Middle names for children

What are your thoughts on them? Everybody in my family that I know of has a middle name except for me, by the time I came around my parents finally got smart and decided to leave that space open for me to fill when I was ready for one. Nothing's permanent though I did go through a phase when I was 13 using one.

I personally think it's a good idea not to give kids middle names when they're born, because what if you pick one that sucks? Though last year when I was reading a biography on Katharine Hepburn I read that her middle name was Houghton, and every one of her brothers and sister also had the middle name Houghton, which was their mother's maiden name. I think that's another good way to go if you do give your kid a middle name because then they've got the names of both sides of the family, and if I ever get married and have kids, I think that's what I'd do too.

Supernova wrote:What are your thoughts on them? Everybody in my family that I know of has a middle name except for me, by the time I came around my parents finally got smart and decided to leave that space open for me to fill when I was ready for one. Nothing's permanent though I did go through a phase when I was 13 using one.

I personally think it's a good idea not to give kids middle names when they're born, because what if you pick one that sucks? Though last year when I was reading a biography on Katharine Hepburn I read that her middle name was Houghton, and every one of her brothers and sister also had the middle name Houghton, which was their mother's maiden name. I think that's another good way to go if you do give your kid a middle name because then they've got the names of both sides of the family, and if I ever get married and have kids, I think that's what I'd do too.

Couldn't the same argument be made about parents naming their children at all? I actually HATE my middle name though, so I can't protest too much against what you're saying.

Know what I think? That the name a parent gives their child should only be temporarily binding for their first 18 years. On their 18th birthday, they have the option to cement it or change it to something else. I know that when they're 18 they can just change their name if it's that much of an issue, but it wouldn't bother me if they made it a little easier for the individual in question to have the final say in what they will be called the rest of their lives.

I like that idea, though applied widely that could get a bit confusing in the long run.

What if the first name sucks too?

I don't see anything wrong with giving your kid a middle name but I would draw the line at 2 of them. Even if it sucks (to them). Sometimes you want to give props to family members who couldn't quite make the cut for the kid's first name. Neither my brother or I have a middle name but I always kind of wanted one. When I was "still a Catholic" I started using my confirmation name, Thomas. After a few years that stopped. I had my first driver’s license with it and I didn’t bother to have it changed until a few years ago because it wasn’t my legal name and I figured that sooner or later they’d give me shit at an airport or something.

RobbieFTW wrote:What if the first name sucks too?

They'll probably start using "Robbie" as a nickname

alan smithee wrote:I don't see anything wrong with giving your kid a middle name but I would draw the line at 2 of them.

I agree. I don't see anything wrong with giving a child a middle name, but then I don't think there's anything wrong with not giving them a middle name either. Whatever works for the parents and the kid, then go for it. On the second part of your quote, I also agree no more than two middle names should be used - I don't understand parents who give their kids six names!

Nothing wrong with 'em. I think it should pretty much be standard. My kids are definitely getting middle names.

I don't know. Middle names can at times seem like silly to me, but at the same time something seems incomplete when someone doesn't have one. As if their parents "didn't bother" to be as thorough with them as possible.

I personally like middle names (even though I don't particularly care for my own) as long as they go with the first and last name.

For instance, Jessica Lynn Smith and Michael Andrew Smith sound better than Jessica Angelina Smith or Michael Brad Smith. As long as it's a name that flows together and doesn't sound like something out of the 1800's like "Prudence", "Wilhelmina", "Percival" or "Bartholemew".

Middle names add more ostentatious color and character to a persons identity, I am all for them and would give one (but only one, let's not do two) to my kids.

alan smithee wrote:I don't see anything wrong with giving your kid a middle name but I would draw the line at 2 of them. ...

Are you talking about mi amigo, Ramon Garcia San Cristobal de las Casas Vargas?

Shale wrote:

alan smithee wrote:I don't see anything wrong with giving your kid a middle name but I would draw the line at 2 of them. ...

Are you talking about mi amigo, Ramon Garcia San Cristobal de las Casas Vargas?

Yes

I think not having a middle name would get confusing when one is asked for a middle initial. For me, I don't attach a lot to middle names.

I see nothing wrong with middle names. I, however, am not as 'particular' about them as some people are. Some people want their child's middle names to have some sort of personal reference. My mom, for example, is like that. She gave all of us the same middle initial (which matched the first initial of her maiden name.) Very unnecessary, IMO. Other people will give a boy his fathers first name as his middle name.

Again, I'm not that particular.

My daughters middle name is Nicole. Why is that her middle name? Simply because we liked it. It isn't a family name or reference to anything else.

Chris wrote:My daughters middle name is Nicole. Why is that her middle name? Simply because we liked it. It isn't a family name or reference to anything else.

Ditto!

IMO middle names are necessary because it gives people more distinction. There are thousands of John Smith's in a city, but not every John Smith will have the same middle name (or initial). They add more originality to a persons identity.