How to Choose a Great Middle Name

My middle name comes from my father and my two sister's middle names come from my mother's sisters, Belva and Helene. My daughter's middle name is from my mother, Lorraine and my son's middle name is from my father, Herbert. My son used his grandmother's maiden name, Price, for his daughter's middle name. Using family namnes is a sort of tradition with us and I think it keeps the family history alive.

But keep in mind what those initials turn out to be. It can haunt a kid for life if they spell wrongly. Take for example, Miranda Olivia Oswald M-O-O or Alexander Steven Sherwood A-S-S if you catch my drift. Think it through - you're kids might just thank you. In the meantime, start stock piling all the free baby stuff you can get from HttP://BIt.lY/BABYlanding You'll be glad to have it all when you need that extra diaper when the baby seems to have grown overnight or you're just not up to a run to the store at 3am for more formula, you'll be glad to have an emergency pack stashed away.

I have twin sons who are 4 years old.... and we did the same thing.My first son Thomas has my first name Wayne as his middle name, and my second son, Robert has my middle name Joseph as his. I named Robert after my half brother Robbie who we lost in a car accident in 1978 at the age of 22. Thomas means "twin".

Couldn't agree more. And I LIKE those names these gals were putting down. The reason they are so popular (and NO there aren't enough little girls...) is because they enhance the first names they follow. There's a lot to be said for a melodic name. Traditional, biblical names may very well have meaning. I thought this article was just stupid. I am a mother of 8, grandmother of 17 and great grandmother of 3 and have had plenty of experience choosing and having input into names. None of the were 'the easy way out' and all are beautiful.

Well Jan - with 8 kids I think overpopulation is stupid!

My daughter is Melody Rose. I think her name is both melodic and beautifully old-fashioned. And the Rose is my mother's middle name as well.

susan, there's nothing wrong with having 8 kids -- what an unnecessarily rude comment to someone you don't even know! These days, the death rate is higher than the birth rate anyway. Even if that weren't the case, jan was/is a human being with the same rights that others have. Respect for others is a wonderful thing, and the world needs more of it.

Jules - I only responded in kind. Jan said this article was stupid and I replied that having 8 kids is stupid. And I'm not sure what planet you live on, but on earth the population has increased from 2 billion in 1920 to 6.81 billion last year. Population is decreasing? I don't think so!

SUSAN--this woman is a greatgrandmother--which makes her roughly 80+, unless every generation had babies in their teens. Fifty or sixty years ago, it was not uncommon for families to be quite large--birth control was iffy and larger families were the cultural norm. While your concern for population growth is noted, it is hardly something a woman born in the 1920s would have known or cared about.
And JAN, I think it's great that you are online--my 84 year old mom is afraid of the internet!

From a third party perspective on this debate: I agree with both of you. Technically, susan is right about the population crisis; its a major issue these days(not quite as much in north america as other places in the world, but the problem still exists) and experts say the "ideal family" has 2 children (the idea is based on basic math: 2 kids per 2 parents. Idealy, this means that after the parents die, the offspirng left behind replace them in the total population count, ultimately causing no fluctuation or defluctuation in the population. However, this theory fails to take into account things such as, divorce, illegitimate children, infertility, adoption, and couples who simply want something different: wheather that means more then two children, one child, or no child at all) and over-population is something anyone who plans to have children- in fact everyone, regardless of their plans- should be aware of. At the same time, I stand up for what Jules is saying, women have the right to have as many children as they want without fear of being judged. Perhaps, it's more a matter of education, its up to the women to decide how big a family she wants, but if she is more aware of the impact of her decision, shes more likely to make a wise choice. All women should be taught about how big families affect their health(phyiscal and mental), their chirldren's health, their fiscal situation, and on a global scale: The economy, The enviroment, and(what started all this) global population. It's possible that Pam was aware of all these factors and decided that she had the willingness,finacial and emotional means to do so. Also,and again I have know way of knowing how old she really is, but keep in mind, Pam mentioned she is already a great-grandmother. She probably grew up in a different time, when birth-control was uncommon and large families were in the norm(I'm not trying to be insulting in saying any of this Pam)

As for the article itself, I personally like it. I think people are getting riled up on account of the common MNs mentioned. I dont think their trying to diss those names, their just provideding ideas for people who might want somthing more unique

Susan,
I'm with you. Rude begets rude. If you don't like the article, move on. It was a minute of your time to read. Think you can do better, then write your own article and get it published. But no need to put it down.
And I too can complain about overpopulation, since it personally affects all of us. I have to pay for it unless your big family is going to private schools, using private parks, driving on private roads, etc.

I gave my first born, my son, the middle name "Gene" which is the middle name of his paternal grandfather. My daughter's middle name is Jeanne (the French spelling for "Jean") which is after her maternal great grandmother (my most beloved grandmother). In this way, my children have a connection to both sides of their family and basically share a middle name.

uhm, OPRAH, BONO, CHER, to name a few