Middle Names
My two sisters and I all have middle names. In fact, Landen has two of them (I have a secret hope she marries someone with a hyphenated last name and adds it to her own so that her legal name consists of six names. Is that mean?).
My mom and her sister both don’t have a middle name, but it was years before I found out that it was considered fairly standard not to give girls middle names (the horror!). My mom obviously made up for it with us, although I don’t know if my aunt’s three girls have middle names or not.
Bart’s sister does not have a middle name, which I remember her mentioning early on really bothered her (especially since both of her brothers did (and when Bart’s mom remarried, both of his stepdad’s daughters had middle names)). His sister now has three daughters and all of them have a middle name.
I know that sometimes the rationale for not giving a girl a middle name is that eventually she’ll get married and take her husband’s name and then she can use her maiden name as her middle name, but I do not buy this story. Also, many last names do not really make for awesome middle names (my mom’s maiden name is very long and hard to spell).
Both Merrick and I dropped our maiden names when we got married and kept our middle names (after all the effort my parents went to in picking names that go well with our first names, who are we to dump them so cavalierly?). Who knows what Landen will do when she marries Mr. Smirken-Tolens-Jones-Smith?
You may have guessed (correctly) that I am a firm believer in middle names and that I have not once, for one moment in my life, considered leaving my daughters with only a first and a last name. I am an equal opportunity namer – all my children will have a middle name.
LOVE IT! I didn't have a middle name growing up and my mom and I always felt bad about it (my sister did because it was such a hard labor/pregnancy that my dad would have given my mom anything she asked for).
I use my maiden name as a middle name (which is Marsden and which is not very feminine but I love it) but would have probably done so even if I had a middle name.
My daughter has a middle name and all her sisters will as well!
Nope, none of my girls have middle names either – kind of thought of it at the time, but couldn't come up with anything I liked. First names were hard enough! (I figured it was a family tradition, but no one but me kept with it, so much for that tradition!!)
No offense to anyone who doesn't have one, but I think not having a middle name is just weird! Until reading this post I didn't even know it was common to not give girls middle names.
I love my middle name too and I have no idea what my name is now. Something like Kristi Dawn Genessy Bassett. I have no idea. I had a friend all growing up who felt so cheated because she didn't have a middle name, and from her agonizing childhood alone I will forever and always give all my children lovely middle names. Well, Gwen's middle name is actually my maiden name, but it's just works perfectly for her. Good luck, name choosing is so fun and so stressful!
my parents didn't give me a middle name when i was born and when i turned 8 i freaked out about it and told them i wanted a middle name for my birthday. i picked elizabeth and they went and legally changed my name for me. then, i got married and i felt way more attached to my last name than i did my middle name so i dropped the elizabeth and i am now officially holly hoffman spears. i just could not give up my maiden name, but that middle name didn't mean much to me. so, we didn't give sonnet a middle name, assuming she'll do the same thing i did. the only time i've regretted it was when i wanted to have her monogram printed on something, but i couldn't because she only has two initials, not three. haha. 🙂 but i'm weird and i was way more attached to my maiden name than most… and sometimes i do think it's unfair that boys get middle names and girls don't. what is your middle name?
I'm a firm believer that hyphenated last names are an abomination and should be henceforth banned. Want to keep your last name? Do so. Or take your hubby's last name. Or move it into a 2nd middle name, but for the love of all that's holy, don't hyphenate. It makes you look indecisive. 🙂
For my son, we actually gave him double middle names and will do that for any future children. The first one is unusual, like his first name, and the second is a family name, in this case, my brother-in-law. It works well, it flows well, and it makes him just a bit unique without causing anyone big problems (since middle names aren't used much in normal transactions, and he can revert to a single middle initial if that's all they give him to enter).
I say go for it.
I am completely with you on this one–you might have noticed our love for the middle name when we gave Oliver TWO middle names. I also gave up my maiden last name and kept my middle name when I got married. Once again I would just like to say how excited I am for you!
How will you come up with Baby's blog name?
I personally like middle names. Like Mom said, non of us girls have middle names, but Blake does (what's up with that?). I think my sisters kept our maiden name as their middle name, I didn't (I kept a middle initial "H"). I've had a middle name picked out for my daughter for a while….yet no kids. Wouldn't you know.
I agree. Also, while there are always examples to back up every naming philosophy, I knew a girl with no middle name (for that very reason) who married someone with a name very similar to her maiden name. Ashley Johns Johnson anyone?
Hello. My name is Jenae RIPPLINGER Jeppesen and I was not given a middle name. Hi Jenae…
Ripplinger is not a middle name. I mean "Ripplinger Jeppesen"? How hyphenated do I sound? I kept it because it makes proving my maiden identity easier. I hated not having a middle name growing up and my daughters absolutely will be given them. My girls can drop their middle names when they marry if they want. They'll be grown ups and can name themselves what ever they want.
Plus when you're kindergarten teacher invites the class to snack time and tells you to get in alphabetical order by middle name.. It's just undue stress.
jj
Oooh, I can't wait to hear what names you have picked out!
I think it's incredibly lame to not give girls middle names. It's the kind of thing that isn't usually a big deal to the parents, but bothers the child their whole life; and since you never know what your daughter is going to prefer, why make the decision for her? Let her do it.
There are people who DON'T do middle names? This is news to me.
Everyone on both sides of our family has middle names…it's part of the whole baby-naming package.
Looking forward to hearing BOTH names you choose.
Since I am the mother who DID give all my girls at least one middle name, might I also weigh in how lousy I think it is to give any child a middle name that is embarrassing?? I don't care what beloved relative might have had this name in the past. Or how clever the parents might feel to have thought of something really unique or funny. Badly done.
It would be the rare child who could pull this kind of thing off well.
I also love middle names. Mine is Lorraine, which was my Grandmother's middle name. BUT, now that I'm getting married I'm so torn over what to do with my maiden name. My father doesn't have any other children, so I'm the last West. I'm pretty sure I'll just end up having the longest name ever.
My three brothers have middle names but I don't have one. When I was about 7 I gave myself one. Not officially or anything. 🙂
I actually have really loved not having a middle name. That way, when I did get married, I was just adding a name and not having to decide which name to drop or to keep all four.
I say make the first name good (pertinent, important, lovely) enough that they won't need to have a "backup" name.
All of the girls in my family (cousins, aunts, etc) have middle names except one. Her middle name is R. That's it. An initial. Doesn't stand for anything, so it's kind of a rip-off, I think. It's great you're going to give your kids middle names. Picking the ones to use- well, that's the hard part!
haha. Who knew that you had such strong feelings about my middle names:) I will do what I can…
I don't have a middle name and neither does my mom or my younger sister. I was recently told (by a non member friend) that she'd never heard of someone NOT having a middle name and that it must be a Mormon thing. I wonder if that's true?