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How Many Names is Too Many?
Filed under: Baby Names
I really want to name our soon-to-be daughter after my grandmother or my husband's grandmother. But my husband is not a fan of either name. We finally agreed to go with Lyla, using both of their names as middle names. Is Lyla Clara Melanie too much for a little girl? People keep telling me to just pick one but i'd hate to hurt either side of the family.
- Name Pleaser
You're not alone in wanting your baby's name to do double duty. Lot of parents today want to honor two (or even three or four) relatives with a single name. That's inevitable in this era of smaller families. When you have just one or two grandkids to carry on the traditions of two whole families, those kids' names have to do a lot of heavy lifting.
What's more, it's usually the middle name that carries the burden. Like your husband, most of us today are unwilling to give up first-name fashion to honor a relative -- and it's a rare, lucky family blessed with fashionably named grandmas. But what do you do when you have more grandmas than middle names to honor them with?
Some parents are turning to "mashup" names, merging all of their relatives into one. I get a lot of requests for attractive name ideas that combine, say, Joyce, Frances, Howard and Raymond. In your case, a mashup of Clara and Melanie might give you Carmela. That sure beats Joyfrowmand. Nonetheless, I like your more straightforward approach.
Yes, a second middle name can be a bother. I certainly wouldn't recommend it on style grounds alone. But think of it this way: wouldn't you rather have two middle names and two happy grandmas than just one of each?
How did you handle family names? Share your experiences here! And if you have your own question to Ask the Name Lady, drop her a line!
Related: My Mother Hates My Baby Name












ReaderComments (Page 5 of 8)
2-05-2010 @ 10:59AM
Melanie said...you should hyphen the middle names. That would make it easier, but still honoring the grandmas. Most forms that you encounter will have a space for one middle name. When she is asked what her middle name is she just says "Clara-Melanie", instead of explaining she has two middle names
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2-05-2010 @ 11:05AM
Rod said...My Grandmother was like your daughter. She was given the name Rebecca Savannah Viola Myrtle Dewitt. When she Married my Grandfather, She kept Myrtle ( not sure why that one) but when She signed any legal Documents, she would sign RSVM and her last name. All were happy and no big trauma. Just my 2 cents worth in there.
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2-05-2010 @ 11:07AM
magee321 said...I am one of those individuals who carried my grandmother's first name as my middle name. As did my mother and her sister. When I got married, I legally dropped that name and took my maiden name as my middle name. LANE is so much nicer than Gertrude!
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2-05-2010 @ 11:09AM
Mona said...My sons name is sorta long. I wanted to make his name so that it would have a nickname like BJ so that it is his initials, given him my fathers middle name as his middle name but his father didn't want that so we decided on a name my step daughter picked out. Nonetheless my son has four names in his name. first middle and my last name as well as his fathers last name (sense were not married).
To the person who says for old grandparents to get over themselves... You need to get a life and just enjoy it! Someday you will be old like them possibly with grandkids. Who by the way need to be loved and charished in any way possible.
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2-05-2010 @ 11:16AM
Melissa said...I went to school with a kid in high school that had 4 middle names...his parents could't decide which grandparent to name him after so they included all of them.
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2-05-2010 @ 11:16AM
Missy said...I don't see a problem with two middle names. However make sure the names sound right,or flow together when saying it. You might want to arrange the name to sound more appropiate." Lyla Clara Melanie", doesn't go right together. Try combining Lyla and Melanie= Myla or Melanie and Clara and =Mara.Lyla Mara or Clara Myla.Melaya would also be a beautiful name.
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2-05-2010 @ 11:58PM
J Beals said...Jewish families have a great rule: Do not name a child after any living relative. That helps a little. Other than that, if you liek the names, go ahead and pile them on. Our daughters each have three given names and they love them all. We told them we were just so happy to have them that it overflowed! Make the names have a clever acronym that can be used as a nickname or something, Or hyphenate to 'shorten' the number of names. An example:
Anna-Maria Allison Zuni-Exeter = AMAZE Gale Amy-Lauren Ellis=GALE Jeffrey Edward Paul Holloway=JEPH
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2-05-2010 @ 11:20AM
Al said...Say what you want. Extra names that are seldom used become a burden as the child gets older and moves into adulthood. Someone, somewhere will accidentally get the extra names mixed up and out of order. Once that happens the nightmare begins. I know it has been plaguing me for 40 years. It messes up your credit report first. Then it goes on to mess up your entire financial history. That impacts insurance claims, rental agreements, and even job applications. If you cannot decide which name to use, start a new tradition with a new set of names. That's what we did with our son and it has worked remarkably well.
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2-05-2010 @ 11:35AM
Sue said...Just remember people the child is YOURS! name he/she what you
want. 'you dont want to hurt anyone" give me a break!
But I dont agree with giving the kid four names come on now
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2-05-2010 @ 11:43AM
Laurel Kornfeld said...My name is Laurel Esther Rurrana Tina, and I've always felt special having so many names. Traditionally, "royals" have given their children three, four, even more names, and having four makes me feel like a princess even though I am a staunch egalitarian who rejects any notion of royalty or aristocracy.
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2-05-2010 @ 11:44AM
cle969 said...I honestly feel naming your children several names is a trend right now!!!
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2-05-2010 @ 11:45AM
whatawildride said...Most people don't run around calling their children or (when they are in school) their students by their full names. If your name is Ashley Anne Elizabeth-Suzanne Arlington, most likely they will just call her Ashley Arlington. The middle names will not be forced to be written on each homework assignment in school. The only times my kids get their full name is when they did something wrong. They have long names too and love to tell people who they were named after. Its the parents choice to name their children. If you don't like it, then don't do it when you name yours. My sister used common names for her kids...David John, Michael Paul, Katie Marie, etc.... My nieces and nephews hate their names and said their parents must have been bored or didn't care what they named them. It's not like they were named after anyone. They just used common names. Now for little Madelyn Lucille who is called Maddy Lou. They just love her name. Named after a grandmother and a godmother.
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2-05-2010 @ 11:47AM
Tami said...I always thought that having more than one middle name was wonderful. My great-great grandma's name was Ada Stella Wilhelmina Sofronica Emmenegger - talk about a mouthful, lol. My mom hated being named after her and another grandmother, but I was always a bit jealous she had so many names to choose from.
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2-05-2010 @ 11:51AM
PennyB said...Go for it. My mother gave me two middle names. One a derivation on my father's name (he passed away the month before I was born) and the other is my paternal grandmother's name. It's never been a bother, it lends itself to familial stories.
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2-05-2010 @ 11:50AM
Proud Parent said...My wife's name is Ann Margret Mary Monger then her maiden name then her married name. I know she is proud to carry the names of her great-grandmothers as part of her family's legacy. We named our children after their great-grandmothers and two of our grandchildren carry on the tradition. I say, "GO FOR IT!"
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2-05-2010 @ 11:59AM
Lisa said...I don't think it is too many names. But...if your husband doesn't like either name, use neither and pick something else! It is his baby too!
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2-05-2010 @ 8:57PM
Debbie said...I had a son and while I knew I was going to have more children, I didn't know if I would have any more sons. My Father in Law is Donald and my Dad is Steven .............. so we named him Donovan.
I grew up with horses and my Dad told my Uncle that he was going to name his son (my Brother) "Justin". My Uncle made a deal with him that if he named him Justin Boots that he would buy all my brothers shoes and boots until he was 18. And that's how my Brother got his name Justin Boots. He loves it, goes by "Boots" and even has it tattooed across his back.
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2-05-2010 @ 12:02PM
T. Burniston said...To heck with honoring the relatives. The child comes first. You don't want to stick your child with a name that's going to be a nuisance all his or her life. If you can work an honored relative's name in, that's fine. But don't make a mountain out of a mole hill. Give the child a normal name that he/she can live with.
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2-05-2010 @ 12:02PM
Jennifer said...I had the greatest of mother-in-laws. When we were expecting our first child she asked us to use one of her names if it was a girl. Unforunately, her two names were Olive and Viola. I was not pleased with using either names so I combined the two names and we now have Olivia. Olivia is now 27 years old and she loves her name and we honored her grandmother.
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2-05-2010 @ 12:03PM
buckspajoe said...Next thing the grandmothers will fight over whose name comes first.
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