To think middle names are pointless

I disagree. They can be a way of honouring a relative alive or dead, and also an option for someone who when older does not prefer their first name. Or say like James Brown, the former Prime Minister, has the same name as someone well known (Gordon as he is known).

And when you have two patients with the same name on the same ward in hospital, which is what happened once when DD was a child. A nurse told me that middle names were very useful in those cases.

I can't put what mine would have been as it would be outing but if my mum had followed that it would have been hideous. Neither my mum or my gran wanted their middle names on the headstone they hated them that much!!

My kids have quite unusual names so I felt I'd saddled them with enough.

YANBU - I have two middle names and they never get used, except for DH who thinks they’re amusing.

Another post on the lines of "I dont like something, how can anyone else"

You name your dc what you want to name them, and let other do what they want....

Oh god if my mother did that my middle name would be Pope lol! My Dad and Uncle had that tradition and both had different surnames as middle names but the names are quite posh sounding and help a lot as they have very common first and surnames, my maiden name is one of the most common in the UK.

Agree. I liked not having a middle name. I have a short first name and short surname so literally have less letters than some do in just the first name.
I gave DS my dad's name as his middle name just to be nice to my dad really. Everyone uses DS's incredibly short nickname so his full name just doesn't get used.

For me it's tradition and family connections. My children have middle names that link them to their grandparents. My middle name is pointless though. I wouldn't bother just for the sake of it.

My brother and I weren’t given middle names. If I was in trouble I was full named by First and surname. It’s never held me back, although if you are using a common first name it can be a great extra identifier.

My DH doesn't have a middle name and we decided not to give DS one.

We have lots of fun making up middle names for DS when we're shouting his name though.

I completely agree and haven’t given my children middle names; they have both our surnames so enough names to be getting along with and no chance of being confused with anyone else. I don’t think the ubiquitous use of Louise as a middle name in our day gave anyone any extra individuality, nor will the current crops of Roses and Graces.
If you have to think about which middle name to use, i.e. there isn’t immediately a relative you want to honour, IMHO it’s a sign the name is not needed at all.

They are a bit of fun, in my mind. The main name, and the name you wouldn't dream of inflicting on them for day to day use. So ie Dudley or Jemima ( apologies to any Dudleys and Jemimas out there!)
I like having two initials and my surname for my signature 😁

My kids don't have middle names, don't see the point and it hasn't ruined their lives. However I do come from a Scottish family where the tradition is to have the maiden name of your grandmother as a middle name and I have memories of my mother and grandmother hating their middle names.

Totally agree. I get disproportionately annoyed at people agonising over middle name choices or discarding first names because they don't "go" with middle names. I think about five people in the world know my middle name, including my parents.

Not so important for boys, but it's worth girls having a middle name. Even if your surname is relatively unusual, if they marry they could end up with a very common surname, and benefit from an extra name to distinguish them.

This happened to my aunt who went from Susan 'very rare name' to Susan Smith on marriage, and found it a great inconvenience. ( not real names, but same idea). With that in mind my parents gave me an unusual middle name, although I have not married so I'm stuck with the rare surname noone can spell.

I don't think they're pointless. There's a woman in Portsmouth with exactly the same name as me, no middle name, and every time I do something financial I have to sign declarations that I'm not this bloody woman with her stupid debts and lack of financial grasp. If I'd had a middle name or two, I wouldn't have to keep doing this as my name wouldn't be the same.

It also gives you a chance to honour loved relatives, use names that you really liked but not as much as the first name, keep a name in the family but not need to use it on a daily basis and also of course to let your kid know you're really cross with them...

I don't have a middle name myself; apparently, choosing one was fraught enough (first girl after many boys, and several relatives expecting to be the chosen one), so my parents called me after someone safely away from the bickering in another country! But live and let live, and I can see perfectly valid reasons why people do this.
It never bothered me until a truly bonkers bit of IT bureaucracy cropped up when we all got a school email address. We had to have three name initials to keep the system happy. In vain did I protest that two initials had carried me happily through half a century on the planet.....for my middle name, I chose an expletive which expressed my opinion of this petty idiocy, although I didn't tell them what it was.....

They're not necessary but they're just a little special thing, aren't they. ExDH didn't have a middle name and gave himself one!

With my kids, the middle names I gave them were names I liked a lot, but didn’t want to use as first names. My older daughter’s middle name is what used to be my second-choice first name until it got more popular than I wanted. My younger daughter’s middle name is gorgeous, but most people would misspell it and pronounce it incorrectly.

You don’t need to give your child a middle name if you don’t want to, but it does give them more options, especially if they end up in careers in which they have a public profile. Charlotte Flora Jones has more name options than Charlotte Jones - the full name, C. F. Jones, C. Flora Jones. Charlotte F. Jones.

I like middle names but be wary of acronyms. I've just realised my son's initials are "JFC" - which wasn't widely used when he was born (pre internet) but now often seen on social media.

I love mine, my parents chose both my names well, and I do use mine. My DH comes from a family where they haven't added middle names for a few generations - and I really like that.

It’s a nice way of honouring other family members who have died. And also honouring family names and heritage. Mum gave my oldest brother a middle name, as a nod to her Welsh heritage/father. He, my other brother and I have done the same, with our sons. My daughter has my nana’s nickname as her middle name.

I'm glad we have them. Possibly now not such a big deal, but in my childhood, most people didn't seem to use their given names and used middle names.
E.g. Grandfather Henry Charles Smith (son of Henry Charles Smith & grandson of Smith Henry Charles) went by Charles. Aunt named Eleanor Mary Ellen, after her mother, grandmother AND gt-Grandmother was always known as Mary.
Older cousin Ted was christened Melvin Edward.

All that says, I never use my middle name. In everyday life I use a nickname that's a variant of my given name.

I loved choosing two middle names for my daughter ☺️ I had other names that I had liked, and had considered for her first name, so I gave her 2 of those. I found it fun to choose, and I adore her full name. Of course it’s not necessary, and people absolutely don’t have to give middle names, but I say have fun with it, why not.

It’s more for honouring family members and/or keeping names alive in the family. My middle names are after grandmother and great aunt, DH after both his grandfathers, our DS after his late great grandfathers (one name shared with DH) and DD after her grandmothers. It’s a lovely tradition and by explaining the derivation of our/their names keeps family history alive.