Oliver and other things

[starcrossed.livejournal.com]

A friend just had a baby who she named Oliver. Another friend of mine also named her son Oliver in August. WDTY? I like the name enough but I don't think I'd be sold in calling my own son this. The meaning is also unclear: I've heard it means 'elf army' but then I also heard it means 'olive branch' and 'kind and affectionate' also.

The Oliver that was born a few weeks back also has no middle name. I also have no middle name. Neither does my sister or my uncle. My parents 'didn't see the point.' My aunt also has no middle name, though her brother does. Do you think middle names are nice, neccessary, would you consider not giving your child a middle name?

The Oliver born in August, alternate name was Owen. She knew she was having a boy.

The more-recent Oliver, everyone was expecting to be a girl. Mom and Dad had picked out Amelia, Sophie or Megan for a girl but didn't have a boys name. They considered Archie or Alfie but didn't like those in the end. I can't believe they didn't really pick a name before he was born. Though I did have a friend who didn't have a name for a month because her parents couldn't agree which grandfather to name her after (Either Georgina Marie for George and Marie or Francesca Marguerite for Francis, her parents went with Georgina. They then went on to have a son called Francis, the third generation boy in the family with that name.)

Comments

[nothingtolose19.livejournal.com]

Oliver is a nice name, but I think I'm with you in that I don't think I like it enough to name my own son this. It's nice enough, though.

I would definitely give my kids a middle name! One reason is that I simply love too many names to not use them ;) but seriously. I think middle names definitely are good, say, for a person who really does not like their first name. I mean, I know there is legally changing your name and things like that, but I knew a few people in my school who went by their middles rather than their first.

I love the name Francesca! I think it's so pretty!

[sparklymoon.livejournal.com]

I actually know 2 people who were considering Oliver and Hugo as first names (ok, one was for a cat). My coworker went with Hugo Olivier for her son (they're French) and my friend went with Oliver for her cat. I think I like the girl variants better but that's just my personal taste - Oliver is a fine name. I think it comes from Alfihar which means "elf army" but clearly the Olive part is so obvious that it would make more sense in English and French to mean olive tree/brach (in French Olivier is olive tree, I think).

I like Owen quite a bit; I don't feel it's that common and it has a nice look and ring to it.

Everyone in my family has a middle name, and I find it weird when people don't (and I usually give them one, like I call my middle-less friend Niki Athena, and my middle-less coworker Rosanne Giuseppina). I guess it's sort of a cultural thing - I've noticed that Italians rarely have middle names, and a lot of French people prefer to give double first names (jean-something, marie-something, etc...) but also have confirmation names (my friend goes by her confirmation name, Nancy, as opposed to her first name, which is Marie-Noella after her godmother). I think middle names are typically used to either honour family, or to give a name that they love but would not feel right using as a first name (my friend Kimberley has Dorothy after her grandmother and Bridget because her mom loved Brigitte Bardot but didn't think it was good as a first name). Personally, I have names picked out as middles for my family, like Margaret for my great aunt Marguerite and my grandmother Rita) and Douglas (my grandfather and uncle's middle names)

[pleasure-past.livejournal.com]

I love the name, but it's much too popular (and I don't see it going out of style anytime soon) for me to use.

[behindgrey-eyes.livejournal.com]

Oliver is okay, carries a few connotations for me. I just welcomed a new cousin called Olly and despite not loving the name Oliver I kinda wish he wasn't named a nickname :p

[silver-soul.livejournal.com]

My son is named Oliver, so I obviously like it. :) He's a twin, so we thought it went well with his brother's name, and it's a family name, which is how I name all of my children. It's definitely popular, though. Never really cared about the meaning, but that's just me.

I love middle names, just because it gives another opportunity to honor family. All three of my sons have one of their grandmothers' maiden names as middle names (my mother-in-law has two maiden names because her father died when she was a baby, and then she was adopted by her stepfather). It worked out nicely that their maiden names make decent middle names (Stone, West, and Hayden).

[forloveofbaby.livejournal.com]

Oliver was one of our top names but it will not be used because we have a niece Olivia (though, I will point out, that our next child will probably go by their middle name so it *could* be used but I vetoed it).

I like middle names, particularly when they have meaning. I'm not a fan of filler names unless the fall into the former category. My middle name is the same as my grandmother's (Gabrielle) but my mom & aunt both have fillers (Ann & Lynn respectively).

[pixie-bones.livejournal.com]

I really like Oliver. I think it's quite popular, though (especially in the UK)...
I don't think middle names are necessary per say, but they are nice and any child I had would definitely have one.

Happy New Year! :)

[silvermidnight.livejournal.com]

I love middle names because it gives the person another choice of what to be called and also helps clarify confusion if they have the same first and last name as someone else (which happens more frequently than anyone wants to admit).

[laminy.livejournal.com]

I really kind of hate Oliver. I do like Olivier, though.

Honestly, I would never consider not giving my child a middle name. They're definitely going to get a least one.

[being-lola-star.livejournal.com]

Middle names are great for when you want your children to know you're serious. As a child I rarely got my full name but I have lovely memories of being called "Demanda" when I was being a spoiled brat because my middle name is Amanda. I'm 21 and my parents still do it. It makes me laugh because Demanda suits me a whole lot better than Amanda.

[rubytitania.livejournal.com]

My brother's called Oliver. He's 26 and there was at least one other Oliver in his class at school so it's been fairly popular for a while ( at least here in the UK). His middle names are James Llewellyn. I do like it, but it's not a name I would use personally.

I like middle names. My husband doesn't have one and neither do his brothers so I don't really see them as necessary, but I'm pretty sure I would give my kids middle names.