Why do people opt for middle names?

Personal preference or just how people name baby I guess. I never had a middle name myself. Honestly most people never had to use it. I decided to give my daughter a middle name. It was to honor my partner late mother.

Growing up with a name that people either couldn’t pronounce, remember, spell etc was tough, but I still wanted to give my daughter a name from our culture. So we chose to give her a more common easy to pronounce middle name in case she gets fed up.

I grew up often feeling disconnected to my name as I felt like it didn’t fit me. I wanted my daughter to have a middle name so she had 2 options to go by if she ever felt the same way

I simply like the idea of having two names. I grew up having 2 and I felt really happy about that. There were 2 other Stella's in my classroom and they were given nicknames they didn't necessarily like while I was either called by my other name or both at once (which I loved the sound of, I love my full name 😅)

It’s used to be that you had your godparents name as a middle name

I don’t have a middle name but my boy does. I gave him his middle name as it is my dad’s name and he passed away. I think if my dad was still alive I probably wouldn’t have opted for a middle name for my son. I’ve done it to honour my dad and have him a part of my boys name

I have a middle name and I'm glad! I don't like my first name so once I was old enough, I decided to go by Diana ☺️ it's in my legal documents etc as well as the first name. My daughter also has a second name :)

Never really questioned it 😂 it’s just a tradition I guess

Tradition. I know it upsets my mum she’s the only sibling without a middle name. We did it to honour family members.

I have no idea. I don’t understand them, they are only used on official paperwork, so I never gave my daughter one.

All my kids have middle names after my favorite family members

We used middle names to keep family names going whilst giving them a “new” first name for their own individuality.

We honoured family names, but that being said if either of the children wish to use their middle names as a nickname with friends etc then I wouldn’t mind as I love both names x

Each name has a specific meaning for me, for all my kids.

I have no idea 🤷🏼‍♀️😂 haven’t even thought about it! We do middle names but never thought of why

Personal preference,I have a middle name and wanted my baby to have one too. My husband finds middle names cute, although he doesn’t have one

My kids have middle names but honestly It was not something I was fixed on. Honestly, I didn’t care so I let my parents pick out my eldest middle name (assuming it’s nothing crazy like a swear word or something wildly offensive). They told me and i had no issues with it. My youngest middle name was picked out by my in law with the same idea that it can’t be offensive and dirty. The only time I use my middle name is when it’s legal documents and ….on this app. Beyond that- my middle name means nothing to me.

Its a long tradition but also I think I’d be sad not to have one lol it’s nice to have another option to go by if you don’t like your first name and it’s a nice way to link children to family members with honour names

I've honestly never heard of people not having a middle name.

My middle name is my favorite thing. It’s a secret not a stranger knows. It’s mine personally. The meaning was interesting to know. (My middle name is after an Adam Sandler movie) My daughters is after my mom. It reminds me of a fairy. I thought it fit my daughter. My mom also deserved it considering the fact lol. She felt honored.

For paperwork reasons and to make it less likely theres an issue of two people with the same name. We went with middle names that our kids could use as first names if they prefer, but we did struggle to pick them.

Lml I have 2 middle names so does my husband so our daughter has 1

Each of my kids has one of their late grandparents names as their middle name -& they each have two middle names to distinguish them further from others. I also really like their middle names just not enough to be a primary name . However,I like them enough to be a middle and to be associated with them for the duration of their life . All of their names are meaningful

I have a name from my great grandmother, who died before I was born. She was really important to my dad and I love that connection, even though I never met her. By coincidence, my husband and I both had a grandmother named Dorothy (both deceased, my gran passed just after I found out I was pregnant), so we carried on the tradition of using a great grandmother as her middle name. I hope she will feel a special connection to them one day too ♥️

I often wonder this too. I always thought of the middle name as a way to honour a family member without having to make it your child’s everyday name.

Just because I wanted to give my daughter two names. If I didn't like another name enough she wouldn't have had a middle name

I wasn’t given a middle name & I grew up wanting one. So I gave myself a middle name when I was a teen lol

Culture here. Every family memeber contributes a name. And if it’s not a big family.. parents can give them as many as they want. I have 10. My daughters have more. (Not all of them make it onto the BC as they ALL have to go on the passport aswell

I think people want to be able to choose 2 names

My son has a middle name because we liked how it sounded, but I don't personally have one 🤷🏼‍♀️

I just like the way the middle name sits with my babies full name! But I also like that it can be another name/nickname for them. I often use one of my middle names with my first on social media so year of full name so But my parents did go ham me and my siblings have far too many middle names 😂

I gave my son Leo my current surname (George) so that when I marry his dad my maiden name will live on in him xx

🤷🏾‍♀️ I never knew one without one to know it was optional

First kiddo, my husband vetoed my favorite name as a first name but agreed on it for a middle name, and her first name is my mom's name. Second, my husband chose the first name, and the middle name is for my grandma this time. Adds a little bit of uniqueness and character.

My daughters middle name is after her fathers late grandmother, my sons middle name is after his fathers favourite footballer & DJ 😂

I wanted my kids to have like 5 names but I’m was condemned for that 😢 but I think it’s just meant to distinguish names in the system now not sure I love names! They have a lot of meaning ! They can be powerful as well iykyk

I've always known everyone to have one? When I started dating my partner he said he didn't have one and I was shocked lol

All those answers.. lmao. We just always have middle names.. lol. I think of middle names as an alternative name in case they don't like their first name and want to go by the other. BUT my daughters middle name is after my mother and any other child we have, will be named after someone else too.

my son has his dads late grandfathers name as a middle name who meant a lot to my partner if we have a daughter she will have my mother name as a middle as she passed away when i was young we use it as a way to memorialise important people :)

I appreciate everyone taking their time to answer, thank you! Kinda wish I had a middle name now as I hate my first name 😫 my older siblings do have middle names! Thankfully our son's first and last name aren't very common. Never came across anyone with my partner's last name tbf. And you can shorten Robin in multiple ways, sure do hope he likes whichever version he'll go by lol. I believe it's very easy to get your name changed in Scotland though.

Because it’s nice I guess 😂 My daughters first name has family meaning and I just chose a nice name that went with it for her middle name

just did it because it sounded right lol. my daughters middle name is the same as mine :)

I was the only one in my family with a middle name. I gave child a middle name. Then I met my hubby, he also has one. So we gave a middle name to the baby. Not very meaningful names, I'm planning to change it later on

In my family it's a bit of a tradition. I have my grans name as my middle name and I gave Elizabeth my mums name as her middle name! 😊