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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 5 of 6)
4-22-2011 @ 12:59AM
bugaloosnana said...Use they place they were conceived for a middle name? Johnny Backseat Jones! lol
Reply
4-22-2011 @ 2:10AM
Campbell Hayden said...The name 'Edward' has come in as a middle name ('Edward' being my Fathers first name) in our Family. When it came to naming my Daughter, I found that every female on her Mothers side had the middle name of 'Helen' (NO EXCEPTIONS!). A simple change came to mind. When she was born, her Mother wanted to name her 'Crista Helen' (Helen: after EVERY female on the maternal side). NOPE! But, even Grandma absolutely loved the small change I made from 'Crista Helen', to 'Crista Helene'. Crista herself, has found throughout her life, her name is not only different but, a name hardly anyone else has. She Loves It.
Reply
4-22-2011 @ 2:11AM
joseagain said...in most cases these days 'FART' makes for the best middle name
Reply
4-22-2011 @ 2:43AM
Campbell Hayden said...To: joseagain - If you could change your FIRST name instead of your MIDDLE name, how appropriate it would be to call you 'FARTAGAIN'. You would then have what would amount to the best FIRST name instead!
4-22-2011 @ 2:43AM
asr3innorcal said...I hsve 3 daughters, I am Sicilian. Two have my middle name (Marie), the youngests middle name is Antonia, my fathers name was Anthony...2 of my grandchildren have 2 middle names. In my case it all has to do with family and heritage..
Reply
4-22-2011 @ 5:46AM
Elizabeth said...For boys, stay away from the middle name Lee. It's the most common middle name of men charged with crimes, including felonies and death penalty cases. It also seems to know very few if any ethnic or racial limitations. Start watching and paying attention to the news and you'll see this firsthand.
Reply
4-22-2011 @ 7:46AM
Dee said...NOT TRUE!!1 MY BROTHER HAS THE MIDDLE NAME LEE AND HE IS AN ATTORNEY!!!!!!!!!!!! HE WAS NAMED AFTER AN UNCLE WHO WAS A GREAT MAN.
4-22-2011 @ 7:46AM
Dee said...Every Elizabeth is a druggie, booze lover and marry 7 husbands. You think?
p.s. watch the tv and you will see its true!!!!!
4-22-2011 @ 6:34AM
Donna said...My son's middle name "Wayne" came from both his father and my father, both who had the first name "Wayne". It is also his grandfather's, his uncle's and 2 cousins (one is actually a girl) middle name. He carried on the tradition by giving his own son the same middle name of "Wayne". My daughter bears the same middle name as me, "Beth" and she plans on carrying on the same tradition with her first daughter (whenever that happens). I'm so glad that my children think enough of their middle names and the tradition behind them to use them for their own children.
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4-22-2011 @ 7:41AM
Dee said...I used my intials PLA for my only sons names. I am a woman and named my fir born the first t letters of my Pa..they both have 3 kids each in which my youngest son kept the tradition and name his three the same intials. 3 generations. wow. Also my first son named his last son my first 2 letters and grandaughter has my middle name.
p.s. my oldest son named his baby brother and my son hates tha name and took over my chikdhood nick name..lol
Reply
4-22-2011 @ 7:47AM
Ken said...On January 12th, we were blessed with Hannah Faith, a beautiful first and middle name.........if you ask Granddad.
Reply
4-22-2011 @ 8:59AM
TAH said...My daughter's middle name is Victoria. This is also my paternal grandmother's middle name. We were very close when i was growing up and i wanted to pay tribute to her by naming my first born after her also it fit well with the first name i had chosen. Hopefully my next child will be a girl, if so her middle name will be after my maternal grandmother whose first name was Vangeline, a variation of Evangeline. I'll use the original form though i think Evangeline has a better ring to it.
Reply
4-22-2011 @ 8:58AM
Kim said...My children's middle names all honor someone in the family. They are: James, Marie, and Rose- all names the author says we have seen enough of. My children are happy with those middle names, and they do not get made fun of when other children hear their middle names.
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4-22-2011 @ 10:03AM
Jaydee said...I'm sorry, but if I found out that my middle name was the city in which I was conceived in I would throw up. What a ridiculous and traumatizing suggestion!
Reply
4-22-2011 @ 9:11AM
karen said...I was having my third and last child. All girls. I wanted a middle name that would be as unique and special as her first name (we decided on Storm). I came up with the idea to use my other two daughts' middle names combined. Marie & Lynne = Lyrie. I love it and so dis her older sisters :) Storm Lyrie
Reply
4-22-2011 @ 9:56AM
Cherie said...Well, I guess I screwed up. My son's middle name is one of the terrible "old-style, mere connective tissue" names: John. But my husband's first name is John, so I thought it would be a good idea. According to this article, I could have named him after the place he was conceived, but then his middle name would be "bedroom." I like John better............
Reply
4-23-2011 @ 12:09AM
Hooper said...Or you can tell him he was conceived in the bathroom! Just teasing, I like the name John, it's a nice, strong name.
4-22-2011 @ 10:44AM
Lisa said...I use to know a girl by the name of Rose and her last name was Bush. Can you imagine going thru life with a name like Rose Bush?????
I was given my uncles first name as my middle name. He was truly a great man and I'm very proud to have been named after him. :)
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4-22-2011 @ 10:45AM
Elizabeth D said...Dee @ 7:46am 4-22.
How very insulting of you. Not every woman named Elizabeth is a druggie. My name is Elizabeth and I am not in anyway a druggie. I take antiseizure medication and it is not my choice, otherwise I would probably have uncontrollable seizures. Elizabeth Taylor obviously couldn't deal with life without a husband. Sometimes, that is the way people are. I thik it is very self centered of you to think that about every Elizabeth on this planet, some of them just being born right this minute. Everybody asks if I was named after Queen Elizabeth II in England and I say no, my mom just liked it and it is her middle name. I think it was my great great grandmother's (my maternal grandfather's grandmother) name. I am not entirely sure though.
Reply
4-23-2011 @ 11:21AM
MTB said...What a stupid article. A place name for a middle name? A maiden (last) name as a middle name. Puleeze!
Reply