Does The Middle Name Really Matter?

[wiveswithknives.livejournal.com]

I posted here once before with a list of possible names my husband and I liked. We've both settled on Micah for the first name. For years my husband has been talking about naming our potential child Zao. I thought he was joking, we both listen to a band named Zao. His insistence over the years has proved its not a joke. I decided to look up the meaning of the word and found out its used in Greek translations of the bible and means "alive". I like that. I don't like the way the word sounds. I could live with it if it was pronounced like "day-o" with a z... it's not. It's pronounced like z-ahhh-o. Micah Zao Clark just doesn't flow.

My question is... does it really matter? Even if his middle name was something normal like Andrew I wouldn't call him by his first + middle name anyway. Thinking about it, no one outside of my immediate family knows my middle name and I suspect it's that way for a lot of people. It just doesn't come up often. Would it be terrible if he had an ugly name with a nice meaning? Has anyone else here used a middle name that didn't flow with the first or last name just because it had a special meaning to them?

Comments

[lustdumpster.livejournal.com]

sometimes, middle names are put onto driving licenses, diplomas, credit cards, ect. so if you also hate the way it looks, that might be something to think about. i think it's nice that it has meaning for both of you, and even though it doesn't really flow very well, i don't think it's really a big deal. it's so rare that you hear someone called by all three of their names.

[mamasammy.livejournal.com]

I think you should go for Zao, and if you want to pronounce it Zay-oh, then pronounce it that way!

[ber-waves-of.livejournal.com]

My daughter's middle name is somewhat odd, yet it has a special meaning to our family. Her name is Juliette Bee. We chose Bee because her brother always said that I had a baby bumblebee in my tummy, and then we all started referring to her as Bee, and the name just stuck. :)

I think Zao is a perfectly acceptable middle name, and if you like the meaning - go for it! :)

[blue-raine.livejournal.com]

i think its a pretty combination. and it does flow. maybe not perfect, but its not bad. and you are right, i dont think the middle name is the most important thing (beside you have plan on using it like... geez only example comes into my mind is nicole kidman. her daughter is a sunday rose, and it sounds nice to me this way.) anyway, as i stated in another post, if you like the name, and the meaning is lovely, take it. its nothing to be ashamed off. i have a normal middle name and dont like it, but at some point a kid will always hate its name, or did you never found a name you thought youd love to wear? ;)

[sal_amanda]

I actually think it sounds fine together. But really, he won't likely ever need to tell anyone what it is if he doesn't want to. Even things like diplomas, credit cards, etc., you generally have the option of what you want to put on it. If anything, those things might mandate a middle initial, but not a middle name. And z is a really cool middle initial.

[la-jolie-vie.livejournal.com]

You can always give him two middle names and see if it helps with the flow.

[bandnerd88.livejournal.com]

I personally think that (just about) anything goes with regards to a middle name. And Micah Zao just looks so *neat* - and Zao has a nice meaning, as well. If it means a lot to your husband and you don't have any major objections to it, I would go with it. I love interesting middle names, actually. If nothing else, they make for a neat story. :D

[velkoria.livejournal.com]

same here... as long as it's not like Emily ÑSIGRBFVÑIDSJVB{DS'a then I'm good with middle names being a little wild!

[mykissmightkill.livejournal.com]

this might be a stupid question but do you pronounce Micah like Me-Kuh or My-kuh?

[wiveswithknives.livejournal.com]

My-kuh

[bluedano.livejournal.com]

My 2 year old's name is Micah and his middle name is James (after my grandfather) but for awhile I was dead set on giving him Mercer as a middle name because I was kind of obsessed with James Mercer from The Shins. I'm glad we went with a more "normal" (boring) middle name, but you're right... we don't use his middle name all that often and it wouldn't be that big a deal if we had gone with someone more unique. :P

[greyhowl.livejournal.com]

I'm all about having a fun, uncommon middle name! My boys' middle names are Grey & Howl!

I say go for it! Zao is very cool!