Anyone NOT giving a middle name?

trojas

So my dear, dear husband thinks middle name are pointless. Mind you, he doesn't have one;  I do, and I never use it.

Anyone not giving your baby a middle name?

 

StickyBaby

our dd has a hyphened first name and no middle name

plainandsimple

He's right they're not necessary...but they're fun!  An acquaintance just told me all three kids have the same middle name.  They invented a word by mishmashing the mother's maiden name and another word with meaning to the family.  Their kids will always be bonded by the middle name.  Maybe he'd warm up to the idea if it was something with meaning rather than just inserting a placeholder?

cassoppea

My DH and SIL were not given middle names at birth. They were given MN's later on as part of a religious ceremony. True, you don't use them that often, but to me, they serve as a way to give some significance to a child's name if I can't do it with the first name. For example, my daughter and the next baby will both have MN's that honor a deceased relative.

austenreader85

I don't think they're useless.  Even if you go with an uncommon first name and have an uncommon last name I'd still use a middle name as another way to identify a person.  My mom went to school with someone with the same first and last name, but they had different middle names.  For most of her time they had only one record for both of them.  She said at graduation she just hoped they called both of them!  I have an uncommon first name and an uncommon last name for this area and have ran into someone who knew another person with my name. Lastly, dH is named after his father z. They have clearly different dates of birth and social security numbers and yet there are always paperwork issues with various places getting them mixed up, FIL's debt was on DH's credit report at one time.  Names DO matter.  It is the primary way most people establish identity, giving them another identifier is a good idea.  Also, I just love lots of names.

JaZavitz

My best friend doesnt have one... but she says that she has always wanted one!

NechamaChayim

My Grandmother doesn't have one and always wanted one. Actually, when she was young she sometimes made one up to put on certificates or whatever for school.

karen_loy

DS doesn't have one and neither will baby n.2

BTW neither do I nor DH; we're not into family names so the MN for us is indeed pointless

jobiann

I guess I've never heard of not having a middle name. I just think middle names help define you.

So instead of just being Joshua Brown, you could be Joshua Michael Brown. In my family middle names are typically family names, if we have a boy we'll use my FIL's name as the middle name and if we have a girl we'll use my Mother's name as her middle name.

But that is the choice you and your H must decide.

NewlyWeds13

I don't have a middle name either.   It has never been a problem at all.

We gave our son a middle name (my maiden name) and are giving our daughter one (likely my mom's maiden name) but I don't think they are essential because as you mentioned, they are hardly ever used.

If you guys would prefer no middle name-- skip it:)  

paceyjoe

I'm actually surprised at the number of people who pick out middle names that don't have any meaning in their family. All middle names in my family and my husband's family are family names. So I've always thought of them as carrying on family meaning and I think it's a nice addition to a name. Names seem too plain without a middle name to me.

BLPL101

I don't see the point in not giving one. I have a few friends who don't have one and they all wish they did.

this decaf life

If I can't find a name I really like I wouldn't worry too much about picking one "just because." We have a super [super] uncommon last name so there won't be any other babies with this LO's name so using a MN is absolutely unnecessary for us but I like names enough that I'll use one if I find a good combination I like.

mrebecca

plainandsimple:

He's right they're not necessary...but they're fun!  An acquaintance just told me all three kids have the same middle name.  They invented a word by mishmashing the mother's maiden name and another word with meaning to the family.  Their kids will always be bonded by the middle name.  Maybe he'd warm up to the idea if it was something with meaning rather than just inserting a placeholder?

Lol, cute!

bwralc

austenreader85:

I don't think they're useless.  Even if you go with an uncommon first name and have an uncommon last name I'd still use a middle name as another way to identify a person.  My mom went to school with someone with the same first and last name, but they had different middle names.  For most of her time they had only one record for both of them.  She said at graduation she just hoped they called both of them!  I have an uncommon first name and an uncommon last name for this area and have ran into someone who knew another person with my name. Lastly, dH is named after his father z. They have clearly different dates of birth and social security numbers and yet there are always paperwork issues with various places getting them mixed up, FIL's debt was on DH's credit report at one time.  Names DO matter.  It is the primary way most people establish identity, giving them another identifier is a good idea.  Also, I just love lots of names.

Exactly all of this.  Plus we just bought a new home, our mortgage guy was talking about how middle name usage is going way up to help stop confusion with identity.  We had to sign all the documents using our middle initial.  He mentioned that those without middle names there is often overlap between them an others with the same first/last name.