Mother's last (or maiden) name as middle name?

penelope4612 · April 2015

What are people's thoughts on using the mother's maiden last name (or last name, if she did not change it when married) as a baby's middle name?

I didn't change my last name after marriage and my DH is intent on using it as any future child's middle name (for clarity, we are not yet pregnant). DH's brother and his wife did this. I am actually not set on it (my last name is long and difficult to say/spell) but I haven't vetoed the idea in case I change my mind. Any children we have will have DH's last name, and there is no way we will hyphenate because my name is so cumbersome.

On one hand, it would be nice for the child to have my last name as part of their name. On the other hand, there is nothing fun or cute about it, the same way there is for picking an actual middle name. I have 4 names (2 middle names, the second one is my mother's maiden name) but it's been mildly annoying my whole life (some things will only take one middle name or one middle initial and some will take both, and then I can't remember what has what for a name). Also my last name is much longer and cumbersome than my mother's maiden name, which is only 4 letters.

Thoughts?

wassuphoes · April 2015

It depends on the name.

Fox - pretty cool

Smith - Kinda boring but hey it happens

Cockswallow- Maybe not.

4N6s · April 2015

Depends...

MixedBerries88 · April 2015

I love it. I actually really dislike surnames as names unless they have family meaning. My maiden name is very uncommon in the US but it's a part of my heritage and I love it. I made it my middle name when I took my husband's last name and I'll probably give my child my maiden name as a middle name. The middle name spot is a little more flexible. Your child probably won't have to spell his/her middle name for others often. If your love your mom's maiden name and its a little easier to say, use that. I think that's also a great idea.

NotISaidtheCat · April 2015

If you aren't really feeling it (seems like you're not) maybe you guys can come up with a compromise, like giving your kids middle names that start with the same letter as your maiden name.

Monilee1017 · April 2015

I think it is a good idea if you like your name. If you think your last name is too long can it be shortened? Smithfield to smith or field, or take part of the name like Rick out of Strickland? That way your child will have a part of your name and there is meaning to it even if it is not the whole name. My best friend growing up had her mothers maiden name as her middle name and it was a masculine name, it never bothered her because there was meaning to it. I feel that if a middle name has some meaning behind it that makes up for it not flowing perfectly.

g8trkim · April 2015

NotISaidtheCat said:
If you aren't really feeling it (seems like you're not) maybe you guys can come up with a compromise, like giving your kids middle names that start with the same letter as your maiden name.

Totally agree with this. Ex. Kourtney Kardashian's son is Mason Dash. I hate to use them as an example but I thought it was a nice way to use her name.

Frogger5 · April 2015

We're in this situation now, and we're going with a name that sounds like my last name. My last name has a "son of" meaning, so we're doing the name part (it's Polish, though, so it's not exactly the name). So, it's a few steps removed, but we like the solution we've come up with!

VesperLove · April 2015

Depends on the name. I understand the sentiment. We are considering the same if we have a boy but my maiden name is one that works well. Gordon. I probably wouldnt be considering it if I had a name that would be confusing, hard to spell or pronounce, etc. I agree that maybe a variation would work and still hold meaning.

penelope4612 · April 2015

Thanks for the opinions. My last name is French, so it sounds pretty (at least I think it does) but it has a lot of vowels and at least one silent consonant, so learning to spell it can be difficult. At least if we use it as a middle name, our children won't have to spell it out all the time like I do.

grlplz · April 2015

I have to agree that it depends. My maiden name is Dennis so it would definitely work without being too out there. If my maiden name was Szwjakowski (last name of someone I know) then I'd have to say no way in hell.

daystardreams · April 2015

I plan to do this with our first son but my maiden name is Glenn so it works well for us.

Pookster1020 · April 2015

I have planned on doing this for as long as I can remember - I really like my maiden name. It's actually one of the top boys names now but I would still use it as a middle name (boy or girl).

If you like your mom's maiden name better for it - it still has meaning. My friend's niece has this as her middle name and actually uses that has her first name now.

Mother's last (or maiden) name as middle name?

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