(no subject)

[wykd-faerie.livejournal.com]

My boyfriend and I were having a "future children" discussion this weekend and we talked about a few things.

I really would love a little boy, but I'd be happy with either of course. and he doesn't really have a preference.

We both like Owen or Jordan for a boy, but when that time comes I'm sure we'll have more names. We haven't really agreed so much on girl names. He doesn't DISLIKE the names I like, but he says that he just has no feeling either way about them.
I like: Mandalyn, Autumn, Layla, Serenity (a name he brought up but is not sure he wants to name his child that), and Ayla (ay-la, not eye-la as i've seen).

we also discussed the middle name situation. He has no middle name (he's spanish), and I do. We decided that if we come up with something awesome, we'll use it, but if not, no middle name is cool too. How do you all feel about the importance of having a middle name?

Comments

[arbus.livejournal.com]

my boy doesnt have a middle name either, and doesnt really feel either way about it. personally, we will use middle names for our children, as we have two very special people to honor with them who died recently (my mother, his father). apparently his grandfather didnt have a middle name, and that was a way of passing something down to my boy, so thats what his parents did. he invented a middle name for himself when he was a pre-teen, but it was just a phase and only lasted through his teens. it doesnt bother him now.

[jenniferdunn.livejournal.com]

Owen is the boy name we have picked out =)

And I really like Autumn.

Owen & Autumn sound kind of nice together =)

[lkw18.livejournal.com]

with the exception of a namesake or a name that is just really important to someone, i find middle names to be kind of superfluous. i mean i'll probably give my kid one, but it'll probably be either my mom's name or my spouse's mom's name. i won't spend too much time worrying about it when it reality how often am i, or the child, going to say the full name? [except people who choose to go by their first and middle, or switch to their middle name..]

[sageharper.livejournal.com]

Never really occured to me not to use middle names, it's just a cultural thing I guess. That and I get two names for the price of one :)

Do think they are important considering my naming style. Tend to love really unusual names, but pair them with more classic middle names so my future children will have both options. Most of the middle names on my list are family names, so can honour without there being confusion.
Also my own first name [Sage] is unisex, but with a clearly gendered middle name [Elise]. Definetly appreciate that, don't have any hangups per se but wouldn't really want people thinking I was a guy.

[lovablemess.livejournal.com]

Isn't ay-la and eye-la the same pronounciation?

[whisperthewords.livejournal.com]

If you don't have a middle name, how do you gage how mad at you your mom or dad is?!?

[ouronlylight.livejournal.com]

AY-la is pronounced with a long A, I believe, while EYE-la is pronounced with a long I.

[a-purple-dream.livejournal.com]

I don't think they are important, to me anyways. But it's something I prefer in case the child doesn't like his/her first name or wants to be known by another name.

My family is Spanish (actually Mexican) but a good amount of my cousins and sisters have middle names.

[elemmennope.livejournal.com]

For the most part I don't think it's a big deal no not have one, but they are kind of fun. My best childhood friend didn't have one because her parents believed her last name would become her middle name when she married. Which is all fine and good, but many women these days don't choose to change their name etc etc so I don't think that's an assumption that should be made. Anyway, she often felt kind of left out, not having one like all the other girls.

Guys seem to care less about having a mn or not, I don't know why that is.

I *do* however, think middle names are very important if the child's last name is common and *especially* if their first AND last names are common. Mix-ups with identity can be a huge issue. People get collection agencies after them, paychecks put in wrong bank accounts, the wrong medical charts at the doctor... any number of mix-ups!

My first name is Jennifer so obviously that's popular. My last name isn't like Smith or Jones or something, but it's common enough that at my university there were seven women (out of like 15,000 students) with the same fn/ln combo. (And thank god I wasn't a Jennifer Ann or Jennifer Lynn because even their middle names weren't helping them!)

[frenchnails.livejournal.com]

My children's last names are for family members, so that's why we have them. And because they have something to fall back on if they hate their first name when they're older.

My middle name is Jodi... I don't think it goes with my first name >.< May Jodi. I mean wtf, Mum & Dad? I got two uncommon names! My husband's is David James, so common. I ended up with my complete opposite for a husband xD

I don't reckon middle names are important, I know loads of mothers who didn't give their kids middle names.

[frenchnails.livejournal.com]

Er... I need to think before I type. That first line should read 'my children's MIDDLE names' not last names *headdesk* Great typing, May!

[krosp.livejournal.com]

Mandalyn really sounds too much like mandolin (the instrument) for my liking.

I think that your idea is good - if you pick a name and can think of a great middle name then awesome, use it... but if you pick a name and are having that "oh no what middle name can possibly go with this?" kind of moment, then you can not have one, and it will be fine.

[last-summer.livejournal.com]

I'd say it's like A (the letter)-la. And then the other would be like I (the letter)-la.

[lovablemess.livejournal.com]

That's what I figured. Except that I'm pretty sure when typed out, the sound "ay" makes the same sound as "eye". But maybe that's just how I interpret the words. Haha.

[quiet-recluse.livejournal.com]

If I ever had a child I would want them to have a middle name because my family has a tradition of having at least one middle name, and it wouldn't occur to me to just give the kid one name.

[ladyofmoonlight.livejournal.com]

I've heard that in many places middle names are mandatory. I'm in North Carolina and I don't know about the rules now, but I know a lot of people in their early twenties who only have a middle initial (a lot of J's a few K's) because their parents didn't want to give them a middle name but it was required for their social security card and numerous other things they needed to fill out.

I love the idea of middle names, just because if they end up hating their first name they can always go by their middle name. That and it lets me pick out more names. :)

[dancing-crazy.livejournal.com]

Owen is an AMAZING name in my opinion. I love it.

I think having a middle name isn't that important, in the sense of traditional importance. But I do think it's lots of fun. I don't (officially) have a middle name and I've ALWAYS wanted one. I think it adds quite a bit and gives you an option to get a little more wild and creative. It also makes a person's name more unique. It's another little bit to call your own, IMO, so I plan on giving all my kids middle names. =)

[dancing-crazy.livejournal.com]

No, I was thinking the same thing, haha.

[bellisima87.livejournal.com]

I come from Germany and over here many people do NOT have a middle name just like me.
But ever since I realized that some people have middle names I wanted to have one as well.
So please, give your baby a middle name. She/he can use it or not but in case that she/he wants to use it she/he at least have the possibility.

[wykd-faerie.livejournal.com]

i think it's the "nn" sound, but it does go well together! ^_^

[wykd-faerie.livejournal.com]

lmao! my mom used to just say my first and my last name when she was mad. my dad would say my first and middle, which he does for my half brother and half sister too.

[wykd-faerie.livejournal.com]

i do know about this issue. My best friend's little sister has the name Melyssa Silva. They went to the doctors once and there was another girl about the same age with same name (same spelling and all) and there was a new nurse and she confused the charts. She came in dicussing medication for some disease and totally freaked out my friend and her sister.

[wykd-faerie.livejournal.com]

lol it's cool. i understood what you meant. ^_^

[wykd-faerie.livejournal.com]

actually Mandalyn is mandolin. like the little guitar. I love the sound of it. "lyn" is after my middle name.

and thanks, I thought it was a sensible idea. I mean i know so many people are like, "OH NO! I have NO IDEA what middle name to use! everything sounds awful!" and there's no need to freak out.

[wykd-faerie.livejournal.com]

aww thanks, i really like owen too. I have since I was little and watched Party of Five.


Well I always had it in my head that my kids would have middle names, never occured to me that they wouldn't, but then I met my boyfriend and I would now be ok if they didn't have a middle name.

[wykd-faerie.livejournal.com]

thanks everyone for there opinions!

It's interesting to see how different everyone feels about middle names.

and it IS a-la, not i-la/eye-la. when i see ay, i think a, and don't see it as eye unless it's aye, like pirate speak haha.

[smasharash.livejournal.com]

My middle name is important to me as it's the same as my mums middle name. I like having that little connection with her. Also, it can be an alternative name if your child decides they would prefer to use their middle name.

[dancing-crazy.livejournal.com]

of course it'd be okay. I think in the long run it's not that important at all, just fun. Maybe it's just the name lover in me. Secretly I want to give all my kids like 8 names each, just 'cause there are so many nice ones!

[krazyhippie.livejournal.com]

Depends how unique your name is. My name is really, really common, both first and last, so I feel like I need my middle name to distinguish me from the other 8 million blank blanks, even though I hate my mn lol.

[trissyd.livejournal.com]

my middle name is my mom's too. I also love it.

[anapology.livejournal.com]

Mandalyn is awful, sorry.
Autumn is pretty though.

I hink having a middle name is important, usually because it has family significance, but it also gives the child an option to use either name... and the parents the oppertunity to sound mad..."Sophy Mary-Kate get down here!!"
Although i'll admit, i have a stuuuupid middle name, it's always a talking point i suppose!

[anapology.livejournal.com]

My friend hated not having a middle name so much she invented one for herself too. We all assumed it was her given name until we went on holiday & saw her passport.
Haylie May Slade was outed as plain old Haylie Slade!

[anapology.livejournal.com]

Oh you went for Elise in the end. Yay i love that!

[cathkitten.livejournal.com]

Owen is cool, and Jordan is not too bad but for a boy it always makes me think of Michael Jordan and the mid-1990s. I like it much better for a girl; it reminds me of the character in the Great Gatsby.

I like: Mandalyn, Autumn, Layla, Serenity (a name he brought up but is not sure he wants to name his child that), and Ayla (ay-la, not eye-la as i've seen).

Mandolin is an instrument.

Autumn and Layla sound like stripper names to me, honestly. And Serenity reminds me of Serenity Now! or the TV show firefly. Why not Serena if you like the name Serenity? It has the same meaning and your child won't get teazed its whole life.

[electracide.livejournal.com]

I agree with the above comment --

If it sounds like a stripper name -- STAY AWAY.

Also, many names work fine in English but are horrible in other languages. For example; I was living in Greece for awhile (we're not Greek, I was there for school) when my cousin here in the States gave birth. She wanted to name the baby Skylar or Skyla, which (while stripper-y) is a pretty normal name...

But in Greek it literally means a female dog, and "whore" or worse in slang.

Needless to say several international phone calls were placed to pursuade her otherwise.

Re: your post --

Owen is precious.

Jordan always makes me think of New Kids on the Block ;)

Out of your girl picks Layla is the only one I like. The rest sound trashy.

Have you considered any Spanish names? I'm Latina, and plan on giving all my children Spanish names. They're so beautiful, and 9 times out of 10 translate well to other languages.

[sageharper.livejournal.com]

I did yes :)
Ah thanks

[wykd-faerie.livejournal.com]

see, i would never do this. My best friend's middle name is her mom's first name and she can't stand it becuase a)it's a pretty yucky name and b)she can't stand her mother. i could never do that to my kid, not that i would be a bad mom (her mom is AWFUL!), but my kid might feel differently.

[wykd-faerie.livejournal.com]

thanks for your opinions.

i never thought of autumn and layla as stripper names and I've never emt met someone who did either. But thanks for the thought. ^_^

Serena is just AWFUL to me. I've NEVER been a fan. Serenity is so much prettier! People have made reference to the Serenity Now! stuff before, but other than this community, i've never heard of it, so i don't have that connotation. lol.

[wykd-faerie.livejournal.com]

See the above commenter is the only person I've ever heard of that thought those names sounded stripper-like, so I don't agree.

Altough my boyfriend is spanish, I would feel weird using names that were obviously spanish becuase I'm not. I don't know why it would bother me exactly, especially because on sight everyone assumes I'm spanish (dark hair/eyes, big butt), but it would. lol.

[darabelle.livejournal.com]

This may not be relevant in your situation, but... I have a middle name while my sister does not, and now that she's getting married (I know, this is way in the future for your [future] children) it works out nicely because she's using our last name as her middle name so that she can take on her fiance's last name while retaining her own last name as well. Since we're the last people in our family with the name and since we're both girls, it's really important for her that the name not just die out.

Just something interesting to think about. =D