Baby names - Middle names

LordSutch

Just wondering if people still give their babies 'Middle names'?

I have two middle names, taken from grandparents, the theory being that their memory is kept alive. A nice touch I think, and I love my middle names, but I wonder is this tradition dying out? recently I have encountered three couples who have not given their babies middle names.

Whats the trend, Middle name, or no middle name?

mikemac

Middle names are still given, don't see it dying out.

If you don't name your child after a grandparent, usual to use one of their names as the childs middle name

I think my parents expect to have grandchildren named after them :pac:
They did it with me and my siblings

Das Kitty

I think it's still more common for there to be a middle name than there not to be one. We gave our lad a middle name but it's not after any grandparent. We were having look at our family trees and the online census and there were a lot of Edward's (Ned) in my husband's family. We both liked it. It's a bit weird with his firsname starting with a J at the moment though. :eek:

Squiggler

I don't know what the trend is, but we plan to give our little one a first and middle name. I think it is important to give a child as much freedom to choose their future name as possible. Both my sister and her husband actually go by their middle names, not their first names.

For the same reason I think that you should put the full name (s) on the birth cert (e.g. Thomas, Alexander, Catherine) instead of the short version you plan to use (Tom, Tommy, Alex, Kitty, Cath, Kathy, Katie or whatever). At least that way "Cat" has the option of a grown up name later in life.

How Strange

My oh doesn't have a middle so he didn't see the point in one but everyone in my family has one. We gave our little lad the name of my uncle who died last year of cancer. He wasn't married and didn't have kids so I thought it would be nice to name our son after him.

lolli

Das Kitty wrote: »

I think it's still more common for there to be a middle name than there not to be one. We gave our lad a middle name but it's not after any grandparent. We were having look at our family trees and the online census and there were a lot of Edward's (Ned) in my husband's family. We both liked it. It's a bit weird with his firsname starting with a J at the moment though. :eek:

Hehe, you have yourself a little Jedward

I have two middle names. I gave my daughter one (after my mother)

Moonbeam

mine both have their godmothers 1st names as their middle name.

Cottontail

Myself & my brothers weren't given middle names, I didn't give one to my son either. My Dad's attitude was that if we were named properly we only needed one name , same philosophy I now follow myself!

I just don't see the point, as middle names don't get used anyway. My brother is due a baby in the next few weeks, don't know what he's planning to do, must ask him!

lolli

Moonbeam wrote: »

mine both have their godmothers 1st names as their middle name.

Aw thats a really lovely idea!

xzanti

I gave Cillian my late Grandfathers name as his middle name.. Most people I know do the same tbh..

January

Addison has my grandmothers name as her middle name and Saoirse has my sisters.

CelticRambler

Cottontail wrote: »

I just don't see the point, as middle names don't get used anyway.

My four were all given one "standard European" and one "old Irish" name so that they could choose which one to use later on in life. FirstSon didn't need to wait very long - when we moved to France, there were four of "him" in the class (all the others spelt differently). He put up with it until he finished primary, then switched to his Irish name for secondary ... which apart from stopping everyone in their tracks when it comes to spelling it, also had the benefit of reinforcing his image as "not English".

Cat Melodeon

My lad has three names - first name is a family name (fathers and grandfathers and greatgrandfathers from both sides, happily enough), second name is all his own. We call him by his second name but wanted to give him the family name in first place as it carries the name into the fourth generation.

pawrick

I don't have a middle name and would have preferred to have one when I was a child, felt left out when all my friends had ones.

LordSutch

CelticRambler wrote: »

He put up with it until he finished primary, then switched to his Irish name for secondary ... which apart from stopping everyone in their tracks when it comes to spelling it, also had the benefit of reinforcing his image as "not English".

Sorry, I don't get that^ so since moving to secondary school he now has an Irish name which stops everyone in their tracks, with a reinforced image that he's not English!

But why would his image be 'English' if you have given him an Irish name which nobody can spell?

Apologies if I've got the wrong end of the stick.

CelticRambler

LordSutch wrote: »

Sorry, I don't get that^ so since moving to secondary school he now has an Irish name which stops everyone in their tracks, with a reinforced image that he's not English!

But why would his image be 'English' if you have given him an Irish name which nobody can spell?

Apologies if I've got the wrong end of the stick.

When he went by his "standard European" name, he was usually assumed to be English - and discriminated against - by French people meeting him for the first time. Now that he goes by his Irish name, he's immediately marked out as "not French, not English" and has a chance to introduce himself before the prejudices take hold.

Having said that, it is incredibly difficult to get any part of French administration to accept that a second name on a birth cert or passport has legal significance even though they'll happily acknowledge Jean-François, Jean-Baptiste, Jean-Marie, Marie-Claude, Marie-Josette, etc, etc ... Funny race, the French. :rolleyes:

iMax

Quick question for all of those who gave a grandparent's first name as middle name to your child.

Should it not be the Child's grandparents, (your parents) ?

My nephew has: "his name, his father's name, maternal grandfather's name, paternal grandfather's name, maternal great grandfather's name, paternal great grandfather's name, chosen confirmation name, surname".

January

Good Lord that's a mouthful...

My father wanted me to give Addison his mothers name as a middle name, he already knew I had her name picked but it meant a lot that I gave her it as a middle name as she had passed when I was young and nobody had used to name since.

Saoirse's middle name just went well with her first name so I picked it, it just happened to be my sisters name too. And she was delighted (she's not godmother though, she's godmother to my first child.)

lolli

January wrote: »

Good Lord that's a mouthful...

My father wanted me to give Addison his mothers name as a middle name, he already knew I had her name picked but it meant a lot that I gave her it as a middle name as she had passed when I was young and nobody had used to name since.

Saoirse's middle name just went well with her first name so I picked it, it just happened to be my sisters name too. And she was delighted (she's not godmother though, she's godmother to my first child.)

Whats your Saoirses middle name?

Mine is Saoirse Maria

January

Saoirse Lynn who is now 1 year old year totally flew by.

lolli

January wrote: »

Saoirse Lynn who is now 1 year old year totally flew by.

Lynn is lovely! I know a year its flying isnt it!

lynski

gave our first son my grandfathers name as a middle name and my daughter got oh's grandmothers name as her middle name. When it came to naming the latest one (5 days old now) the older 2 had a very definite name chosen which oh did not like (i did), so we have given him that as his middle name, so when he gets older we can tell him this brother and sister gave him that name.

aknitter

I am 34 weeks pregnant with our 2nd child - 1st child is 12 years old and she is picking the second name for the new baby if its a girl!! (we still maintain a veto in case she chooses something off the wall) OH wants his dads name which also happens to be his 2nd name as his sons second name - if its a boy