Why is there such negativity regarding the middle names Mae/May, Rose & Grace?

I have two dds with these as middle names. Both were named well over a decade ago so if it's now 'common and dull' it's not my fault! In my case both dds have long names for first names and so I wanted something shortish. Fwiw I have

Miranda Rose
&
Roasalind Grace

and if you really want to call that 'unimaginative' then I think you've got very odd standards indeed

In a way it's a shame for those who want to use these names for genuine, meaningful reasons, that everyone else and their dog has used them for no particular reason but that they sound pretty. I mean nothing wrong with that as such but it kind of takes over the name a bit.

"we haven't had to name them Mildred or Persephone to prove this. "

Why are you implying that people who love the name Mildred or Persephone are trying to 'prove' anything. I know a lovely Sephie (Persephone) whose parents simply love the name. Also, both names seem to fulfill their purpose of identification better than, say Ella May or Maisy Grace. More importantly, thankfully we all have different tastes and shouldn't we all be encouraging MORE name diversity - makes life much more interesting!

Yes, for some people these names may well have some meaning and/or are family names - in that case the child will grow up with a lovely association.

But it seems that a large majority of parents simply choose such names without too much consideration, simply because they sound 'nice' and everyone else is using them. And then such names are simply meaningless fillers.

They're just placeholders, that's why.

I think the middle spot should be used for a family name, or maybe a name you love but wouldn't consider for a first name. Something that actually has a point to it.

Because some people are horrible.
And they also make assumptions about others, and judge them accordingly.
In my family, May is a name that has been used for several generations as a middle name. But apparently, my using it makes me unoriginal. How boring of me to give my daughter the same middle name as my late mother.
I have committed an even worse sin. I have named my other daughter after her late grandmother on my husband's side which apparently means she can never make anything of herself as it is 'cutesy', 'girly' name.
For what its worth, both my girls are remarkable, original, feisty and strong, and we haven't had to name them Mildred or Persephone to prove this.

We used one of them as a 'filler' for dd2; as she has an unusual, but not outlandish, first name, plus our surname is complicated and often mis spelt. We wanted a short name which she wouldn't need to explain/spell, and which she could resort to if she didn't like her first name. Our other two have more popular first names, and more unusual middle names. We're happy with it, sorry if it offends your sensitve ears.

Oh and I meant to say, of course some people who use them will have relatives with those names, that's different.

Many people use them as fillers though.

I find it hard to get excited about middle names and am amazed at how much thought some people on here put into them. When I was a child your middle name was usually after a Saint (first daughters nearly always had Mary as their second name) and now it's quite often after a parent or grandparent.
They're never used so I don't think how nice they sound, how populare they are etc is terribly important.

They're nice names, but they show lack of imagination, especially when paired with a really popular first name.

Middle names are a great opportunity to honour a family member, but instead, so many parents just lump one of these filler middle names in. It's boring.

If people are going to use a really popular first name, they're better avoiding a filler, because there will be countless with that "combo" out there.

I don't find a filler paired a rarer first name isn't so bad. Examples: Sophie Grace makes me yawn, whereas Mariana Grace makes me think 'wow - I like that'.

My Dd1 was named after two maiden great aunts who are huge characters in our family folklore. One of them was called May, hence that's her middle name. I don't know how people can say that such names serve no purpose. It seems from other posts that lots of people have used these names because they are/ were the names of now elderly/ deceased relatives. What a wonderful way to give them a sense of who they are and where they come from. I hope that my dd will be very proud of her name and its association when she is older.

Every other girl I know has Rose or May as her middle name, honestly!

Seems like many people simply choose a name 'that sounds nice' and is 'trendy' rather than taking the time to find a suitable middle name - a name that might reflect the child's cultural heritage, honours a family member or simply helps to make the child's overall name a little more interesting/unique.

I too have a standard 70s middle name. I feel it is quite dull, boring and a little pointless imo. I'd much rather have been given something more interesting or meaningful.

I think it's just because, well, they are very popular. Almost every female child I know or hear of seems to have one of them as a middle name.

They are great names. It's just kind of predictable iyswim...which is a proper shame as they're so beautiful in their own right.

And they go with everything!

But Jane and Louise still 'go' with many names. But as a result of having been overused in the 1970s people have become tired of them, like with any fashion trend. The same will likely happen with the current overused names imo.

They are so well used because they go well with so many names, just as Louise in it's day did as well. Nothing at all wrong with them apart from being overused.

Because they don't serve any purpose. They don't help in 'identifying' a person, which is the purpose of a name. They are just fillers.

Middle names are your chance to either honour loved ones or to be a little more original,especially if the first name is quite common (e.g. think Harry Jones or Ella Smith - there must be thousands of them and a more unique middle name might help identify them).

We sometimes forget WHY we name our children imo.

Dd1's middle name is Jayne, after my mum.

Dd2's middle name is Rose, after DH's nan.

It would appear to some that makes them "unimaginative and dull" but both names go beautifully with their first names and were chosen because they mean something to our family. And it's nobody else's business anyway.

I love both names but when every girl born has them as her middle name, it just screams of unoriginality to me. It doesn't bother me terribley to be honest but enough that I wouldn't use any of the above as a middle name.

However, I am considering Rose as a first name, that's how much I love it.

They are all perfectly nice names, just a bit blah and unimaginative.

I do always tell people who are considering those names, which is to say, all people ever, that everyone's daughter will also have the same middle name. I mean, fine, and everything, but there are squillions of names out there.

Because they are overused and dull! They serve no purpose in identifying a person nor do they always have much meaning. Might as well name them 'girl'.

My dd's mn is grace, and I think it's beautiful, so what if its popular!

They're nice enough names, but seem to be all over the place at the moment.

My middle name's Louise. Hate it. It's pointless and meaningless to me - apparently it just sounded 'right' with my first name.