Boring filler middle names

[lipsty.livejournal.com]

It probably shouldn't bother me, but I'm getting very bored of filler middle names. Three of my friends in the last few months have given their daughters the middle name Grace. Nothing wrong with it, except that it's getting very dull! I know that there have always been filler middle names, I have one myself (Ann, though it's also a bit of a family middle name as my mum and grandma have it, too), and it's absolutely nothing to do with me, but I thought I'd rant on here so that I can be all smiles to their faces!

Comments

[pirahan.livejournal.com]

My middle name is Nicole. I feel the same! It is so common. And the reason they're family names is BECAUSE they're so common! Or the other way around.

[becomingun.livejournal.com]

Anne is one of my two middle names(the other is Christine for my dad's elder sister), but I'm named after my great aunt Nan who died two days before I was born. I guess it depends on why you're giving the kid that name, but yeah I hate when people give their kids a generic middle name just because they feel like they need one.

[ma-ee-uh.livejournal.com]

As someone with the standard-issue* middle name Lynn, I agree.

* in the '70s, at least

[imamaryanne.livejournal.com]

I graduated high school (1995) with four Jennifer Lynns. Very 70s!

[hermione-vader.livejournal.com]

I was boring in 1989, and "Lynn" was super-common for my classmates, too. "Marie" was another one, and so was "Lee."

[sarahk-2009.livejournal.com]

Omgosh I'm having this issue while trying to come up with a middle name for my bb. We're due in Jan and we're not finding out the sex, so 50 50 chance we won't need a girl's middle name picked out, but her first name will be Elizabeth. We cannot for the life of us come up with a unique (not uneek) middle name. My first name is Sarah (obviously) and my middle name is Ann, it is also my mother's name and 3 of my grandma's middle names, my mil middle name and just all around over used. My mother and sister share the middle name Marie. So I TOTALLY know where you're coming from here.

I've thought about going with Elizabeth ____-Ann (so it's unique, but still a family name), but nothing seems to really catch my interest. Or work. Lee, Lynn, Jo, ect are still so... generic.

Grrr. Maybe I should just post this? lol ;)

WDYT?

[lipsty.livejournal.com]

I think that two middle names is perfectly acceptable, so you can keep Ann in there and also have something a bit different.

[sarahk-2009.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Just gotta figure out the 'first' middle name then.. :)

[sparklymoon.livejournal.com]

Or you could go with Anabelle, Analeigh, Anastasia, something Ann-ish

[sarahk-2009.livejournal.com]

Good thinking! :)

[sarahk-2009.livejournal.com]

Maybe! I'll add it to the list :)

[amori-maris.livejournal.com]

My best friend gave her baby girl the middle name Annabella. Her middle name is Anna, which is also her mom's given name, so Annabella honours the family name but avoids being a filler name.

[silvermidnight.livejournal.com]

I agree! Most of my friends have the middle name Lynn, Marie or Michelle. I think the new filler middle names are Rose, Grace and Kate.

[earn-my-wings.livejournal.com]

My middle name is Rose (after my great grandmother) and growing up, no one ever had that middle name, so even though it's becoming popular now, I personally don't feel like it's a filler, but that's probably just because I was lucky enough to grow up in a generation (or at least those in my region) where it wasn't thrown around much.

[theljfromheck.livejournal.com]

I use family names as middle names but some people think they're just filler names. Michael, Rebecca and James are the names. I never even heard of "filler names" until I joined this group, I don't think I noticed them either. Haha

[sodivided.livejournal.com]

As someone with the classic British 80s middle name of Louise, I sympathise! Think about half my class at school had it.

ps just looked at your profile and we have a lot of real-life mutual friends. How odd!

[lipsty.livejournal.com]

That is odd! Did you go to Southampton Uni? My husband did, so that's where I know those guys from.

[sodivided.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes, I did! I went out with Bob years and years ago, which is how I know the rest of them. Small world!

[w00t-baby.livejournal.com]

For my baby I am using the name Ann. Which is a family middle name. But I'm changing it up! The middle name for baby baby if it's a girl will either be Anneliese or Annabel. :) that way I keep the Ann. But it's not so dreadfully boring.

[zeldabel.livejournal.com]

I LOVE Anneliese and Annabel! Those are seriously gorgeous names. :-)

[rubberducky1467.livejournal.com]

I feel you. All of the Brittany's (and the varient spellings) that I know have the middle name Lynn, yay 80s America. Come to think of it, my English roommate's middle name is Louise and she was born in '86. You don't often see that in America so I quite like it.

[smeebubbles.livejournal.com]

Oh, I hear you! Every 2nd baby seems to have either Grace or Rose as their middle name. Between the 19th and 23rd of September this year, I knew of 3 baby girls being born - Isabel Grace, Isabella Grace and Isobel Grace.

My middle name was Jane, which was one of the filler names of my generation (born late 80s in England). It was chosen after my mother, but still, they paired it with a ridiculously common first name which doesn't help.

I actually think our planned middle name (if bub is a girl) sounds a bit "filler-ish" - it's Rachel - but we chose it because I wanted a biblical name in all of our kids' names.

[sparklymoon.livejournal.com]

My middle name is Rachel (and my first name is Sara, talk about Biblical! lol) but I don't think of it as filler. It's much less common, and much more interesting, than Ann/e, Lynn, Grace, Rose, Mary, Lee/Leigh etc...

[hermione-vader.livejournal.com]

Hey, my middle name is Grace and I love it! My first name is Mary and I think that part is boring. I'm actually glad that Grace is finally getting used after being one of about three kids who went by "(Mary) Grace" throughout childhood.

My sister's middle name is Ellen. Is that boring?

What constitutes an "interesting" middle name for you?

[nobodynomore.livejournal.com]

I love the name Grace. In my comment I said I wanted to use it for my daughter's first name, but my husband didn't like it for a first name, so we used it for a middle name. Not a filler name in MY book.

[eveyalecia.livejournal.com]

I don't consider Grace as a filler name at all. I think it's lovely! It has become very common as a middle name but I think that's just because that many people love it! Names like Ann, Lynn, Leigh, etc. are so often used purposely as a filler name, and that is what I dislike.

I understand, though, that it would be frustrating to have one of those uber-common middle names. Marie was definitely the filler middle name for my generation-- half of my friends have that as their middle name, and I would have hated it if mine had been Marie! I always loved that my middle name (Valecia) was unique; a combination of my grandmothers' names (Valeda and Patricia).

[tiffanytee.livejournal.com]

The reason people picked Lynn, Leigh, Marie, and Ann is NOT as filler for lack of creativity. They are gorgeous names that really go well with first names. Just like Grace and Rose do. So I think it is stupid for anyone to believe people choose them just as "fillers".

Parents want names that roll off the tongue and sound good together. Not something that is awkward or hard to say together. Also many of these middle names are family names too. It is not just filler. They are well loved names because they are beautiful names so they get chosen.

Just as you said Grace is common because many people love it, the same can be said for Marie, Lynn, and Ann. And Marie is a lovely elegant name. I'd rather have a middle name that I could be called as my first name rather than one no one has ever heard of or that is too funky. I always felt bad for friends who had weird middle names that you could never use easily as a first name. Like my friend Tanya who's middle name was Divanetta.

[nobodynomore.livejournal.com]

I have a "filler" middle name, and so does my husband (Michelle & John). We gave our daughter a "filler" middle name, Grace. But, I had wanted to use it for her first name, and my husband didn't like it. So I don't really consider it a "filler" name at all. At least not in my personal situation.

But I also don't really care if people use them. Some people don't have lists and lists of names they like.

[compulsivelyme.livejournal.com]

We have four generations of Graces in our family, so we don't consider it "filler." If we have another daughter her middle name will be Grace, or another family name: Marie, Louise, or Jane.

I don't consider middle names particularly interesting because most people don't use them and most of the people I know use family names as middles anyway. Family names tend to the boring as far as I can see.

[annika-j.livejournal.com]

In the UK, if you speak to a woman born mid-seventies to mid-eighties you can almost bank on her middle name being Louise.

My Middle name is Beth, which is relatively fillerish, if not that common.

[sparklymoon.livejournal.com]

LOL my cousin Louise was born in Sussex in 1983. She was followed by sister Sarah-Jane (I feel like that is also a typical British name) and a brother, Benjamin.

welcome

[zaiye.livejournal.com]

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[tiffanytee.livejournal.com]

People are choosing these middle names because they are beautiful and work so well with other names preceding the. Apparently most everyone thinks so, and so that is why they are this popular. They are also picking them because many of these lovely names ARE family names because many generations have loved them.

They are not "filler".

Unless you are saying most people don't spend any time thinking about names and just willy nilly say lets add "ann, grace, rose, or lee" because we can't think of any other of the millions of names out there and just want to get the name pickin' over with.

[lipsty.livejournal.com]

I don't deny that they are pretty names that flow nicely with other names, and this is probably why they are chosen a lot. I do maintain, though, that it shows a lack of imagination. Not everyone gets as excited about names as we do on this community, of course, and if they want a solid, normal name for their child, it's entirely their choice. Personally, though, I think that there are thousands of beautiful names out there and it's a shame to stick to a few common favourites.

Of course, there are plenty of reasons for choosing what I'd deem a "filler" middle name. An unusual first name can warrant a more common middle name, or some parents might just want their child to fit in. All perfectly valid, just not my personal preference.

[tiffanytee.livejournal.com]

You forget that back when most of us who fall into the Marie/Ann?lee category were named there was no internet. Most of our parents did NOT know these were becoming common names. I know my sister and I both got first and middle names that our parents had never heard or known anyone having and both of us ended up with popular names (at least we were not Jennifer or Jessica popular, but still). It wasn't for a lack of creativity or imagination. They really didn't know anyone with our names and had no way of searching the trends, and our middle names were not at all common then either. They were old but beautiful great grandma era names that sounded perfect as middle names.

[ealexsism.livejournal.com]

ia with this actually... I am trying to determine middle names for my child (pregnant now), and while I worried about the first name being too common or your term "filller", I was happy that the middle name can be anything I want-- the kid won't suffer from having a very common name, and it allows me to use something I love and I wish wasn't so dang popular. I'm considering Violet as a middl, idk if that's "filler" at all but I know it is trendy right now. The other option (for a girl) is Louise, which someone mentioned above.

[rubberducky1467.livejournal.com]

I feel you. My middle name is Lynn. All of the Brittaney/Brittany/Brittani's I know have the same middle name. I, however, am named after my great-aunt Lynn, but still.

I would never give a child a filler name. Both Grace and Lynn appear on my dad's side, but I probably wouldn't use them again. My 13yo cousin Katherine's middle name is Grace. My great-grandmother was Grace Beatrice, which I like and my aunt Lynn's given name was Helen Rosalyn.