what is the general thought on no middle name

Texas77again · July 2011

the idea just occured to me today that we don't have to have a middle name. wdyt?

LaComtesse · July 2011

To me, middle names are entirely optional. They can be a way to go a little more unusual than you would for a first name, or a way to honor someone. If you don't feel like it, no worries, most people never use their middle name for anything significant, anyway.

Ella85 · July 2011

I was just going to ask this, so thanks!

MH doesn't have one, the only time I even thought about it was on our wedding invites, because my name looked so much longer than his.

Qmommy · July 2011

Not a problem to me. I have friends with no middle name and they get along just fine. People typically don't use their middle name other than on forms and can just leave that blank if they don't have one.

mama31 · July 2011

I think it is a good way to honor someone. Also if your baby has a common fn and ln I think it is a good idea to have a mn to set them apart.

Moxie27 · July 2011

i think it's fine to go without a middle name.

Mike&Care · July 2011

I dont have a problem with it, but I've had friends without middle names and they always wanted one.

Elsa1984 · July 2011

Our friends in Europe thought it was so weird that we had "two names".....

LaComtesse · July 2011

Ella85:
I was just going to ask this, so thanks!

MH doesn't have one, the only time I even thought about it was on our wedding invites, because my name looked so much longer than his.

Funny you mention that. My husband hates his middle name, so he never uses it, not even on our wedding invites. So not only did my name look longer for that reason, but I also had a hyphenated maiden name. So it was LaComtesse Ann Lastname-Lastname and Monsieur Lastname. It didn't bother me, but I thought it was funny.

danielle218 · July 2011

I don't have a middle name and it hasn't scarred me for life. However, I REALLY wanted a middle name growing up. I remember in first grade we did these craft projects using our initials and my mom was the PTA mom helping with the project and she came over to me and whispered "your the only one with only two initials, do you want me to add an S in the middle like your MN is Stephanie?" (I always wanted my name to be Stephanie when I was little!)

That seemed like lying so I said no but I remember looking at the wall with everyones projects and mine sticking out like a sore thumb and hating it! But I got over it and it doesn't bother me now at all.

Keri Marie · July 2011

I know a few women without middle names. They use their maiden name as a MN when they get married. MN's are not necessary.

MAMAxB · July 2011

mama31:
I think it is a good way to honor someone. Also if your baby has a common fn and ln I think it is a good idea to have a mn to set them apart.

This exactly.

My grandpa didn't have one.. I think we just so used to them that "without" is weird but in my company we use "initials" to show results for reports a lot and you have to have 3 so it's helpful

jenine482 · July 2011

Thinking this myself. I mostly think for a girl it really doesn't matter, sometimes with a boy it's nice if they have a more common name. My mom didn't have a middle name so she took her maiden name as it when she got married which I think is pretty cool. I say it's up to you. My middle name only came in to the picture when I got in trouble = )

AlphabetFish · July 2011

I don't know, I think of all those forms I've had to fill out in my life that require at least an initial (especially online forms, which don't let you progress if you don't fill them out perfectly). It might be trickier for your child if they just don't have any middle name at all.

That would seriously be my only concern, though. Otherwise, I don't think it really matters.

anna7602 · July 2011

I'm always a little disappointed when friends announce a baby's birth and have no mn for the child. It seems like a waste of a perfect spot for honoring something or someone- an honored relative, a favorite person or place, a guilty pleasure name, etc.

tinkerfly81 · July 2011

my dh does not have a middle name (he has 4 siblings- including his twin and they all have one) and he hates that he does not have one. I would def. recommend honoring someone (one of your dad's, grandpa's, etc- we are using middle names to honor people in our life)

CurbsideProphet · July 2011

I had a friend in high school who did not have a middle name. None of her sisters had middle names either. The thought was if/when they got married they could more easily make their maiden name a middle name.

I think it occasionally caused her problems, but nothing too major.

Kitty Holland · July 2011

AlphabetFish:
I don't know, I think of all those forms I've had to fill out in my life that require at least an initial (especially online forms, which don't let you progress if you don't fill them out perfectly). It might be trickier for your child if they just don't have any middle name at all.
That would seriously be my only concern, though. Otherwise, I don't think it really matters.

My mom doesn't have a middle name and out of frustration one time where she had to have a middle name for some reason, she decided that her middle name was X.

Just make sure that if you give one child a middle name, that you give all of them - or vice versa.

slukd79 · July 2011

One more thought, (I work for a local school district as a medical professional) if a child comes through without a middle name, NMN gets put in the box for "No Middle Name."

So the child looks like "Katherine NMN Smith."

Not a huge deal by any means, but IMO I would rather just pick a pretty and meaningful middle name to avoid the hassle of things like this.

JMU_Bride09 · July 2011

Honestly, I think it's weird to not have a middle name. It may not be used on a daily basis, but I think something about it is very important.

SnoopyLuv · July 2011

anna7602:
I'm always a little disappointed when friends announce a baby's birth and have no mn for the child. It seems like a waste of a perfect spot for honoring something or someone- an honored relative, a favorite person or place, a guilty pleasure name, etc.

Exactly! It's just for fun and to me, it makes a name whole. I love good middle names.