About why people use middle names...?

Question

I am seeing several answers on here, including someone who gave a very rude answer on one of my questions about the name of my daughter. They are apparently not understanding why people are using 2 names and have never heard of a middle names before. Its been common for years, so I dont know where they are from, but just so that they know, MIddle or 2 names are given to a baby for many reasons. The middle name is normally not used, but its nice to have. For example if you name your daughter Jennifer Anne, then that doesnt mean you are going to call her Jennifer Anne. You will just call her Jennifer. Its nice to be able to give your child a name of a relative and another name with some other meaning to you also. I was told the "double name" I chose was good for a dog or a cat..lol, I mean come on..The names that I had chosen were brooke, Madelyn, rose, etc...I dont think those are dog names. I was told to think a little. Maybe one of those is my moms name.

Just so they know 2 names or middle names are common especially in the US, maybe not in some countries, but here they are. If you dont want a middle name that is fine also. No question here really, just as comment and you can comment on it if you like...

lol, yes it is good for using when your kid is in trouble..:)

Answer 1

I was born and i grew up in Germany. It is not common to have a middle name over there. If you do, ju're considered "different".
Anyway, when i came to the States and learned about the middle names i thought it was such a great thing to do.
I don't have a middle name, never have, never will. So we've decided to dedicate our daughter's middle name to my grandmother who died when i was very young.
Hailey Elisabeth
We picked Kaden James for a boys name. Though that middle name has no meaning, we just really like both names equally :)

I'm not pregnant yet, but we're trying :)

Answer 2

When the Holocaust was around, many people, Jews mostly, were afraid that their children would be found that they were jewish. So, many parents gave their children middle names that could be made into last names.
An example would be: David Smith Goldberg. The child could drop their real last name and live with Smith, a nice last name and not jewish.
Also, if a child does not like it's first name, they can always change their first name to their middle name and vice-versa.
I hoped that answered your question.
Also, I like the name Madelyn Rose together. Sounds very pretty.

Answer 3

Middle names are sometimes a way of not confusing people. Like for instance, My son married a girl with the first name the same as his sister. So as you can see their names became exactly the same when my daughter in law took my son's surname in marriage. If it wasn't for the difference in middle names it would be very confusing as to whom the right mail is given and the right gifts at Christmas etc.

Answer 4

why wouldn't you give your kid a middle name? And in the south, to be called a double name is HIGHLY common, ex- Jenna Leigh, Sarah Beth, Mary elizabeth, Mary Kate....etc rock on! I'm not really into naming your kid with like 4 or 5 names tho...far more trouble for the child and I think that you just gotta make up your mind at some point...

Answer 5

Nothing wrong with middle names and the ones you choose are fine. I didn't once think of a dog, ignore the negative feedback about it.
Middle names are good also to tell people apart when the happen to have the same first and last name. Since we don't know everyone's SSN the middle name comes in handy.

Answer 6

Years and years ago, when names meant something, the middle name was represented as the mother's family name, while the last name, of course, was the father's family name. Therefore, if Mary Dinklehoffer married John Piddlepooper, their son Peter's name would be Peter Dinklehoffer Piddlepooper. But all of that went out in the 40's and 50's.
The current purpose of the middle name is to know when Mom is really angry with you. Normally she would call you Jennifer, but when she says, "Jennifer Anne", then you know that you are in deep doo doo.

Answer 7

I was taught that way, way back in the day people would have a first middle and last name. Last name being the family name. The first name was known only to relatives and the middle name was what everyone else called them. I like the name Rose. My daughter's name is Cordelia Faye. Noone likes it but I don't care, it fits her perfectly.

Answer 8

I honestly thought until just recently that everyone had a middle name--I think it makes you more individual, more unique--for instance, my husband's name is Daniel Johnson, but his parents gave him two middle names, which make his whole name sound so handsome and unique. I have one middle name, but we are carrying on the tradition from his family of having two middle names--I think it's beautiful.

But it's really just the decision of each particular family. No one should make someone else feel bad for what they want to name their child--unless, of course, someone was planning on naming their child something profane or something equally abusive...In which case the parents should be strongly advised otherwise.

Name your kids what you like. I'm sure they'll love it, just growing up with it. And other people's opinions don't really matter.

Answer 9

I'm like you, middle names are perfectly normal to give your child or children. And the names Brooke, Madelyn, and Rose are beautiful names. I've never encountered a pet with any of those names. Now, Fido, Spot, Rufus...I could see those being mistaken for pet names...lol.

Answer 10

My children are called Emily Rae Houston and Aidan Andrew Houston. I picked these names because I think they have a good ring to them. I like the names and how they sound together, so that is why I picked them. We only use their first names but when they're old enough they can choose their middle name if they prefer. They are not named after us or anyone we know so, JP, my choice to have two names was not egotistical!!