I'm having second thoughts on names. Any help?

eribeau

Okay guys, Ive only posted a few comments so far, and not been super active, but I keep having second thoughts on the names my husband and I have picked out for our baby. We have 9 days until we find out the gender, and the girls name we both love, but the boys name seems to be a mouthful, and I'm not sure if I want to keep it as is, or if I want to change it.  
So far we have picked out the name Greysen Charles Allen. My dad passed away last year, and his name was Charles. It will be the first grandchild since his passing, so I feel we have to honor him, and give baby a connection with 'poppy' as all the other grandkids call him. Allen is my husband's name, and his dad's middle name, so I feel we should keep it as well so his dad doesn't feel left out. But I feel like it's a mouthful and I'm not sure what to do. Any ideas? Please and thank you! 

jenesiso

Sounds fine to me.

mrsjlang

The likelihood of you using all 3 names together I'm assuming would be when someone is in major trouble or filling out legal documents. Yeah, it's a lot of name for one person (in my opinion), but it's thought out and has meaning. I would assume that Greyson is what will be used on a daily basis, so there's nothing wrong with that.

However, I do want to point out, you are never responsible for someone feeling left out when it comes to naming your own child. There is no obligation. Your kid, your decision. But it is really wonderful if you want to pay tribute to both families equally. 

leighry

We went back and forth about having two middle names.. and decided on just one. But sometimes if you have your heart set on including multiple family members there is no way around it! I assume you don't want Charles or Allen to be a first name so two middles might be it. I think it sounds fine!

Bringmemylongswordho

I think Greyson Allen Charles flows better than Greyson Charles Allen. 

That said, you don't have to use a name from each family on each kid, and the likelihood of a son changing his surname is small,  so he'll always have a name from his father and his father's father.

Greencows4812

I agree with @leighry. If you don't want to use Charles or Allen as a first name, it sounds good to me. And I agree with @mrsjlang, it's thought out so even if it's a mouthful it's sentimental. 

fiscally3

As someone who has four names (first, middle, maiden, last), the most annoying bit is explaining the double middle name. It's hard to get things monogrammed, and is a bit annoying for things like insurance cards where they tend to want only one initial.  My nephew has five names, so yours doesn't seem as much of a mouthful.

If you're worried about it being too long, could you do Charles Allen? Our first is named after both our maternal grandfather's. But with the next two we did a first name we liked, and a family middle(so you're not stuck always doing double family names for all kids). We have a Charles and I'm really glad we picked it. Great selection of nicknames (Chas, Chaz, Charlie, and Chuck), no one questions spelling, and I think you choosing to name him after his grandfather is sweet. Our third son's middle name is my dad's, and I think it was touching for both my parents. 

angelz429

@Bringmemylongswordho makes a good point. Your last name is already in honor of your FIL so Allen isn't necessary unless you want it. 

atcwag

I'm not a fan of double middle names not feeling obligated to honor anyone. 

tigerfish227

I'm with @Bringmemylongswordho in that a boy will likely always keep his surname for life so he would still have a name passed down from his father and your FIL. We plan on using my grandfather's middle name four babyfish's middle name if we have a boy but DH is already a junior and SS1 would have been the 3rd if DH's ex wasn't so controlling and selfish. SS1 has said that he wants to change his name when he is older so this baby won't be given DH's name.

My point being that DH has been perfectly happy with only passing down his last name even though we are choosing a middle name for my family. He hasn't seen it as unfair but simply that it's not going to work well for us. Maybe you can make it work with suggestions like PPs and shorten it to Charles Allen or just Greysen Charles which IMO both sound great or maybe you will come to accept that it name choice may just have to be a mouthful. You likely won't use baby's full name often anyways right? Andplusalso, maybe you will find out that baby's sex is female and it won't even matter.

BlondeSunnyDays

If you're stressing out and uncertain just try not to worry about it. You still have lots of time to decide! I didn't name my kid until after he was born and it was something not even on the list. You'll know what it should be when you see them and something will click. I've always felt that the name we picked was perfect but I was always super indecisive as uncertain about it before my son was born. 

MrsDho11

Just to echo PPs, I'll start with first and foremost, you still have a lot of time to make this decision.  You don't have to have something picked out the day you find out your baby's sex.  If you really want double middle names, it's fine.  Also, I don't think you need to honor both families with the name, especially given the last name situation as mentioned by PPs.

Chcaggie1

We debated on having either two first names or two middle names and ultimately decided on one first, one middle. I posted a question about it a few months ago if you want to see some the responses that ladies gave. There were lots of good things to consider. I can't remember the name of the post but I know it contained my child's name... Kylar Marie.

edit: I found the link to my original post with a  similar question... https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/comment/88822829#Comment_88822829

anne11716

I like it! I am also honoring both my dad and father in law in our name. Don't stress too much until you find out the gender though. We couldn't decided on a girl name and turns out we are having a boy so it all will work out! 

JBing131

I echo other posts - you're not sure the gender yet, so the stress about the boy's name may be moot.  Plus, even knowing the gender, you have until the baby comes to really be married to the name. My fiancee and I did not find out the gender and I'm refusing to commit to a name until they arrive and I feel the name fits them.  

HotSauceSwagBag

I think they sound fine- they're all pretty simple names. I'm not personally a fan of two middle names and I don't think anyone should feel left out since IMO precedence should be given to the person that has passed away. If you have another kid you can always use Allen then, or something similar for a girl (Allison, Alina?). As others pointed out, a boy is going to almost definitely keep the last name anyway, and that's a name he'll share with dad and paternal granddad. So tl;dr I'd keep Charles over Allen since that's the person that's no longer with you, and is a way of keeping some maternal name tradition. 

Muscatmommyof4

To be honest it's your kid you shouldn't feel obligated to honor anyone and like other PP are saying your DH and FIL will already be represented with the last name. Do you plan on having more children? If you do there's always next time. It's not fair to name your child something your unsure about because your scared to hurt someone's feelings they will get over it in the end if you don't love the name don't use it!