]Louisa[/name_f] “[name_f]Betsy[/name_f] [name_u]Lou[/name_u]”, [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] [name_f]Annabel[/name_f] “[name_f]Kitty[/name_f] [name_f]Anne[/name_f]” and so on.
My personal favorite is [name_f]Minnie[/name_f] [name_f]May[/name_f] either through [name_f]Wilhelmina[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] or simply as a childhood nickname for [name_f]Mabel[/name_f].
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you like double first names with or without hyphens?
Definitely without! That way the person can choose which name to go by not just with other people but also on paper.
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you think double first names are manageable?
Yes. Usually they don’t have more syllables than one longer name. What I don’t like is something along the lines of [name_f]Alexandria[/name_f]-[name_f]Kate[/name_f]; as if anybody always says their full name.
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you think double first names ever get used all the time?
Something like [name_f]Ella[/name_f]-[name_f]Kate[/name_f] or [name_f]Rosie[/name_f]-[name_f]Mae[/name_f] I see getting used all the time if the parents and the child herself will exclusively use it. Longer names like [name_f]Lillian[/name_f]-[name_f]Hannah[/name_f], no, I don’t think they’re going to be used.
Double first names (almost always hyphenated) are very popular where I’m from, and I think they’re definitely manageable. Most of the ones I hear a lot aren’t really to my taste (they often feel a little too “cutesy” for me), but I think [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Kate[/name_f] is beautiful, simple and sophisticated. I personally prefer to see double firsts without the hyphen generally, though I do think it depends on the names.
[name_m]Just[/name_m] FYI, a few friends of mine are teachers and lots of children (girls especially) with double-barrelled names come through their classes. They’ve said that the children almost always end up called just the first part of their double name, either by choice or by circumstance. So it’s worth bearing in mind that your [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Kate[/name_f] is quite likely to end up just [name_f]Anna[/name_f], or maybe [name_f]Annie[/name_f], down the line (I think both of those are lovely too, though!)
I like double-barrels, but I’m pretty picky about them, if that makes sense? (For what it’s worth, I love [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Kate[/name_f]!) My personal philosophy is that I generally try to include a hyphen if it’s an actual double-barrel first that they’re going to go by exclusively. Like… If I had an [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] [name_f]Snow[/name_f], I’d hyphenate, with the hopes of getting the point across that she goes by her double-barrel first exclusively. But I have [name_f]Ella[/name_f] [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] [name_f]Snow[/name_f] nn [name_f]Ella[/name_f] [name_f]Snow[/name_f] on my list, and that I’m not so fussed about, because [name_f]Ella[/name_f] [name_f]Snow[/name_f] is a nn. I don’t know if that makes any sense or not, but it does in my brain lol.
Good luck!
I’m pro double barrel!
I’ve known a few people with double barrel name; all of them were hyphenated, and all went by both names. Personally, I also don’t like the appearance of a hyphen and prefer them separated, but for simplicity’s sake, I just put them together with a capital distinguishing the two parts. That way it’s clearly all one name and less likely to get chopped off.
Some of my fave DBs:
AnnaKate (a long time favorite of mine, too!)
LilyJane
LilyFaye
AnnaLivia
EvaRose
BriarKate
AnneSophie
I do quite like the sound of double barrel names but I think it would be a bit of a hassle for the child. I prefer them as a nickname, so something like [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] called [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Kate[/name_f]. I have something similar on my list, [name_f]Evelina[/name_f] [name_f]Daisy[/name_f] called [name_f]Eva[/name_f] [name_f]Daisy[/name_f].