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HelpThoughts on the number of names
My step-grandmother only has a first name. Most people seem to have a first and middle name. I known of some people who have 3 or more names.
What are your preferences on the number of names you'd give your child (not counting surname)?
What are your preferences on the number of names you'd give your child (not counting surname)?
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I feel that it would be easiest to give my children 1 fn, 1mn.
However, my sister has a son with 1 fn, 2 mn. I think it would be a fun tradition to continue, though I have the HARDEST time coming up with 3 name combos on girls. I find it very easy & handsome on boys though.
However, my sister has a son with 1 fn, 2 mn. I think it would be a fun tradition to continue, though I have the HARDEST time coming up with 3 name combos on girls. I find it very easy & handsome on boys though.
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One first name and two middle names. It's kind of standard around here. That's what I have and most people I know. Middle names are pretty much always honoring and it's normal for a child to get one middle name from his/her father's side and one middle name from his/her mother's side.
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My preference is one FN and two middle names. That's what I have, and most people in my family as well. It's also very common where I live. Wouldn't really mind 3 MN's either.
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I would only give my child one middle name, because I don't like the way most two or three middle name combos sound. The sound/overall flow of a name is very important to me.
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2 , maximum 3. More is pretentious and a potential hassle (said she, of the 4 given names on the passport)
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I think it totally depends on the family dynamic.
When I was younger, I planned to use only one name (plus surname) because I just like simple things.
My husband only has one name, so I thought my plan would work. However, He wanted to use a traditional Filipino name and I wanted to use honoring names. THEN, we found out we were having a girl and in the Philippines, it is custom to use the mother's maiden name as a second name for the child for girls.
So, we compromised with a pattern: One name we both like, one Filipino name of husband's choosing, and one honoring name, then surname. So, both of our daughters will have three names.
I personally still love the simplicity of one name and a surname, but I appreciate significance of having more. I would never arbitrarily choose a non-significant middle name though (personal choice).
Plus, I don't think that the number of names needs to be consistent for every child either. A friend of mine used three names for her son because they honored, and two names for her daughter (neither of which were honoring).
In my experience, I have noticed that Americans tend to have a first and middle, Europeans lean towards two middle names and most Asian cultures omit the middle name altogether, OR they have a middle name but use their first and middle as a whole. That's not exclusive, just a pattern I noticed.
When I was younger, I planned to use only one name (plus surname) because I just like simple things.
My husband only has one name, so I thought my plan would work. However, He wanted to use a traditional Filipino name and I wanted to use honoring names. THEN, we found out we were having a girl and in the Philippines, it is custom to use the mother's maiden name as a second name for the child for girls.
So, we compromised with a pattern: One name we both like, one Filipino name of husband's choosing, and one honoring name, then surname. So, both of our daughters will have three names.
I personally still love the simplicity of one name and a surname, but I appreciate significance of having more. I would never arbitrarily choose a non-significant middle name though (personal choice).
Plus, I don't think that the number of names needs to be consistent for every child either. A friend of mine used three names for her son because they honored, and two names for her daughter (neither of which were honoring).
In my experience, I have noticed that Americans tend to have a first and middle, Europeans lean towards two middle names and most Asian cultures omit the middle name altogether, OR they have a middle name but use their first and middle as a whole. That's not exclusive, just a pattern I noticed.
This message was edited 7/29/2015, 7:14 AM
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My stepfather and his twin sister don't have middle names, though their older sister and brother do.
My preference is for one first name and one middle name; whether the combo is used in full for everyday use, like Mary Ellen, or if only one name is used, like Mary, two names should be sufficient.
My preference is for one first name and one middle name; whether the combo is used in full for everyday use, like Mary Ellen, or if only one name is used, like Mary, two names should be sufficient.
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My boyfriend and his three siblings all have only a first name.
I have a first and middle. I've had a few friends with a first and two middle names.
My boyfriend and I have talked about names and there are several family members who we'd like to honour in our children's names if possible and the only way we'd be able to do this is by giving them two middle names.
I think more than two middle names is a bit prestigious and inconvenient for somebody who isn't royalty.
I have a first and middle. I've had a few friends with a first and two middle names.
My boyfriend and I have talked about names and there are several family members who we'd like to honour in our children's names if possible and the only way we'd be able to do this is by giving them two middle names.
I think more than two middle names is a bit prestigious and inconvenient for somebody who isn't royalty.
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I gave all my children 3 names each, on the advice of a friend's aunt. She'd worked for the military and had to contact surviving relatives when their enlisted relative died in action. She said that her task was almost impossible in the case of, say, John Smith (several pages of them to choose from) and almost as bad for John William Smith, but John William Henry or John William Charles would be one of a kind.
This made me think that 3 given names must be the best possible way to individualise a child, especially one with a run-of-the-mill surname. Much better than tweaking the spelling!
This made me think that 3 given names must be the best possible way to individualise a child, especially one with a run-of-the-mill surname. Much better than tweaking the spelling!
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I don't have a middle name which is a good thing for me as I have two last names and having a middle name would make things very confusing as it does for my sister who has a middle name as well as two last names.
I do like middle names, I would probably only use one middle name and non at all if my child has two last names
PNL: http://www.behindthename.com/pnl/151224
I do like middle names, I would probably only use one middle name and non at all if my child has two last names
PNL: http://www.behindthename.com/pnl/151224
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I only have a first name as well. I do like not having any middle names but I will be giving my kids one. I just think it's a nice opportunity to honour someone.
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I prefer three (or four, I guess) given names, but two as a minimum. Just one feels really incomplete. (More than four often starts to feel a bit overdone.)
My husband and I actually gave our first son two names and our second three, and I kinda wish I could give my first another to make it "fair" - I mean, I guess I could, actually. But you know.
It actually really frustrates me when so many fictional characters don't have middle names; it feels really lazy on the part of the writers, especially when the male characters have middle names (Anthony Edward Stark, Steven Grant Rogers, Nicholas Joseph Fury), but the female ones in the same work do not (Virginia Potts, Margaret Carter, Maria Hill).
I suppose I should also add that my youngest brother has three given names while the rest of us (eight of us in total) have only two each. I've always felt just a little bit jealous of him for that. :P
My husband and I actually gave our first son two names and our second three, and I kinda wish I could give my first another to make it "fair" - I mean, I guess I could, actually. But you know.
It actually really frustrates me when so many fictional characters don't have middle names; it feels really lazy on the part of the writers, especially when the male characters have middle names (Anthony Edward Stark, Steven Grant Rogers, Nicholas Joseph Fury), but the female ones in the same work do not (Virginia Potts, Margaret Carter, Maria Hill).
I suppose I should also add that my youngest brother has three given names while the rest of us (eight of us in total) have only two each. I've always felt just a little bit jealous of him for that. :P
This message was edited 7/29/2015, 12:05 AM
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Thank you, I feel justified in giving my fictional characters middle names now! :p
I never noticed the discrepancy between female character middle names and male ones, but now that you mention it, I can't think of any female characters with known middle names off the top of my head. Huh. I wonder why that is.
I never noticed the discrepancy between female character middle names and male ones, but now that you mention it, I can't think of any female characters with known middle names off the top of my head. Huh. I wonder why that is.
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You're welcome, and I really appreciate that in an author for the record. :) Like having an actual family with siblings and such, it makes characters feel that much more real and alive, since most people irl do in fact have middle names.
Female characters with middle names that I can think off off the top of my head:
Hermione Jean Granger
Dolores Jane Umbridge
I think that's about all I can do without Googling, and Googling sort of removes the "off the top of my head" stipulation.
Female characters with middle names that I can think off off the top of my head:
Hermione Jean Granger
Dolores Jane Umbridge
I think that's about all I can do without Googling, and Googling sort of removes the "off the top of my head" stipulation.
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I would choose just FN and one MN. I find it hard to get a combo with two MNs to flow how I like and having two MNs just feels heavy somehow.
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I think more than one middle name is a bit over-the-top and greedy, but that's just me. And nowadays, unless you have a fairly unique last name, you need at least one middle name just so there aren't multiple people with your same name, first and last.
I guess if my last name was something common and boring, I could justify more than one middle name.
I guess if my last name was something common and boring, I could justify more than one middle name.
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Good point, though I suppose these days having just one name and no middle would be even more unique than having multiple names.
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A first and a middle. Three would be too much as I don't have much honoring to do.
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I'd do two, first and a middle.
Honestly, there's no point in doing two middle names because it's likely they'll never be used
and it's too much. It's good to have one middle though since I think it makes the name flow better and it gives the child another name option if they don't like their first name.
Honestly, there's no point in doing two middle names because it's likely they'll never be used
and it's too much. It's good to have one middle though since I think it makes the name flow better and it gives the child another name option if they don't like their first name.
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I'd likely only do a first name/middle name combo myself, because that's what I'm used to (and because I really stink at coming up with two middle names). Depending on the names, though, I could easily be swayed to use two middles (I once randomly generated Stephan Mordecai Darby & Helena Genoveva Wisdom, and I sort of dig those).
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I prefer two, first and middle. I like a middle name as further differentiating from others who have the same first name, and I also like them for honoring purposes. But more than one middle name becomes unwieldy, IMO.
Of my three best friends in high school, two did not have middle names. One told me that her parents thought her first and last names together were long enough. I don't know of any particular reason that the other didn't have one.
Of my three best friends in high school, two did not have middle names. One told me that her parents thought her first and last names together were long enough. I don't know of any particular reason that the other didn't have one.
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My name is Jessica-Kate Maree and most people find it confusing that I have three names. I know quite a few people with three names, usually two middle names, but personally, I want to give my children one first name and one middle name to avoid any confusion (plus it can be hard to make three names flow). As for just one name, I know a few people like that too. As a name nerd, I don't really understand not using that middle name spot!!
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I gave one middle name. I guess I could have given more for honoring, since I knew I'd only have two kids. But I did not know that my second child would be the opposite sex from the first, and I don't have tons of family I want to remember or to suck up to, so it seemed safer to go with one. Giving more middle names just because I wanted to make a pretty combo, seems ... I dunno ... too much. I mean, I wouldn't be impressed if my parents had done that. I would have been like, so you used my name to express how fabulous you are? I think it would be cool if it were customary for children to select a new name for themselves, to be added to their birth name, when they come of age. Maybe I'll offer my kids the option.
This message was edited 7/28/2015, 6:11 PM
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Adding a name actually used to be customary. It is part of Catholic tradition, and the child chooses the name upon completion of catechism. The name must be significant and the child (young adult) must explain why during the service.
My father had to do this. He was born Timot (later changed to Charles) and chose the middle name Joseph.... mostly because he forgot to research names and saints and he remembered that Joseph was the name of Mary's (mother of Jesus) husband.
He said his speech went something like "Joseph was a good man, to marry a woman already with child. This shows honor. I think I would like to be remembered with honor. The end. "
My father had to do this. He was born Timot (later changed to Charles) and chose the middle name Joseph.... mostly because he forgot to research names and saints and he remembered that Joseph was the name of Mary's (mother of Jesus) husband.
He said his speech went something like "Joseph was a good man, to marry a woman already with child. This shows honor. I think I would like to be remembered with honor. The end. "
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That's actually a cool idea; the child picking another name after a certain age.
Personally, I do not believe in naming children after other people. What if they grow up to dislike the person they are named after?!
Personally, I do not believe in naming children after other people. What if they grow up to dislike the person they are named after?!
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That's a good reason not to name kids after living people or after yourself - what if they grow up to dislike you?!
You can't choose your ancestors or things you're connected to, and your birth name is kind of part of that IMO. My kids can't dislike the people they were named after, though, because those people were dead before they were born. The point of honoring names for me wasn't to honor anyone. It was more memorial (honoring my own memory of those people), and to express in the kid's name that a connection to ancestors is an important part of who s/he is - a descendant of specific people. Since surnames do not really do that; nobody remembers those ancestors.
I love making up combos, but I felt like giving my kids pretty combos as their full names kinda said, these people are mongrels with cute names... I picked cute names (IMO) as their first names but didn't want to do that for their middles. I would have rathered having a middle name that wasn't filler, myself. I would have really liked having an ancestor name instead. It was just my own comfort zone thing, using "honoring" names for my kids - I don't look at "we just liked it" middle names as a bad thing for other people; I don't care. I guess I do sort of think that more than one middle name, with all of the names chosen only for aesthetics, would be sort of shallow ... But I figure that usually people choose extra middle names because those have personal meaning for them, not just because they sound nice together.
You can't choose your ancestors or things you're connected to, and your birth name is kind of part of that IMO. My kids can't dislike the people they were named after, though, because those people were dead before they were born. The point of honoring names for me wasn't to honor anyone. It was more memorial (honoring my own memory of those people), and to express in the kid's name that a connection to ancestors is an important part of who s/he is - a descendant of specific people. Since surnames do not really do that; nobody remembers those ancestors.
I love making up combos, but I felt like giving my kids pretty combos as their full names kinda said, these people are mongrels with cute names... I picked cute names (IMO) as their first names but didn't want to do that for their middles. I would have rathered having a middle name that wasn't filler, myself. I would have really liked having an ancestor name instead. It was just my own comfort zone thing, using "honoring" names for my kids - I don't look at "we just liked it" middle names as a bad thing for other people; I don't care. I guess I do sort of think that more than one middle name, with all of the names chosen only for aesthetics, would be sort of shallow ... But I figure that usually people choose extra middle names because those have personal meaning for them, not just because they sound nice together.
This message was edited 7/28/2015, 8:19 PM
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Agreed.
My family tends to use ancestor surnames as honoring middles. My sister did it, I did it, and two of my cousins did as well. Luckily, we have a lot of family names that are also traditional first names, or actual nouns.
I always root for significance, though people are free to do what they choose.
My family tends to use ancestor surnames as honoring middles. My sister did it, I did it, and two of my cousins did as well. Luckily, we have a lot of family names that are also traditional first names, or actual nouns.
I always root for significance, though people are free to do what they choose.
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My brother has Fn, 2 MN, SN I only have FN, MN, LN. It bothered me alot as a kid that I only had one MN. Though my mother pointed out that the only reason he has two middle names is that he was named for both his grandfathers. I'm not named for anyone.
I would like my kids to have two middle names. Potentially their first name, a first MN of our choice and then potentially a honouring MN. I think any more than 2 MN's is excessive. Same with surnames, I hate hyphenated surnames, its so cumbersome and must be really annoying for kids. I have also found that the kids with hyphenated surnames tend to have really long, complicated surnames to start with, then adding two of them is even worse!
I would like my kids to have two middle names. Potentially their first name, a first MN of our choice and then potentially a honouring MN. I think any more than 2 MN's is excessive. Same with surnames, I hate hyphenated surnames, its so cumbersome and must be really annoying for kids. I have also found that the kids with hyphenated surnames tend to have really long, complicated surnames to start with, then adding two of them is even worse!
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I'm a two middle name kind of girl! One name is certainly boring, two can be cute (I'm a big fan of short and sweet Viola Wren and Vivienne Belle), but three feels just right for me. It allows me to flex my creativity for the moment, and will allow me to honour as well as use favourites in the future. I'd even consider stretching to three middle names.
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I like having more than one name. Although I never use my middle name, I think it's more interesting to have more than one.
I know plenty of people with only one name and sometimes it sounds like a waste because I really like names. But I've heard people say it's a waste to have a name you'll never use. We'll agree to disagree on that one :) I can see how a strong name could be enough, though.
About the three names, I much prefer that to just one. But if all the names are long, for example, I can see why it could be a bit too much. But I like the idea of three names, in general. Especially if you have a long list of favourites!
I know plenty of people with only one name and sometimes it sounds like a waste because I really like names. But I've heard people say it's a waste to have a name you'll never use. We'll agree to disagree on that one :) I can see how a strong name could be enough, though.
About the three names, I much prefer that to just one. But if all the names are long, for example, I can see why it could be a bit too much. But I like the idea of three names, in general. Especially if you have a long list of favourites!
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I go by my middle name so I get to use both of mine ;)
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I know lots of people who do this.
In the early 90s it was also common for parents to use the initials of the first and middle name as a nickname, such as Daphne Jane going by DJ or William Theophilus going by BT.
In the early 90s it was also common for parents to use the initials of the first and middle name as a nickname, such as Daphne Jane going by DJ or William Theophilus going by BT.
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I personally think three names is enough. 1 first name, 1 or 2 middles. 1 doubled barreled first name and then a middle and vice versa
This is what I mean (I know I wasn't really clear in my description)
All these types of set ups, I'm ok with
Ava-Marie Polly surname
Bonnie Katherine Jade surname
Audrey Caroline Surname
Octavia Claire-Grace surname
With my kids, the maximum of names they would have would be 3 (not including surname) but more than likely, it would just end up bring first and middle
This is what I mean (I know I wasn't really clear in my description)
All these types of set ups, I'm ok with
Ava-Marie Polly surname
Bonnie Katherine Jade surname
Audrey Caroline Surname
Octavia Claire-Grace surname
With my kids, the maximum of names they would have would be 3 (not including surname) but more than likely, it would just end up bring first and middle
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