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Baby Names
Double first name?
What do you think about having two first names for a boy, and using them both when speaking, writing his name, etc...such a John Paul or John Edward. We want to honor two family members, but (just my opinion), I don't like J.P., Jr., silly nicknames, etc. Is that too much of a mouthful for a child? We got around this issue with my daughter by giving her two middle names, but I think I like the idea of a double first name.
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Re: Double first name?
I think it is fine, just politely correct people if they use initials as a NN.
Be prepared though that your son may prefer them as an adult. I know a John Paul, pronounced the French way, but he goes exclusively by JP. Frankly, I don't even know if I spelled John correctly because I've only ever seen him use JP.
I know quite a few guys with double FN. (John Paul times two)
While their parents and relatives were pretty set on John Paul, their friends & school setting were more JP.
My brother is John Paul.
He gets called John Paul by family members only. in school and at work he was/is called JP, John, Johnny...
I guess you can't really control what other people call him. You can always just call him John Paul if that is what you prefer, but keep in mind he may choose to go by something else once he gets older.
FWIW I do like the idea of double first names as well, but I guess what I am trying to say is that he most likely will get called a nickname and one of those nicknames MIGHT stick, despite your intentions.
BFP 1- EDD 2/09/11 Missed MC DX @11 weeks D&C- 7/25/10 BFP 2- EDD 12/22/11 Natural MC @ 5w 2d BFP 3- EDD 1/25/12 DD Josephine born 1/16/12
It's a southern thing. Everyone I've known who has done this is from the southern US.
ETA: On second thought, it's also very Catholic.
I have a double first name (and I am not southern - lol) - I don't have a middle name at all. I have never had an issue being called by both names. Very, very few people ever called my by my intials - maybe a childhood neighbor or two. Sometimes bosses have written my initials in an email instead of my full first name, but they never call me that - I think it is just faster when they are typing - lol.
My DD is Shelby Kate.
I mainly went with a double first name because I love them as well as I wanted my first daughter to carry on my family middle name, Louise. If not for passing on the family name, I probably would have just done Shelby as the fn and Kate as the mn and just called DD Shelby Kate, which is more common to do. I don't feel like a double name with a mn has to be a mouthful all the time. I would just make sure you get a decent flow.
We do call DD by her initials, SK. So, if you pick a double name that has the potential for this then I would avoid the pairing of the names even as fn and mn. For example, John Paul could be nicknamed JP, but it is very unlikely that John Edward would be nicknamed JE.
DH and I have discussed John Michael for a future DS, but not as a double first name because I don't have the desire to honor a third family member and I'm unable to find a mn to flow. So, we would use the names as fn and mn and call DS John Michael. I'm more accustomed to this anyway because where I'm from children especially girls are being called by both their fn and mn ie Emma Claire.
This is DH's name. Family still calls him John David, work friends call him JD, and non-work friends all him David (his preference). I met him through a work friend and called him JD until I met his family but I love John David so I call him that now. I'm all about double names. I am in the south fwiw.