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Does anyone have a middle name?

(145 Posts)
polomint Sat 18-Jul-26 14:52:52

My grandaughter is going to have a baby soon and I presume he/ she will have a middle name. I hope so. It is one of my regrets that my husband did not want his daughter's to have a middle name as he thought it was only for " posh" people. I have a middle name and I am not posh I told him . I did however make sure our son had a middle name but I still regret our daughters didn't

Nanny6 Mon 20-Jul-26 14:56:19

All my generation and the next all have middle names. My mum, auntie and uncle didn't (born in 1920s). I have 6 grandchildren and they have unusual first and second names. I've had to write them down and all their birthdays on my phone!

Nannapat1 Mon 20-Jul-26 15:03:49

I have a middle name as did my mother and her siblings but my father didn't. My 3 now adult children all have 2 middle names.

Cazza1953 Mon 20-Jul-26 15:09:23

I have the same middle name as my mother and grandmother. My sister doesn’t have one and she was always annoyed about that when she was young.

1summer Mon 20-Jul-26 15:17:46

My middle name is the name I use, my first name can be abbreviated to a boys name which my brother did use and when I started school my Mum cut my hair very short (to avoid nits) and I was teased and called a boy as I had a boys name.
So my Mum went to the school and asked that I be called by my middle name.
It gets complicated as legally still have first name so at Doctors Hospital, hotels, airports etc often called by first name and people look at me oddly when I don’t respond quickly.

Knitter43 Mon 20-Jul-26 15:26:12

I don' t have a middle name myself ( neither did my parents) but as a keen family historian I do find it useful when there is a middle.name as it can confirm you are on the right track (especially if it's a bit unusual.) Also very helpful was the habit of giving a child the mother's surname as a middle name. This was very common in the late 1800s/ early 1900s.

TillyWhiz Mon 20-Jul-26 15:57:28

I have a middle name that I have loathed all my life and anyone who has heard it laughs. I have dropped it totally. It was my mother's middle name and she wanted it carried on through the generations - not a chance.
If you have to give a child a middle name then do choose something suitable that they can live with.

Shabti100 Mon 20-Jul-26 15:58:12

Yes I have a middle name ... Frances (ugh) and Theresa as my confirmation name

BrightandBreezy Mon 20-Jul-26 16:07:48

I was born in 1952 and don't have a middle name. My two younger brothers both have second names. When I asked ..why did I not have a middle name like my brother's ..my mother's reply was and I quote I didn't think it was necessary for a girls'. Why on earth?? Literally all of my school friends of the same age have middle names. How to make you feel less important than your brother's! 😱

BrightandBreezy Mon 20-Jul-26 16:08:50

Excuse typos. Clumsy fingers 😁

grandMattie Mon 20-Jul-26 16:18:09

I have two middle name; I loathe the first and like the second. I disliked my first name but have grown into it, no foreshortening, thank you.
My two elder children have one middle name, the last had two.
In the French (and possibly catholic) fashion, one uses one last name (not surname) as the main one, e.g. my aunt, Denise Suzanne, was always known as Suzanne, etc.

WithNobsOnIt Mon 20-Jul-26 16:20:32

Back in the day. Everybody l knew, including myself ha a middle name.

Never heard of it as being referred as posh.

A lot of Roman Catholics , had a middle name, a Saints name. and aconfirmation name.

coast35 Mon 20-Jul-26 16:52:11

Both my grandmothers had the same name. My Mum swore that wasn’t why she gave me it as a middle name but I hae ma doots! It’s Elizabeth. Until quite recently I didn’t like it but now I suddenly do! I suspect I was called after the then Princess Elizabeth who of course became Queen Elizabeth the second.

Hemgranot Mon 20-Jul-26 17:19:25

I have a very boring middle name. I’m envious of my sisters who have lovely ones. My Mum’s is her Mum’s maiden name. My Dad had two middle names and his Dad had three!

Estrellita Mon 20-Jul-26 17:19:45

My middle name is Deirdre. My father's choice as he was half Irish. I used to hate it but it has grown on me

Hemgranot Mon 20-Jul-26 17:20:35

Additionally - I’ve been accused of being g posh before but never because I have a middle name.

Estrellita Mon 20-Jul-26 17:21:53

That isn't fair. I have one middle name but my brother has three.

MissAdventure Mon 20-Jul-26 17:35:01

I find ot strange that children from the same family have such variation in their names.

I'm sure I'd have to make it an equal amount of middle names per child.

Estrellita Mon 20-Jul-26 17:36:05

I don't use my confirmation name either. Is it legitimate?

mrsgreenfingers56 Mon 20-Jul-26 17:38:59

Yes, I have one and both my siblings.

I know a lot of people who actually use their middle name all the time as their first name and for documents has to be their first name. My friend who always known as Jan is actually Barbara so has to sign legal docs as Barbara Jan with her surname.

Foxyferret Mon 20-Jul-26 18:42:06

I have a middle name which was my mother’s Christian name. My sister has two middle names as my parents liked all of them and couldn’t decide. My late sisters middle name was Margaret as my dad liked Princess Margaret.

kittylester Mon 20-Jul-26 18:44:17

MissAdventure

I find ot strange that children from the same family have such variation in their names.

I'm sure I'd have to make it an equal amount of middle names per child.

Well, my mum preferred her sons.

NLnanna Mon 20-Jul-26 19:01:54

I have a middle name, Marian. I was born in 1954, which was a 'Marian' year in the catholic faith.

FranP Mon 20-Jul-26 19:24:36

I have three. Godmother and 2 maiden great aunts that did not marry. If you cannot decide give them all.

I believe in giving children options, but was furious when DH went and registered our daughter before we had finished even discussing names and only gave her the one before I got out of hospital.

MissAdventure Mon 20-Jul-26 19:37:20

Is that a tongue in cheek comment, Kitty, or do you feel the name business was a way to show favouritism by your mum?

grannybuy Mon 20-Jul-26 23:05:16

I have no middle name, but I was envious of the many in my class who did. When signing a form related to sitting the eleven plus, I added a fictitious middle name - Jane. As this didn’t correspond with my name on the school register, my parents were asked to clarify the situation!