One or Two Middle Names?

leighry

So my husband and I are just a couple weeks shy of our 4th and last child. First boy. When we first found out it was a boy my husband wanted to use his name as the middle name (Robert). I'm not a fan of the name only because I have so many on my side of the family and he has a ton on his side and none of them are people I am dying to name my child after. I wanted my father and grandpa honored as well, so I was looking to use either John or Jack as a first name. My husband really wanted Nicholas as the first so I said the middle name would go to my side if he was stuck on that. We settled on Nicholas Padraic (Patrick is my dad and grandpas middle name so I went with just a different version). My husband has said he is fine with it, but I don't know if I should suggest a double middle name if he really wants his name in there, or if double middle names are a waste as one usually always gets left out. Personally I don't want two middle names, but also don't want to be inconsiderate of my husband even though he says now he doesn't care.

Nicholas Padraic Robert
Or
Nicholas Robert Padraic
Or
Nicholas Padraic as it sits now

Any opinion would be appreciated!

mill1020

Usually I'd say double middles are silly, but since it's your 4th and last child (and first boy!  congrats!) I think it would be cool to put your DH's name in there, too.  Personally I think Nicholas Robert Padraic (or even Nicholas Robert Patrick) would be very handsome.

Even if DH says he doesn't care, he might appreciate it.  

fionalouise007

I agree Nicholas Robert Padraic is lovely!

Mamabeagle

Your husband shouldn't get to choose the full name, but I'm not a fan of multiple middle names. How do you feel about Nicholas? Is he more attached to Robert than Nicholas in the name?

Is Padraic an ethnic spelling or made up? I'd just  use the actual name you're honoring if its the latter. 

leighry

@mill1020 and @fionalouise007 thanks! I'm going to bring it up to him again soon to feel him out.

@Mamabeagle it's the Gaelic spelling. So not made up. We are Irish so I went with that spelling instead because I'm not a huge fan of the Patrick spelling. Also, my dad is Kevin and my grandpa was John.. so that's the only name that honors them both at once. I already used my maiden name for my daughter. My husband is dead set on Nicholas which is why his middle name was then changed from Robert to something to incorporate my dad and grandpa since it was very important to me. He said he was willing to give up Robert for Nicholas but I still want to be sure before we go into the delivery room he isn't secretly wishing Robert was still part of the name. If he is the only boy we will have that's the reason I'm even considering the double middle name at all.

Bringmemylongswordho

Your husband is already getting his first name choice, and presumably the boy will carry his last name. I think he needs to adult up a bit a drop Robert. 

achays11

All of kiddos will have double middle names. Their second middle name is my mom's maiden name which I took as my middle name when I got married. It is for later in life for scholarship purposes, and no one really uses that second middle name for them. 

If you are ok with the second middle name essentially being dropped, then go for it. But if it's important for your family to be represented then talk to your DH about putting you name first in the order or only using yours. 

penelope4612

I have 2 middle names.  It's more hassle than it's worth, IMO.  My name never fits on forms, no one gets it, some places don't even give you the option for 2 middle names or 2 middle initials.  I agree with PP, if your husband chose the first name and the baby is getting his last name, that seems like a reasonable enough compromise.

oneblessedmess

I have two middle names and I've never really had a problem with it, but both my middle names are relatively short and simple (one is four letters, the other is five letters). Out of your options with two middle names, Nicholas Robert Padraic [Lastname] sounds the best to me, but it might also be long enough to be more of a hassle. If your husband has said he doesn't care about Robert anymore, personally I'd take his word at face value and go with Nicholas Padraic.

ETA: Also, how are you pronouncing Padraic? Because from what I've seen it's not pronounced the same way as Patrick.

leighry

@vineheart137 yeah it's not pronounced the same but we love it and knew that when we sat down and went through options!

And just to clarify my husband did say a while ago during our major discussion about name that he would give up Robert as a middle for Nicholas as a first. I love the name Nicholas so I have no qualms about it and I was just asking I guess for my own peace of mind and not because he has even brought it up again. I am in favor of just the one middle name and just wanted to make sure most people had the same kind of thought process as me. Also, our 3 daughters have a tie to my side of the family because he didn't want to use any of the names on his side. Didn't want to be a name hog!

But I am happy to land on Nicholas Padraic and call it a day. I guess with 2 weeks left I'm just over thinking a lot of things.

Mamabeagle

Oh ok in my brief Google search I kept finding Padraig. 

kaswanson

Not a fan of two middle names, personally. There's nothing awful about it, just seems like it could be confusing sometimes and kind of unnessecary. If your child has your husband's last name, and wants to pick the first name, I also say you get the middle name slot for sure!

thatcma

kaswanson said:

Not a fan of two middle names, personally. There's nothing awful about it, just seems like it could be confusing sometimes and kind of unnessecary. If your child has your husband's last name, and wants to pick the first name, I also say you get the middle name slot for sure!

I completely agree with this

ashtonk87

leighry said:

So my husband and I are just a couple weeks shy of our 4th and last child. First boy. When we first found out it was a boy my husband wanted to use his name as the middle name (Robert). I'm not a fan of the name only because I have so many on my side of the family and he has a ton on his side and none of them are people I am dying to name my child after. I wanted my father and grandpa honored as well, so I was looking to use either John or Jack as a first name. My husband really wanted Nicholas as the first so I said the middle name would go to my side if he was stuck on that. We settled on Nicholas Padraic (Patrick is my dad and grandpas middle name so I went with just a different version). My husband has said he is fine with it, but I don't know if I should suggest a double middle name if he really wants his name in there, or if double middle names are a waste as one usually always gets left out. Personally I don't want two middle names, but also don't want to be inconsiderate of my husband even though he says now he doesn't care.

Nicholas Padraic Robert
Or
Nicholas Robert Padraic
Or
Nicholas Padraic as it sits now

Any opinion would be appreciated!

Nicholas Robert Padraic flows nicer if you ask me.. as for the 1 vs 2... I say two. but my first one has 2 because my honey insisted his name be "Warren Peace" and I insisted that my grandfathers name Kenneth HAD to be in my first boys name so we got Warren Peace Kenneth... so now all my kids have to have two middle names other wise it just doesnt make sense to me.

stokesm21

I know it's sentimental but you're not the one who has to spell it your whole life.  My step-son has 3 middle names! ! ! And she ended up having 2 more boys. 

If I had to choose and you really wanted both, I too would go with Nicholas Robert Padraic. It flows nicely. I asked my husband if he wanted to name any of our hypothetical boys (expecting our first) after him as a first name and he said no. Haha! 

Love Padraic BTW! It's very interesting but not in a weird way. 

KaLikeAWind

kaswanson said:

Not a fan of two middle names, personally. There's nothing awful about it, just seems like it could be confusing sometimes and kind of unnessecary. If your child has your husband's last name, and wants to pick the first name, I also say you get the middle name slot for sure!

Yes. especially since you have already mentioned he is ok with using your choice as the middle since he got first name choice. use your name choosing power and be done with it. there is no need to try and do your dh a favor by adding yet another name in there. he's already gotten his dibs, now you get yours

leighry

Thanks for all the comments Ladies! We talked about it again and he still said he is fine if Robert is out.. so Nicholas Padraic it is and that is the end of the discussion. Now he just needs to stop being lazy and come out! I'm currently taking my night insulin and would be more than okay if it's the last time I had to do it.