Honestly unless you are royalty I find anything more than 2 middle names ridiculous. That said, here in [name]Hawaii[/name], there are often more than 2 middle names b/c folks use phrases as middle names. In that case, I’m ok with it since there is a strong cultural reason.
But in terms of honoring each side of the family, I would limit it to one from each side for a total of two. It’s really only an issue if you only plan on having one kid and feel you have to get EVERYONE’S name in on this one shot, but think of the kid: that’s a lot of family baggage to carry around.
As for legal documents, there’s not limit as to the # of middle names a child can legally have, but when filling out forms you’ll have to choose one or two. At that point, what’s the point of that 5th middle name when it’s going to be left off 99.99% of the time?
ps I find the names you gave as examples cumbersome. The more names you load in, the less meaning each one has.
Thanks for replying. I don’t think anyone could have put it better.
As for the examples I gave…cumbersome or no, they are what [name]Oscar[/name] Wilde’s mother, [name]Princess[/name] [name]Diana[/name] and [name]Fergie[/name] cast onto their offspring. [name]Wild[/name], don’t you think?
On the second page of the section, there’s a post called “Two Middle Names,” and I think you’ll find a lot of great information there. I just wanted to bring this to your attention in case you don’t scroll past this page!
I have two middle names and I don’t find them especially cumbersome. My first middle name is [name]Rose[/name] and my second middle name (which is a surname that is distinctive it would give my identity away if i said what it was) is only two syllables long so it’s not that much of a problem. My full name fits on all of my documents (probably because all of my names are under 5 letters) and putting my name down as [name]Julia[/name] R M O’Surname is easy, too. The hardest thing about having two middles is having to explain to people that you have two middles instead of one! And in my case, everyone looks strangely when I tell them my 2nd middle.
When I was younger I wanted to change my name so I had one middle just like everyone else, but I’ve grown to appreciate it.
Anymore than two middles (unless you’re royalty) is just ridiculous.
ETA: If it’s both sides of the family you want to honor, why not just have one middle name from mums side? Kids usually get their fathers surname.
I have a thing about all babies that you have having the same amount of middle names.
I can’t understand why (like a recent celebrity family that welcomed their third baby) you would give one middle name each to two children then two middle names to the next.
Are you talking about [name]Jen[/name] [name]Garner[/name] and [name]Ben[/name] Affleck? [name]Lovely[/name] names, but [name]Seraphina[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Rose[/name] is sooooooo over the top compared to [name]Violet[/name] [name]Ann[/name].
You make an excellent argument for having two middle names, and from what I’ve read, it will not always be problematic for legal documents, and in fact can distinguish a person from the crowd. At the same time, I really enjoyed your point about having a father’s name honoured through the surname, leaving the middle name for the mother’s side of the family.
