How to Choose a Middle Name You’ll Love

Sharing is caring!

So many parents torment themselves over choosing the perfect baby name, and with good reason.

Choosing a name is one of the most important decisions you can make for your child that will impact their identity.

And it’s not just about the first name! Middle names are just as important. So just how do you choose a middle name that will be perfect for your baby?

No worries. We got you!

Here’s our guide to help new parents choose the best middle name for their baby.

 

Contents

How to Pick a Middle Name for Your Baby

A middle name not only adds to the personal identity of a person but it also gives them another term that people can refer to them as.

This is highly useful when a person finds he or she has the same first name as someone else, as the middle name will almost assuredly be different.

 

Keeping it in the Family

Thinking about naming your child after yourself or your partner?

It may not be the best idea to give your child your name, as things can get a bit confusing.

Instead, why not use it as their middle name! This will cut down the confusion but still keep the name running down the family line.

Plus your child will feel as though they still retain the own unique identity, and not just as an extension of yourself.

Many cultures and religions only have middle names in which the parent’s name is used, so it is quite common to see this happen.

This middle name, however, is not the best choice and should only be used if it is tradition or if there are really no better options available.

 

Honoring Other Family Members

Another way of choosing a middle name is by finding a close friend or relative and giving the child their first name as a middle name.

Maybe you want to honor a person that you love and highly respect. Maybe a part of you even feels that by giving that name to your child will help give them some of those wonderful traits!

This is a perfect opportunity for a middle name.

For us, we considered giving my unborn son the male version of my husband’s grandmothers name as a middle name.

She was excited to meet our new little man, but passed away suddenly while I was pregnant.

She was one of those very special souls with a kind heart and a burning passion inside. It made us so sad to think she would never meet him in person.

Although we didn’t care for it as a first name, giving him this name as a middle name just seemed to make sense and feel right.

 

You Can Let the Weird Out

For parents who want to name their child something extravagant or weird, like “Strawberry” or “Jelly,” it is harmful and a bad decision to do so with the first name.

But, again, this unorthodox name can be used as a middle name.

For starters, no one close to the child really has to know or refer to them by their middle name most of the time, making an embarrassing choice okay in this regard.

And if a parent is just dead-set on using a weird name, then it is of course, better to use it as a middle name than a first name which identifies a child for life.

 

Go with the Flow

Another thing to consider when picking a middle name for your baby, is the flow.

How does it sound with their chosen first name?

Does it flow off the tongue easily?

Does it make their name sound forced, or too broken up?

Try using the name all together with some of these questions to see if you like it:

  • Hi, (first name) (middle name), nice to meet you.
  • What are you doing, (first name) (middle name)?
  • I love you so much (first name) (middle name).

This is a good idea to do with a first and last name combo as well, but right now we’ll stick to focusing on your baby’s middle name.

 

Using Your Favorite First Name

Sometimes you have a first name you just love. But it’s such a great name that every other mom has already used it to name their baby too.

So you opt out of that name, simply because it’s too popular.

This is the perfect place to use it if it flows well with the rest of the name! Try it out, and if it fits great, you have an easy choice!

 

Letting the Other Parent Pick

This isn’t the ideal choice, but it does offer a sense of fairness to the name picking game. This is the technique we choose for my second baby’s name.

I convinced my husband to let us use my choice for our baby’s first name.

During the negotiations, I let him choose the middle name that was just a little “too out there” as a first name for my tastes. We both ended up very happy with the name.

 

Picking The Perfect Middle Name

Choosing a middle name for your child is a long process in which two parents, usually, debate amongst each other and swap ideas.

Each name should be carefully thought out and planned for because a child is going to have to, unless he or she changes their name, live with these names for the rest of their lives.

Choosing a middle name is an important addition to any person’s name and should not be pushed aside until the very last minute.

It should get just as much consideration as the first name. And remember, the middle name is the one that you can have fun with!

Toddler eating ice cream with a text overlay reading how to pick the perfect middle name

Sharing is caring!

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.