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Filler middle names
A filler middle name is a extremely common middle name. Mostly for girls. Or family names. These are the most common middle names.They are (where I live)Girls
Marie / Maria / Mary
Jane
Rose
Anne / Ann
Elizabeth
Jo
Lee / Leigh / Li
Lynn / Linn / Lyn / Lynne / Lin
Grace
Rae
Jade
May / MaeBoys:
Lee / Leigh / Li
Nicholas
Joseph / Josef
Robert
Joe
John
William
Andrew
James
Alexander
Ross
Thomas
CameronIt seems as people are less creative with middle names.Any ideas on filler middle names?Eileen, forever

This message was edited 6/24/2016, 7:02 PM

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I always have a certain attitude when I come across a post like this, because my middle name is considered filler by most, but it's honoring. So, I know they are not always used because the parents lacked imagination.My personal opinion is, if you are going to use a filler middle name, make sure it isn't paired with a first name that is super popular. Then, the combo just doesn't have any "oomph" to it. It doesn't stand out. Most people aren't namenerds, though, and they aren't going to care about that sort of thing.

This message was edited 6/25/2016, 12:55 PM

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Exactly - even popular names may seem to be "filler", but may be assigned with great pith. Unless a person knows the story Behind the Name, it is always better not to assume.
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I think Anna (mine) and Maria are the most common middle names for women in Sweden. Not sure about male middle names. In my senior high school class there were three Anna (first name) and at least half of the other girls, including me, had Anna as their middle name. Eva and Elisabeth are very common middle names, too.

This message was edited 6/25/2016, 12:25 PM

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Three of my kids hsve filler middle names although Hayley's (which is Anne) is also mine and my nanna's middle name. Hayley Anne
Skye Louise
Nathan James
Blake Robert I don't mind fillers. If I had another girl I would probably use Jade or Rose as a middle name.
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To me a true filler middle name is one parents chose simply because it's "a middle name." Names like Jo and Rae for girls come to mind first, and in recent years Rose and Grace.My middle name is Elyse in the filler sense. Absolutely no reason it was given other than my parents thought it sounded nice with my first name.Allen/Alan are very common middle names for men, not on your list. In my husband's case, Allen is also his father's middle name, but in my brother's case, Alan was, again, because my parents thought it sounded nice.My daughter's middle name is Sue, another generally filler middle name, but it's after my grandmother, so to me it isn't. If our next baby was going to be a girl, her middle name would be Marie after my MIL. I don't see it as filler when it's honoring someone.
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In one sense, I agree that true filler names are given for sound alone and not honoring. In which case it's really hard to know what the most common filler names are because we don't know the reasoning behind most names we hear or see. Most boys don't have filler names because their mn's frequently honor someone. even in the case of Marie, the quintessential filler, many times its honoring because its passed down many generations.An easier definition is that filler names are simply the most common middle names. This is a lot easier to quantify. And by statistical chance, they probably reflect mn's given for sound alone.

This message was edited 6/25/2016, 9:00 AM

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True... I suppose even names like Marie and Sue that are honoring were pure filler at some point in time!
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I think you got most of them!I'll add:Renée, for sure (I actually am pleasantly surprised when someone has this as a first name; I actually think of it as a "middle name" name)Katherine
Nicole

This message was edited 6/25/2016, 6:24 AM

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I actually have a tiny personal side project where I write down people's middle names off the credit applications I fill out at work and I just updated my spreadsheet today.
(I only write down middle names, btw-- I'm not out here stealing identities or anything)Here's my top 10 filler middle names I've seen so far:Marie
Ann
Lynn
Jean
Sue
Renee
Lee
Kay
Anne
LouiseLee
James
Michael
Joseph
Alan
Allen
Robert
John
David
Edward
From your list, I have not seen these (yet, I've been at this job almost 8 months):
Li (for either gender)
Linn
Lin
JadeLeigh (for males-- though it's my brother in law's middle name)
Josef
Joe
Ross
CameronI've only seen Grace once so far. It feels more like a modern filler. Like Pearl. I haven't seen that at work either.
People are more creative with boy's middle names-- I suspect more are are honoring rather than just "sounds nice". On most name lists I count, the girl's list is longer, but this time, it's the boy's list.

This message was edited 6/24/2016, 8:11 PM

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Interesting data and I'm surprised that Rose and Grace don't show up more. I guess they are more modern.
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Interesting. No Elizabeth?
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Elizabeth is currently at #13 on my list-- I've only seen it 8 times (Marie, I've seen 80 times).Not everyone writes their middle names though.
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Jean and Jeanne are also filler middle names. Not so much any more, but used to be. Also Lynn and Lynne.
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