The new "filler" middle names?

wheelenl

My middle name was Lynn (I dropped it like a bad habit as soon as I got married). It was my mom's middle name, she just went with it, and it's not terrible with my first name, Natalie.

But I always hated it and wished she'd been more creative with my middle name, put a little more thought into it.

So, it makes me wonder, are some of the short names of today just "filler?" Are today's Claire, Grace, Paige and Mae just the same as yesterday's Lynn, Ann, Leigh and Marie?

thatgirlang

Yes, they're the same for most (for some they may be family names) but it's because they sound good with a lot of names. And it's just a mn, so it's not really a big deal.

Temp159135562506975

yup!

i don't really get why people waste a middle name on something that is a "filler"... why not pick something you really like? or honor someone or something with the middle name?

it's not like it has to sound good together - people don't go around calling themselves by their full names.

we use our children's middle names as a chance to honor family... Ellison was my grandfather's name.  The twins will also have MN"s that honor family.

Twink13

i saw a post before about this and i really don't understand why people say certain names are "filler" names. i mean i am sure your mom liked it and especially since it was her name too it wasn't some random, thoughtless act she did right before they came in with the birth certificate and was like "oh crap i don't have a middle name, let's just go with Lynn" lol.

just my thoughts for the night.

Twink13

Goldie_Locks_5:

yup!

i don't really get why people waste a middle name on something that is a "filler"... why not pick something you really like? or honor someone or something with the middle name?

it's not like it has to sound good together - people don't go around calling themselves by their full names.

we use our children's middle names as a chance to honor family... Ellison was my grandfather's name.  The twins will also have MN"s that honor family.

this is what i mean...how do you know these names are not family names or names that the parents really like? Are you just assuming that people just pick these names b/c they are popular?

fauxbunny

My mom's middle name is Lynne. My middle name is Lynne. If I have a daughter, HER middle name will be Lynne... I didn't know I was putting some cruelty upon her!

Our son has my husband's middle name, which is a pretty simple name, but he also has a very classic first name, so they flow quite well. Should I have found something more spectacular?

I dunno, I thought it was nice the way we were doing this. Starting small traditions. If we have a second son, his middle name will be in honour of my grandma's dad, who she says would have loved me had he known me in life. It's also a 'plain' name.

I guess not everyone can win?

LMS05

My middle name, Marie, is a filler middle name with no meaning behind it. I asked my mom why they picked it and she said, "it sounded nice with Laura". I think that's so lame. I could care less if they picked Marie or Jillian because any middle name without significance is a filler imo. We have so many great family names they could have used. My brother's middle name is my dad's middle name, but I just got a "random" filler middle name. Ahh it annoys me. I will only give my children family middle names. Everything else is a filler to me, even if it isn't a typical middle name.

Twink13

LMS05:

My middle name, Marie, is a filler middle name with no meaning behind it. I asked my mom why they picked it and she said, "it sounded nice with Laura". I think that's so lame. I could care less if they picked Marie or Jillian because any middle name without significance is a filler imo. We have so many great family names they could have used. My brother's middle name is my dad's middle name, but I just got a "random" filler middle name. Ahh it annoys me. I will only give my children family middle names. Everything else is a filler to me, even if it isn't a typical middle name.

But what's the difference if parents pick a first name that has no family significance either? I mean most people pick first names b/c they just like them. Can people have a "filler" first name too?

I guess maybe this is just another example of perspective? I have a friend who's middle name is Marie (first name Lisa) and she loooves her name. She signs everything Lisa Marie lol.

Not starting a debate but this is just interesting to me how people I guess perceive things....

rikkiandjulie

Twink13:

LMS05:

My middle name, Marie, is a filler middle name with no meaning behind it. I asked my mom why they picked it and she said, "it sounded nice with Laura". I think that's so lame. I could care less if they picked Marie or Jillian because any middle name without significance is a filler imo. We have so many great family names they could have used. My brother's middle name is my dad's middle name, but I just got a "random" filler middle name. Ahh it annoys me. I will only give my children family middle names. Everything else is a filler to me, even if it isn't a typical middle name.

But what's the difference if parents pick a first name that has no family significance either? I mean most people pick first names b/c they just like them. Can people have a "filler" first name too?

I guess maybe this is just another example of perspective? I have a friend who's middle name is Marie (first name Lisa) and she loooves her name. She signs everything Lisa Marie lol.

Not starting a debate but this is just interesting to me how people I guess perceive things....

This.

newportbride715

I think it's wrong to always assume they are "fillers" but I know what you mean.  IMO, a random name you pick just b/c you saw it in a book is more of a "filler" than a family name that happens to be a popular middle name as of late. Rose is my mn, after my great grandmother, amd MIL's name is Elisabeth. So, those are 2 of the mn's we are considering. It seems like many ppl on here would just assume they are fillers, but they're actually not at all.

Also, a lot of them just flow better which is why you see the same ones in each generation. Names like Marie and Nicole emphasize the 2nd syllable, rather than the first which a lot of first names so (ex: Laura Marie, Sara Nicole...)Or the 3 syllable/1 syllable match flows well too (Stephanie Lynn, Amanda Leigh, Rebecca Jane...)

Nowadays, if someone has no one in particular to honor, names like Grace, Claire and Rose are still going to go better with a lot of the current girls' names, most of which are longer and sound nice w/ a short middle name. (Isabella Rose, Addison Grace, Amelia Paige, Sophia Claire....)

I do agree w/ those who think mn's are best used to honor family. It's just that in some cases, those names are the same as the "fillers." And in the end, they sound nice, that's why so many people like them.

TripMomma

We looked at middles names as a chance to use our 2nd fav names...we for sure didn't go with "filler" names. I didn't want to name my kids after or for anyone, it's just not my thing.

SuzP

DD is Evangeline Mae, but the Mae is after my grandmother (she is actually May) and DH's late mother who was Gertrude Mae.  So in our case it is a family name and not filler. 

wheelenl

Interesting thoughts! I just could think of a zillion other family names that would have gone better with Natalie than Lynn, and my mom didn't like her middle name enough to keep it once SHE got married, so why pass it on to me?

Anyways, the main reason I was thinking of this is that I really like the name Claire/Clare, and I might use it as a first or middle name, but I notice it a lot these days as a middle name, and am I just doing the same thing as my mom? Picking a really popular middle name as a sort of filler?

I don't think it's the same with first names because usually you think about the meaning of a first name, etc., etc. But unless you are choosing a middle name completely independent of a first name, yes, any middle name has an element of "filler" to it.

 

saragus

TripMomma:

We looked at middles names as a chance to use our 2nd fav names...we for sure didn't go with "filler" names. I didn't want to name my kids after or for anyone, it's just not my thing.

That is exactly what we did with DD.  I just wanted her to have her "own" name, not named after anybody.