Does everyone have/choose a middle name for their children?

[Anonymous]

I am not from this country and although some people do have "middle" names in my country (they are called second name), it is not the "norm" like it seems to be here (at least, is the impression I am getting from all these posts?!).

The names I chose do not "ask" or flow well with a second or middle name, but I don't want my child to feel slighted. Would that be a problem?

Also, do people here put the mother's last name on their children as well? That is what I am used to and is what I would like: Given name + Mother's family name (maiden name?) + Father's family name.

tia.

[Anonymous]

I think it's fairly common to use a mother's family name as a middle name.

[Anonymous]

Will the child's legal name be MLN-FLN or just Father's Last Name? If the latter, than the Mother's Last Name becomes the child's middle name. That is, if Jane Doe marries John Smith, is their daughter Jill Doe-Smith (last name) or Jill Doe Smith (middle name).

And while middle names in this country are probably more common than not, they aren't a requirement. I know a few different people (including my own mother) who don't have a given middle name.

[Anonymous]

My father and my husband don't have middle names (both born in the U.S.). But when my husband worked for the government, they gave him a middle initial of "N" (for his ID, etc.) , which we guessed was for "none" or "no middle name." We found it kind of funny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Will the child's legal name be MLN-FLN or just Father's Last Name? If the latter, than the Mother's Last Name becomes the child's middle name. That is, if Jane Doe marries John Smith, is their daughter Jill Doe-Smith (last name) or Jill Doe Smith (middle name).

And while middle names in this country are probably more common than not, they aren't a requirement. I know a few different people (including my own mother) who don't have a given middle name.

OP here: What I am used to and was thinking on naming my child would b e the second option: Jill Doe Smith. But the "doe" is clearly a family name and not something like "Rose", "Mary", "Katherine" etc... (what I see people here usually choosing as their middle name)

[Anonymous]

I know plenty of people who have done what you are suggesting, and the mother's maiden name is not a "regular" name, but is very clearly a last name. I think it's a nice way to celebrate the family of origin of both parents.

[Anonymous]

I know a ton of kids with the John Doe Smith model. Not unusual at all.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't take the posts here as evidence of what is common. If you're going to go with Jane Doe Smith, there is nothing to post about - the names are the names. You only post if you're thinking of using a "first name" as the "middle name", because then the choices are endless.

[Anonymous]

OP ~ what you are thinking about is quite common. I'm Midwestern but have heard it is actually a tradition in the Deep South. We're actually contemplating a family surname as our child's middle name when she is born. Don't think twice about it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Will the child's legal name be MLN-FLN or just Father's Last Name? If the latter, than the Mother's Last Name becomes the child's middle name. That is, if Jane Doe marries John Smith, is their daughter Jill Doe-Smith (last name) or Jill Doe Smith (middle name).

And while middle names in this country are probably more common than not, they aren't a requirement. I know a few different people (including my own mother) who don't have a given middle name.

OP here: What I am used to and was thinking on naming my child would b e the second option: Jill Doe Smith. But the "doe" is clearly a family name and not something like "Rose", "Mary", "Katherine" etc... (what I see people here usually choosing as their middle name)

This is exactly what we did with all three of my children. They carry my maiden name as their middle names. That name is not an everyday usage name, but it means something to me and my family of origin.

And for what it's worth, I grew up with no middle name at all. Just first name, last name. I was always kind of envious of my friends who had a middle initial.

[Anonymous]

My cultural tradition is to use a family last name as a middle name, so my middle name is my mother's original surname, and my brother's middle name is his great-grandmother's original surname. We plan to carry on this tradition and use whichever parent's last name the baby doesn't get as the middle name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My father and my husband don't have middle names (both born in the U.S.). But when my husband worked for the government, they gave him a middle initial of "N" (for his ID, etc.) , which we guessed was for "none" or "no middle name." We found it kind of funny.

My husband and his siblings do not have middle names either, also born here. So not everyone does. When he was getting financial aid, they insisted on assigning him a middle initial -- X. Which we also found funny.

[Anonymous]

I did not get an official middle name until I was about 7 when my maternal grandmother died. I then got her name as my middle name. My mother's family is Jewish, so I know my mother wanted me to have her name as a middle name but not while she was alive. I don't think it was a big deal, but this happened in the days before 9/11 and homeland security issues. I guess now you might need to get a new birth certificate to add a middle name?