Is this as bad as I think?

I had to bestow the middle name of Zwannie on my DD, after MIL. Hopefully she will see it as an interesting conversation point about her Dutch heritiage rather than an embarressment. I was not keen at all but DH was resolute that he had always promised his Mother he would call his DD1 after her.

8 months on its never been used, and except for at her baptism!

I really wouldn't worry.

I think Raymonde is rather beautiful. It looks lovely on paper and has a pleasant sound.

It's fine as a middle name. Just tell people that her dad is forrin & they'll forgive you .

Lolots Siamo!!

It's a perfectly lovely middle name. I think you are making a storm in a teacup.

My grandmother in law was a Vernon. Just kept being given to everyone in the family

fine as a middle name

I think it's fine as a middle name.

It's absolutely fine. The pronunciation and the final 'e' clearly distinguish it from the boy's name. Simone is a similar type of name. Very chic.

I know it looks like Raymond but it sounds so different because the accent is more on the second syllable in Raymonde and the e makes it look feminine.
I think it is absolutely fine and quite pretty sounding actually.

Giving a middle name which has a meaning is 1000 times more important IMO than just choosing a random name that you like. You can bring her up to be proud of her heritage and ancestry and you must be proud and happy to have a DH who was so loyal and loving to his grandmother.

I like unusual middle names...some from my family are Inger, Hamilton and Stream! (Mostly maiden names that were about to die out and so could be kept going for one more generation.)

I rather like it and it's very suitable to use the middle name to honour a relative.

Do I take it you're having a boy, if so I'd use the masculine version if you're planning on returning to the UK. On the other hand, you can always quote the French tradition for female names for boys and male names for girls (I used to know a French female Claude) Otherwise, very elegant for a lady.

Rae

Ohh, that is very pretty !!

When registering DS2, we gave the first name and the registrar went, 'How lovely.' Then we told her the two (family) middle names, and her face was a picture But we live in such a multi-cultural area that you could call your child Table Top Smith and no one would blink.

Variations on Rae? Maybe he would be happy with something similar... We've discussed using OH granmothers name as a middle name. She's known as Betty but I think Elizabeth is pretty.

There's always a compromise to be made if you really dont like it.

I personally think an unusual middle name is quite nice, she'll be the only one if you move back to the UK which would make her extra special.

I think it's fine as a middle name, but if you hate it then think of something else.

Some of my friends who are not married have given their daughters their surnames as middle names and it actually sounds fine. One is called Amelia Fraser Surname and one is called Chloe Raymond Surname.

If you knock the E off Raymonde I think it looks better.

I completely agree with your husband actually, that if kids want to tease they will find something to tease about - and there's always something! In my view, the best way to avoid teasing is to try to build up their confidence and self-esteem, not to try to iron out any bit of individuality that a bully might try to pick on (not saying you are doing this, but speaking generally).

I think the worst thing you can do is give her the name but pass on your feeling that it's 'wrong' somehow, or is something to be embarrassed about. If she's confident and thinks it's a great name, and is proud to have that heritage, then surely no one can make her feel bad about it.

My French dh has Marie as a middle name because it's a family name and his parents knew he would be their only child so they would never have a girl to give it to. We gave it to dd but I wouldn't have given it to a boy had she been one. It wasn't really as important to him as it seems to be to your dh though. As others have said, why not give her 2 middle names and then she can choose whether or not to use it? Or did his grandmother have a middle name that you prefer?

I think it's fine, Raymonde with the 'e' sounds feminine to me even in English (it's quite elegant actually!), and I don't she why she should be teased about it. If you really hate it and can't bear for your DD to have it, then keep pushing for an alternative - but I think it's a perfectly nice middle name and really don't think it'll be a problem in the way you fear.

I have a boring middle name too brodanbell - in fact I have the one that pretty much everyone with my first name has, so utterly predictable too! I'd much rather have something 'exotic' like Raymonde!

Never known an Andrew Sarah!, but did meet a French man with Marie as his middle name, which we'd consider strictly girls-only in the UK. I think it's quite common in Catholic countries to use Marie/Maria/Mary as a male middle name?

I think if you are unhappy about it but happy to consider similar names, then a compromise needs to be reached. If you REALLY don't like a name proposed it is worth not capitulating at all, because your child will be wearing it for a very long time.

DH wanted to call DS after his father. Except Franco is not my cup of tea. So after a minor tussle, we compromised with Francesco as a legal name and Frankie as a nn.

I wanted to have a middle name after my grandfather, but DH wanted it to be Itlalian-ised so it didn't look odd with the first name, so that was Giorgio as the middle.

So far so good.

Then MIL threw the mother of all fits and wanted her name in there too. The feminine version, not the male form.

DH for the sake of not fighting would have let her have her way, but since I didn't like the name in the first place I dug my heels in and held out for the masculine version.

Wish I had just dug in harder now and simply refused a third name all together.

Because it irritates me every time I see his whole name written down.

Don't talk yourself into something you don't like, if you really don't like it. Push for something that you really can live with, that also takes into account your Dh's preferences.

Would you consider two middle names? Elizabeth Grace Raymonde xxxxx or so?

Don't worry about it. It is a middle name and will rarely get used. If she doesn't like it then she can simply say her middle name is something else - it's not like she's going to be going to school with a passport to prove it. On the other hand, she might like the fact she is named after a person that was clearly important to her father, plus it is French and therefore a bit exotic. My parents had a choice of giving me an italian middle name but in the end opted for the English version and it's soooooo boring. I wish they'd stuck with their gut feeling.

Absolutely fine as a middle name. You should see the horrors I am about to bestow on DC2 :o

It's fine as a middle name.