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How to Choose a Great Middle Name
Filed under: Baby Names, Expert Advice: Pregnancy
No sooner had we declared the death of such old-style middle names as Ann, John and Marie -- mere connective tissue between the first name and the last -- than we started seeing the rise of a whole new generation of undistinguished middle names.
There are now officially enough little girls with the middle name Rose, thank you very much, and so, too, have we heard an awful lot of Grace, James, Claire, Lee and Rae for girls and Ray for boys.
Granted, middle names are not as important as first names, and may be rarely used after the birth announcements are printed. But that's no reason to default to whatever's easiest. In fact, the middle can be the perfect place to use a name that's more meaningful and distinctive than one you dare put in first place.
Here, some places to find distinctive middle names:
The Name Babes are Pamela Redmond Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz, founders of Nameberry.com, innovators of baby-name content on the Web. Got a name craving? Learn more about baby names at Nameberry.com.
There are now officially enough little girls with the middle name Rose, thank you very much, and so, too, have we heard an awful lot of Grace, James, Claire, Lee and Rae for girls and Ray for boys.
Granted, middle names are not as important as first names, and may be rarely used after the birth announcements are printed. But that's no reason to default to whatever's easiest. In fact, the middle can be the perfect place to use a name that's more meaningful and distinctive than one you dare put in first place.
Here, some places to find distinctive middle names:
- Honor thy mother, thy father and thy great uncle. If your family is barging into the baby-naming act, make peace by using a family name in the middle. We used both our's and our husband's grandmothers' names as middle names for our daughter, for instance, and revived a great-great-grandpa's distinguished but eccentric name as our older son's middle name.
- Put a last name in the middle. Putting Mom's maiden name in the middle can be one good solution to the surname debates and a way to create family unity if both parents keep their original surnames. You can also revive a nearly-forgotten family surname as a middle name. Don't overlook ethnic choices such as O'Brien or DiMatteo that can make distinctive and meaningful middle names.
- Make the middle name a place name. Did you honeymoon in Tahiti? Harbor a lifelong love of London? A place with family meaning, that you visited or where your baby was conceived can make a good middle name.
- Pick a word, (almost) any word. Word names can make distinctive middle names. Obvious choices are True, Blue and Love, but other word name possibilities include nature names such as Lake and Pine, animal names like Fox or Lark, color names such as Crimson and Indigo, day names such as Winter or Midnight (both used by Nicole Richie) or spiritual names such as Answer or Peace.
The Name Babes are Pamela Redmond Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz, founders of Nameberry.com, innovators of baby-name content on the Web. Got a name craving? Learn more about baby names at Nameberry.com.
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ReaderComments (Page 4 of 6)
4-22-2011 @ 12:38AM
Hooper said...I love the name Rae too. My daughter used her husbands middle name (Ray) as their sons middle, only used Mc in front of it (McRay). My grandson has a beautiful, manly name that honors his dad, but is also his own!
4-21-2011 @ 10:12PM
kate said...well, interesting article. first, i would probably not suggest using a middle name that connotes the place the baby is conceived. i mean, how about explaining THAT to your child? or giving them the gift of having to explain that for the rest of their lives.
second, answer and peace? that's hippie nonsense.
Reply
4-21-2011 @ 10:14PM
been there said...My grandmas name was her two aunts names put together. My moms name is part of her moms name & part of her dads name, my middle name is part of my moms & part of my dads, & my daughters middle name is my moms name minus a letter in the middle
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4-21-2011 @ 11:56PM
been there said...I've always said Wayne, Lee, and Marie show a lack of imagination (unless of course its a family name) Use of trendy names is not always wise though and using just any old word is asinine. How do you get to be a name expert because I know I could do better? And they need a proof reader.
4-21-2011 @ 10:42PM
Joy said...My mom wanted to name me after 2 family members. My first name is from my great aunt, and my middle name is from my great, great grandmother. On my mom's side I found out that some of my cousin's have the same middle name after our great, great grandmother. I love that about our family.
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4-23-2011 @ 10:52AM
beth said...my son was born in 1996 and I gave him the middle name of ( law ) and I always tease him and tell him now he has to be an lawyer.... lol. must of worked because he is now 15 and all he talks about is law school..... :)
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4-21-2011 @ 11:29PM
Mike Callahan said...my mother and father gave us our first names, so many years ago like over 60. At the time, we were all catholics, as still are, so to speak. When we came to receive confirmation, the choice of our middle names were left to us. So in that vein, we, as my two brothers and I were allowed to decide our middle name. As in my father, being the oldest, I chose my father's first name, my twin brother (10 minutes apart) choice my father's middle name and my year younger brother choice my grandfather's name.
It was all fitting as it should ibe for me and we are all proud. Wouldn't have it any other way.
Let your children choose a part of their life that will take them forever, wherever it goes. there decision. Have had no regrets and honor what has been bestod upon me for better or worse.
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4-22-2011 @ 7:07AM
Bill said...good in theory (choosing your OWN middle name), but a suffix (Jr., III, etc.) kills that. Also you have to watch what the kid's initials spell out. You DON'T want "Stephen" as a middle name if the kid is "Andrew Smith".
4-21-2011 @ 11:44PM
Frank said...A pox upon those who give a child some outlandish, often concocted first OR middle name. My son's middle name is Lawrence.....easy to spell, a strong name too., I read the "births" section of the Sunday paper just for comedic value...I don't remember the last names but the two most memorable names were...no kidding.........."De'Jarius Zaquan" and "La'Darius Jovante" ROFL LMAO
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4-21-2011 @ 11:43PM
PENNY NELSON said...When I was teaching a kindergarten class many years ago, I had 2 little girls in that class whose names I'll never forget...Rompernette and Tandalaya. What on earth were their parents thinking?
4-21-2011 @ 11:35PM
Lance said...When I was a kid I didn't like my middle name "Armstrong" which along with my being a short skinny weakling I was made fun of.
About a decade later another child was born with the same first name and a last name that matched my middle name who went on to become the most famous bicyclist ever.
I eventually grew to be 6'4 and 200 lbs and enjoy the comments from people when they find out about the name similarity.
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4-21-2011 @ 11:37PM
Bob Macfarlane said...My son's middle name is Ian because I did not think anyone would recognize Ayn.
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4-21-2011 @ 11:39PM
PENNY NELSON said...Above all, when giving a child a name, please be aware of what his/her initials will be. I know a woman whose initials are BRA, and a man who's stuck with HAM. They sure don't make great monograms on a sweater or hat!
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4-21-2011 @ 11:54PM
robert said...as long as it isn't a boy name Sue.
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4-21-2011 @ 11:57PM
Darryl said...Giving the child a middle name is to give the last name of both parents to giving longevity to the childs family tree. they did this in the old days and it was easy to trace family lines after the child marries they will have five names if you are a wife and there is nothing the matter with that. You can abbreviate unless it is a official document
Darryl
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4-22-2011 @ 12:07AM
Jack said...We asked our older daughter what the new baby's name should be. She seriously thought about it, wrinkled up her little 3 year old eyebrows and said, "i'm gonna call the baby yellow". So her middle name is yellow but in Italian.
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4-22-2011 @ 12:13AM
Darken said...My daughter's first name is Alyson, for my grandfather Alexander. (Alyson is feminine for Alexander) and we chose to use the Celtic spelling of Alyson instead of the common Allison. We also chose to give her historic names for middle names that came from our Irish heritage, Rhiannon and Brigid. We chose Rhiannon because she was born in the year of the horse, and Rhiannon is the Celtic horse goddess, and Brigid is the patron saint of Ireland. We considered giving her other middle names, but Alyson Rhiannon Brigid flows nicely off the tongue and has deep personal and historic meaning.
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4-22-2011 @ 12:14AM
Valerie said...The story of my daughter's first name is complicated and kind of funny, but her middle name is easy!. It's Michelle and she was named after her grandfather, Michael, who was the kindest, sweetest, loving pain in the butt!!.. ever! And i mean that in the best way. He never got to see his granddaughter, but I are pretty sure she is taking right after him!
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4-22-2011 @ 12:31AM
Hooper said...Please, please don't use the name of the place your child was conceived! It will embarass the kid to death when he or she asks about their "unique" middle name.
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4-22-2011 @ 1:17AM
Marivel Costa said...My first name is Marivel. My middle name is Amor. Yes the word Love in Spanish. I love my middle name. My father gave it to me. He actually wanted to make it my first name, but my mom reminded him that having the first name of Amor, may cause issues with the boys growing up. I kept my middle name quite during the Junior High years, but during my highschool and college years, when people found out what my middle name was, I got compliments. As an adult many friends really think its a beautiful name. I have two sons, I hope that some day if they have children and a daughter comes of their relationships, they consider my name or at least the middle name.
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