Opinions on two middle names

audreyyyg · December 2014

Hi all! I haven't seen this discussed before on this board (please have mercy on me if it has and point me in the right direction), and I trust this group of ladies to be blatantly honest (which I want, no sugar-coating, please).

DH and I have come to a disagreement about whether our first daughter should have one or two middle names. The second middle name would pay homage to two wonderful women as it is a family name on both sides of the family, but DH grew up with two middle names and only talks about the giant burden that if has been for him growing up.

Any thoughts or first-hand experience with two middle names?

epidemic · December 2014

I don't have personal experience, but I have a friend who has two middle names..his family has done it for a long time and they gave their baby two names. I think you should go for it if you both like it. On the other hand, maybe drop the first middle name in favor of the second that means more to you both?

knitfastdiewarm · December 2014

I have two middle names and honestly I love it. They both pay tribute to important women in my life and it's nice to have a little uniqueness.

missab · December 2014

Nms, but it doesn't irk me unless the names are ridic. Like Paycee Dawson Joey because you loved a TV show would earn serious side-eye.

I suppose I think it requires reasoning and explanation - for me it's really only ok if the names are meaningful (honoring family etc). If there were two middle names because a couple just couldn't narrow down or whatever, it would elicit a very dramatic eye roll.

That all said, it's YOUR child and no one else's opinions should matter at all.

PinkDahLia44 · December 2014

DH has two middle names. Hates it. Wouldn't let me carry on the tradition with our son. I don't think it's that big a deal. I think this is an everyone is different topic.

schwabab · December 2014

I think it's cute especially if it's sentimental.

knitfastdiewarm · December 2014

I use my first MN on official forms unless they need my full legal name (social security, etc) It's never been a problem.

hillbillywife · December 2014

Two middle names are NMS but if they both have meaning for you then idk why you wouldn't just do it. I only have one middle name but it's long and my maiden name was long so that was a pain too. Too many letters is never fun. Ever.

audreyyyg · December 2014

snowbigdeal said:
My husband has two middle names and he hates it. His full name never fits on official documents, so often letters get left off at the end. This can be confusing/very problematic. Or sometimes his full last name gets left off as people assume that his second middle name is actually his last name. It's pretty annoying.

An example: one of his middle names is Cody, and in his high school database they middle name slot wasn't long enough and left the "y" off. So his official high school diploma reads (the rest of the following is not his real name) "John Edward Cod Smith". Nobody wants Cod on their diploma.

I shouldn't have laughed as hard as I did. I can definitely see how that could be problematic, maybe DH has a point...

audreyyyg · December 2014

Lol thank you everyone I am having fun reading these responses. The name would be as follows (if we choose two): Reagan Elisabeth (aunt's name on DH side) Dianna (aunt and grandmother's name on both) LN. At least we've got time to figure it out! I think we'll decide once we are filling out the birth certificate, but I can see how legal forms/diplomas can easily be botched

dana1047 · December 2014

I am also struggling with this. My husband has picked out the middle name for our son which I love, but I also wanted to honor my grandmother who I was extremely close to (Judith) by using Jude.

We will likely decide if two middle names suit him when he is born. I figure I'll just "know".

SunnyBeachBum · December 2014

My husband has two middle names, but they are both short, one syllable names... Scott Lee. He doesn't mind, but I teased him at first and said it sounds like a serial killer name... If they both mean something special, like family names, I can understand, but just giving them multiple names because you can't decide on one is NMS.

Sarah04Marie · December 2014

I have two middle names so does my mom, her sisters, and many of my cousins. It has never had any negative impact on my life .. even when it came to switching my last name to DH's last name. Personally, I love it.

redneckmomma25 · December 2014

If someone hates having two middle names so badly why can't they just change their name?

I'm not a fan of two middle names. If you want to do it, then do it. She can changer her name if she hates it later on.

lneice0160 · December 2014

I'm not a fan of two middle names either...I have a longer single middle name and I don't even like that....one of my cousins has two middle names and she's always said it makes her more important and better than other because of it...but she also likes to be a burden; not saying by any means your child would turn out like that....

amandamarie2 · December 2014

Both of my brothers have two middle names after family members. My youngest brother isn't a big fan of his second middle name (Hubert) so he'll often just use the first one if it's not something legal like a passport. His high school diploma just says Ryan Michael last name.
We will be doing two middle names with this LO after our parents. I don't think it's that big of a deal whether you do one or two, particularly if they have an important meaning and aren't long. I know a girl who had 5 middle names, which I think is getting excessive though haha

audreyyyg · December 2014

lneice0160 said:
I'm not a fan of two middle names either...I have a longer single middle name and I don't even like that....one of my cousins has two middle names and she's always said it makes her more important and better than other because of it...but she also likes to be a burden; not saying by any means your child would turn out like that....

We can only hope, right?

lneice0160 · December 2014

@amandamarie2‌- I feel sorry for the girl you know with 5 middle names! Hope they're short haha.

@audreyyyg‌- True, never know how a child will turn out, but I hope none turn out like my family member hahaha!

dana1047 · December 2014

somerandomchick said:

audreyyyg said:
Lol thank you everyone I am having fun reading these responses. The name would be as follows (if we choose two): Reagan Elisabeth (aunt's name on DH side) Dianna (aunt and grandmother's name on both) LN. At least we've got time to figure it out! I think we'll decide once we are filling out the birth certificate, but I can see how legal forms/diplomas can easily be botched
One option is to combine the names or pick something that sounds similar to both. I generally hate made up names but for middle names you can have a little leeway

For example, a name that incorporates elements of Elizabeth and Diana would be Annabeth. Or Annabella. Yes I spelled the middle names different than you did but that's my phones automatic spelling sorry

I really like your idea of combining the names. It doesn't lose the meaning but still gives the child a name of their own to live up to.

I do believe OP's first name choice would sound lovely with a more frilly middle name as well.

Puppies+Rainbows+Unicorns · December 2014

No strong opinion. My only thought is it could later impact a girl's decision to hyphenate her last name--two last names and two middle names seems a but much.

Babykells3 · December 2014

Both my boys have 2 middle names and I can't imagine calling them anything different. We wanted to honour our grandfathers who have past and they just fit. DS1 is Matthew John, and DS2 is William Jack. This babe will probably have 2 as well but we haven't even thought about it yet. Although, if one of us had been totally against it then we wouldn't have done it.

audreyyyg · December 2014

We were originally going to combine them to Eliana (or Elianna but that's a stretch with spelling and it would cause some seriously deserved eye rolls), and then my favorite cousin named his daughter Eliana... We might still end up using it. We both love the name!

cwiceangel · December 2014

Not a huge fan of two middle names. My husband doesn't have a middle name and it confuses the hell out if everyone. His parents did't see the need, which I found kinda funny since they're Spanish and they usually have like 20 names (sometimes that's an exaggeration... ) and he was kinda starting to go that way and I put my foot down. So baby is going to have my husband's first name as his middle name.
Personally I would choose the name that means the most or if it's possible combine them if they'll make a decent name that's not weird. I don't think Eliana is weird. Just had a friend name her daughter Iliana. Besides you'll know what the name is and so will she.

miahbelle · December 2014

cwiceangel said:
Not a huge fan of two middle names. My husband doesn't have a middle name and it confuses the hell out if everyone. His parents did't see the need, which I found kinda funny since they're Spanish and they usually have like 20 names (sometimes that's an exaggeration... ) and he was kinda starting to go that way and I put my foot down. So baby is going to have my husband's first name as his middle name.
Personally I would choose the name that means the most or if it's possible combine them if they'll make a decent name that's not weird. I don't think Eliana is weird. Just had a friend name her daughter Iliana. Besides you'll know what the name is and so will she.

My step-FIL doesn't have a middle name either and his first name is usually a nickname for a longer name. It's like they just gave up when naming him. "Well we like the nickname for this name but not the actual name and no middle name works with it, so we'll skip that too!" Weirdest thing ever.

Unknown · December 2014

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SeekingSmall · December 2014

My 3 year old is Eleanor Rose Marie LN. I'm now pregnant with twin girls....and trying to make a list of girls names with two middles each is not the easiest task.

Just a heads up. If you do it for one child, you'll need to do it for all, otherwise they'll all bitch. And we plan to have a larger family.

knlouis · December 2014

My daughter has 2 middle names and so will this baby girl baking in my tummy now....My 1st daughter's 2nd middle name (mouth full lol) is for my DH Mom who passed away and this new LO's 2nd middle name will be the same as my moms middle name.

Ashlynn Renee-Jolette

Adryan Nicole-Hyacinth

amandamarie2 · December 2014

SeekingSmall said:

My 3 year old is Eleanor Rose Marie LN. I'm now pregnant with twin girls....and trying to make a list of girls names with two middles each is not the easiest task. Just a heads up. If you do it for one child, you'll need to do it for all, otherwise they'll all bitch. And we plan to have a larger family.

I don't think you necessarily have to do it for all. I only have one middle name while my younger brothers both have two and I don't think any of us really thought about it that much.

fiscally3 · December 2014

I have two middle names after getting married, the only thing I find difficult is if I was to get something monogramed. I rarely use my middle initials, as on most things you fill out its not necessary, even all my banking/credit cards are just my first and last name. I have friends who have double first names and a middle name, so its kinda of the same thing (except that everyone assumes that the second first name is a middle).

I actually like the idea more that I think about it. I know my husband would really like to honor his grandfather, but I'm pretty stubborn about the middle name being after my dad (he's one of two men in my family I would honor, and our first son has the other.)

runnergal83 · December 2014

I have a long name. Hyphenated first name, long middle name, and since I've been married, two last names. I've always liked having a long name and have never had an issue with it.

We plan on giving our daughter two middle names one from each side of the family.

AshleighK305 · December 2014

My oldest son has 2 middle names, my youngest son does not. This baby girl will have 2 middle names! The middle names are all family originated too, so it's not like random names just because! I personally have 2 middle names as well and so does my brother and it's never been an issue for us.

Lightside · December 2014

I grew up with two middle names (both family names from each side) and while I thought it was cool as a kid, it became annoying as I got older. As others have said there is often not enough space on official forms for both names, and I sometimes had to pick one middle initial, which just felt wrong as it was like choosing between my mom and dad's side. When I got married I dropped both middle names and kept my maiden name as my middle name. It was a relief to finally have one middle name!

sara&jason2012 · December 2014

I don't think I would go with two middle names for my LO, but I like the idea of combining the two in some way. Others have given some cute ideas!

SuzyGreenie · December 2014

I have two middle names but one is legal and the other I was baptized with. I don't find it confusing Bc I use the legal one for documents and leave out the other.

lynze06 · December 2014

I have 2 middle names and it was never an issue. Both of them are meaningful. However, Louise, one of middle names was the longest of the 4 until I got married. Letters do get cut off so be careful on how long the name is. A few times e was dropped on mine then my name read Lynze Shae Louis, not fun!

nursenikki80 · December 2014

We plan on giving our DS two middle names both of which pay homage to our grandfathers.

Shadeauxe · December 2014

trollsniper said:

Random related question: Are there any famous people or characters who go by two middles names? Just curious. I can't think of any besides Wendy from Peter Pan.

This isn't a famous person, but there's a book character named (spelling apologies) Rikki Tikki Tembo No Sa Rembo Chari Bari Rucci Berri Pip Perri Pembo. He falls into a well and it's a "fable" of shorts about why people in China now give their children short names.

knjzacher · December 2014

I have two middle names. It's ok I guess, in theory. My DH loved my first middle name so much we decided to use that name for our DD1. My second middle name is my mothers first name, and we do not speak. I have tried to have that name removed legally but haven't been able to. I just want to be rid of it.
My advice: Do what will make you and your husband happy. Compromise.

kdbug4 · December 2014

Just combine the two names into one unique middle name.

Elisanna.

Kidding. Sorta.

ETA: sorry didn't see your last post, lol!

Scarlettg · December 2014

shortskirtlongjacket said:

I kept my maiden name and just added H's last name (not hyphenated) and it kind of sucks. Only when I'm filling out forms, though. I taught a guy who had two middle names and he didn't seem to mind. He just used the middle initial of the name closest to his last name when he had to fill out paperwork.

Yes! This! I did the same thing with my last name and have since come to regret it, but only when filling out forms. I think the suggestion of using initials is a great one.

miracle4x · December 2014

Obviously it's up to you guys, but you should consider saving one of the names for any future children. You may or may not have another girl, but if you do, you may be sorry you used both names up on one kid.

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