I see middle names’ purpose solely as honoring the family (or perhaps a significant event/place). I have to admit, I’m surprised how many people just seem to use something out of thin air. This may be influenced by the fact that my two brothers both have family middle names, and mine is random. My mom has expressed disappointment in herself for not giving me a family name as well, and I agree with her.
I guess I see them as placeholders, so you may as well make someone happy by honoring them. But I’m curious to hear from the other side, too – were you just going for aesthetically pleasing sound? Meaning? What’s the story behind your kiddos’ middle names?
That said, my first children is [name]Ronan[/name] Edgar___. We broke naming tradition for him; according to my husband’s family, he should have been [name]William[/name] [name]Edgar[/name]. (My husband adamantly did not want to continue this tradition.) [name]Edgar[/name] is also DH’s middle name – it is DH’s great-grandmother’s maiden name ([name]Susan[/name] [name]Edgar[/name]).
My daughter is [name]Beatrix[/name] [name]Carol[/name] ___, after my mother. She was either going to have my middle name or my mom’s. While I’m not crazy about the flow of the name (or the name [name]Carol[/name] itself, for that matter), it was very important to me to honor my mom.
I agree with you. For me, the role of the middle name is to honour your family or someone special in your life. My daughter, [name]Ada[/name] [name]Valerie[/name] was named after an elderly neighbour ([name]Ada[/name]) and my mom ([name]Valerie[/name]). I’m really happy with my last minute decision…everytime my mom sees [name]Ada[/name] she asks ‘What’s your middle name?’ so I know she’s proud. I like that they have this special connection.
My dilemma now is what to name our baby due any day. I have chosen [name]Ross[/name] [name]David[/name] after my brother (his middle name is [name]Ross[/name]) and my dad ([name]David[/name]). Easy! However, I haven’t been getting the best reponse - people make a Friends connection (I have never watched this show so I have no association) and feel [name]David[/name] is boring.
For a girl, we’re torn between [name]Iris[/name] and [name]Greta[/name]. My grandmother was [name]Greta[/name] [name]Frances[/name] [name]Mason[/name] but [name]Iris[/name] has no family connection… I just like it. So here are my options:
[name]Greta[/name] [name]Mason[/name]
[name]Greta[/name] [name]Frances[/name]
[name]Greta[/name] [name]Anne[/name] (after my mother-in-law)
[name]Greta[/name] [name]Christina[/name] (after both grandmothers)
I see the middle name as the frosting on the cake-fun, frivolous, and personally, I like middle names that are very long-four syllables! So my preference would be:
[name]Greta[/name] [name]Christiana[/name]
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Anastasia[/name]
You don’t have to write your child’s full middle name very often. You can just put their initial down most of the time. But they have this lovely secret middle name that is such a surprise.
I like [name]Ross[/name]! [name]Don[/name]'t let people deter you. That show ended years ago, and our kids will have no idea what it is.
I don’t know about the [name]Anne[/name]/[name]Anna[/name]. I really wanted [name]Carolyn[/name] (instead of [name]Carol[/name]) for my daughter, but decided in the end that if I were going to honor my mom I really wanted it to be the same. I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Iris[/name] and [name]Greta[/name], so that’s tough. I think [name]Greta[/name] works with [name]Anne[/name] or [name]Christina[/name] – if it’s important to your DH to honor his mom, I’d use [name]Anne[/name]. While I can see that [name]Anne[/name] is not as fantastic with [name]Iris[/name], I still think it’s good. As is [name]Christina[/name].
I think I slightly prefer [name]Iris[/name], but the family connection may sway me toward [name]Greta[/name]. Either way you can’t go wrong! Be sure and let us know.
I don’t think it’s necessary to use a family name as a middle name. I feel like the middle spot is also a good place for something funky that you wouldn’t want in the first spot. However, while it’s easy for me to say that, I don’t think I would ever actually use something that wasn’t a family name. Unless I was using a family name for the first name. My middle name is a family name, which I’ve always loved. I’m giving my baby a family middle name, too. I guess I’m saying I don’t think it’s that big of a deal in theory, but in practice, I wouldn’t use anything but a family name.
I have my mom’s name as my middle name and I don’t care for it. My idea for middle names is to use whatever you want- whatever sounds good with the first name or maybe using a more frivolous name like a previous poster suggested…
Family names aren’t important to me. Maybe if it sounded really good with the first name you chose and you truly like the name, but if not, why not use another name that you love? There are so many great names out there.
I agree with the family-honoring concept, but sometimes that just doesn’t give you much to work with. Thank God my mother didn’t decide to name me after either grandmother ([name]Myrtle[/name] and [name]Ernestine[/name]). And my grandmother’s last name? Cox. Not much better. As much as I adore my grandmother, even she loathes her name; instead I’ve opted to use her maiden name, [name]Warren[/name]. First name for a boy, middle name for a girl (although there’s an argument to be made for [name]Warren[/name] as a girl’s first name, I think.)
My daughter, [name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Rae[/name], has that middle name after her great-aunt [name]Rachel[/name]. She was always called [name]Rae[/name]. My maiden name is [name]Gray[/name], so we named my son [name]Elliot[/name] [name]Gray[/name]. The rhyming/matching names is coincidental, and works since [name]Elizabeth[/name] is [name]Lizzie[/name]. For my daughter [name]Vera[/name], we wanted her to have a longer/more popular middle name to counteract [name]Vera[/name] a bit. I wanted [name]Vera[/name] [name]Jane[/name] but that’s too short and doesn’t give her much of an alternative, should she not like her name. I’ve always loved [name]Addie[/name] and we almost settled on [name]Adeline[/name], but that’s old-fashioned too. [name]Addison[/name] was too popular. I think [name]Anna[/name] is close enough to [name]Anne[/name], by the way. Go for it!
Perhaps I’m alone, but even in the middle I’m averse to naming-after for my child’s name (it’s not that I think naming-after is awful, just that I don’t want to do it for my child)… I just like my child to have her own name that feels like “hers”… For me, middles just can be anything - they should sound good with the other names - it’s a second opportunity to choose a name. I thought I’d go for something really funky/different/exciting - a friend of a friend used [name]Rocket[/name] with a traditional first - but I didn’t go exciting like that. In theory, the middle is great for anything - it’s a middle, after all, so it can honor (if that’s your cup of tea), be a name that’s just loved second to the first name, or something kind of “out there.” Anything goes in my book!
My personal preference is for just one middle, but I know that 2 is also a common practice (it just makes forms a little more difficult). But getting to choose a 3rd name for a kid is something I definitely would enjoy!
I’m on the fence with this one. I think the middle name is an opportunity to honour a family member, or to be creative with sounds and rhythm to come up with a combination that you like. In reflection of this, my son has two middle names! One is my Dad’s name ([name]James[/name]) which is also, conviniently, a family name on DH’s side. His other middle name, [name]Louie[/name], while being a reflection of my mn [name]Louise[/name], is actually there just because DH liked it.
I’m an honoring fool! My family is large & diverse, we’re scattered all over the globe. My kids all have family names. We have two middles. I got two because it’s tradition in my family to do so. My other half has two because he’s the only boy. So we thought it would be nice if the kids matched us. I have a first name that my folks “liked” because they heard it somewhere. My sister got a family name, modified (mom was infamous for changing spellings, versions etc) as did my brother. our middles honor family and friends. Each of us has one family name and one name of a family friend. With our kids, the middles are all family, but then, our “family” is a rather odd one. We consider some of our friends to be as family, probably because we each had an odd childhood and really couldn’t rely on family for a while. It makes for interesting holidays, to say the least! I’m fairly certain I’m pregnant now and digging through the family tree for unused gems is my favorite thing to do right now!
With our children, we honored family with their names - first and middle! But that was really the only way my husband & I could agree.
If we had more children, we’d stray farther from family names and probably use some hero names in the middle spot. I like [name]Calder[/name] - as in the sculptor - or [name]Huxley[/name] - as in the writer.
The other thing we did when naming our daughter was use a family nickname. My sister is called [name]Bird[/name], so my daughter’s second middle name is [name]Wren[/name]. It’s a different way to honor a family member and still give your child something of his or her own.
I don’t have any family connections in my names and that is okay but I will likely name my children with at least one family name inspiration. Growing up, my friends who were named after family members (first or middle) often did not like or appreciate their names. However, I think this is likely something that most people grow into as they mature. I think I would like a family name more now than I would’ve when I was a kid. My middle names are inspired by things that were important to my parents and I see this pattern now among friends naming their children: a middle name that honors a place, quality, or characteristic, ie. something with a special meaning. So, whether it’s a family name or not, a middle name with a special meaning is the way to go.
[name]Both[/name] of my kids middle names honor family members, my dad and one of my favorite cousins. The only “problem” with this is that I almost feel guilty for not using my mom or [name]MIL[/name]'s names. While I love both ladies, I’m not crazy about any of their names, (first or middle or maiden), I do think you can change a name a little and still be honoring somebody, I’m seriously considering [name]Elspeth[/name] after my sister [name]Elizabeth[/name].
In my family their are eight kids and we all have a family name as either first or middle. With my two baby brothers I guess my parents realized that they couldn’t keep going forever and gave each of them two middle names, but the other six of us only have one each.
[name]Both[/name] of my kids middle names honor family members, my dad and one of my favorite cousins. The only “problem” with this is that I almost feel guilty for not using my mom or [name]MIL[/name]'s names. While I love both ladies, I’m not crazy about any of their names, (first or middle or maiden), I do think you can change a name a little and still be honoring somebody, I’m seriously considering [name]Elspeth[/name] after my sister [name]Elizabeth[/name].
In my family their are eight kids and we all have a family name as either first or middle. With my two baby brothers I guess my parents realized that they couldn’t keep going forever and gave each of them two middle names, but the other six of us only have one each.
I too tend to use middles as a way of honoring someone. My middle name is a variant of my grandmother’s name, and even though I didn’t like it growing up, it always made me feel close to her (I love it now!).
Another way to honor someone is by using their initials. My grandfather had a “so-far-out-it’s-never-coming-back” name, [name]Lillard[/name], but if we have a son we’ll honor my grandfather by using names with the same initials as his first and middle names.
Olivegreen, [name]Lillard[/name] is a semi famous surname now that Mattthew [name]Lillard[/name] is running around Hollywood. I’d think about potentially using that Grandad’s name in the middle, I think that would be kind of cool.
Olivegreen, [name]Lillard[/name] is a semi famous surname now that Mattthew [name]Lillard[/name] is running around Hollywood. I’d think about potentially using that Grandad’s name in the middle, I think that would be kind of cool.
We have created a middle name “pattern” in our family. My three kids each have two middle names. Their first name is their own. There may be a sentimental reason why we chose it, but it is not the same as anyone else’s in our family. The first middle name is a strong classic familyimportant person name. Kind of a fall back name if they feel their first name is to frilly, different, or not right for whatever they grow up to be. Their second middle name is a family maiden name. I figure the dad’s paternal side gets included in every name, why not throw in some names from the other lines!
