Why do people double barrel first names?

I have never met a middle class hyphenated first name.
The most middle class person I know has a son with a name like Kaiden-Jay, equally I know someone who mumsnet would call ‘chavvy’ with a name like Harriet. I don’t really think you can guess class based on names.

The modern take on hyphenated names to me sounds like people giving their kids cutesie nicknames as full names. Like adding 'moo' or 'Lou' to the end of a single girl's name affectionately, but making it the actual full name. I think the 'pixie-poo' type sound awful. Even worse is the two random full length names bodged together like Alison-Victoria. They don't sound posh they sound like a mouthful. It's a bit attention seeking.

I have a double barrelled Christian name which is never used - most people don't know I have it.

The reasoning behind it was I should have anther 'middle name' inserted honouring my deceased mother. This was added in to the name she had left for me to have and so when being registered I had two middle names, one being Louise and one being her Christian name. Only problem was it didn't flow well and it was decided to hyphenate my first name with a shortening of Louise, ie -Lou.

Now if you think of the Mary-Lou's, (not my name I hasten to add) Emma-Lou's, etc it all seems a bit American for 1970s London. I don't like it at all, but I see the reasoning behind it. Didn't like being the odd one out at school and never used it since.

Without reading TWT, my guess is that it's to make sure people call the child by their full name (i.e., not leave out one bit).

I'm being driven bananas by the reverse. DD is something like Ava Grace - Grace is a middle name. Fully half my friends refer to her as Ava-Grace. I constantly feel like shouting that the middle name was just to placate my granny and could they stop please .

Without reading TWT, my guess is that it's to make sure people call the child by their full name (i.e., not leave out one bit).

BTW OP, to my mind thinking a hyphen looks 'ugly' must be one of the oddest things I've ever heard. Proper punctuation should always be encouraged .

I have never met a middle class hyphenated first name.

The French tradition of double-barrelled first names dates back to Napoleons times, where names had to be chosen from a government approved list of about 200 names. Double barrelling them gave a bit more individuality.

Imagine my sister’s surprise on meeting her new boss - Jean Marie - who she had thought was a woman.

I find it irritating because our surname is one of the typically used double barrelled first names, so it sounds like I've done it anyway!
My daughter says her name and quite often gets asked what her last name is. She then has to explain that she's already given both names.
It wasn't a thing 18 years ago!

"and several are also French"

I think this is important. It's an utterly normal naming tradition in much of southern mainland Europe. In the more diverse communities in the UK, some traditions/habits spread. This is something that appears to be doing so, and also being more fully assimilated by the names used together being names already in use in the community that is taking on the new fashion.

I use 'fashion' advisedly, because it is probably just that. It might not stick around for long, as there are very few double barrelled first names which have been in use for generations. Well, not in UK. I think it might be more of a US habit (different European traditions dominate there) and the global selling of US telly programmes and their availability online might be a factor too.

I know a girl called something very like Johnnie-Mai. Her friends just call her John.

Satan's a boy's name isn't it?

It’s common in France because until 1993 you could only give your child a name from the list of official prénoms. Because this was a relatively small list you ended up with a lot of children with the same name, so you would hyphenate two to make it slightly more distinctive.

Well you sound so, up your own arse and snobby

HAHA I'm ANYTHING but!

My parents did this to me in the 60s and I changed my name to a completely different (unhyphenated) one on all official docs as soon as I was able to.

(The bank just needed written confirmation that I'd been using the alternative name for at least two years. They then did me a confirmation letter for the passport office. I don't know whether the rules have changed now.)

I can only remember one other hyphenated child of my age and she didn't seem to mind hers. I hated mine!

I’m Mary Anne. I get called Mary, Ann Marie, Rosemary and my personal favourite, Mary-Ann. I don’t understand why so many people can’t wrap their heads around the name, which has been around for centuries, but there you go.

It was far more common when I was at school. I remember MaryAnnes, Marykates, John-Paul, Sarah-Louise, Anne-Marie, Marie-Claire , Margaret-Anne, Etc.

I only know of two DC's today with db names; Ella-Mae and Anna-Kate

People keep mentioning French names and older variations like Sarah-Jane but to me they are completely different.

The new influx of Lily-Mai etc are because people think they are being ever so clever and exotic when really they are now boring and cliche

Itching to start a thread innocently canvassing opinions on 'Satan-Grace'

Cos they think it sounds ‘classy’.

@fruit
Maybe it's the same one, but we came across a triple-barrelled girl a while ago. Took DS to a soft play and there was a Demi-Rose-Leigh signed in. DH commented that she must be named after half a cup of tea.

@feral
I love Hanna-Lena and Hannalore. Am part Deutsch myself. Had a Liselotte Oma.

Live and let live

So as not to offend either grandmother! (Not me, my friend).

Fashion, pure and simple.

It's the same as Olivia, Oliver, Jack and Emily being popular and Karen, Alan, Claire and Paul not being popular for baby names.

I think there is also a "thing" in some areas and social groups that everything has to be unique. You can't possibly use a name which has EVER been used for someone else so you either double barrel it, misspell it, or both. So that your child is marked out as special.

There have always been double barrel names, to me it always sounds like and Irish way of doing things - growing up I knew an Anne-Marie, John-Paul and Mary-Clare, all were from large Irish families. But the most recent explosion of kids called things like Daisey-Mae or Emmileigh-Looooeeeze is just awful.

I hate hyphenated first names. Can't say Chav or Council on here so as my Mum would say it sounds 'common'.