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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Reusing a middle name for a second child

43 replies

mrsmamaleone · 15/07/2019 08:14

What is the opinion on using one child's middle name as another's first name? For example, my first-born is called Mary Margaret but we rarely refer to her as both, 96% of the time she's simply Mary. We're expecting our second daughter now and we were originally going to call her Molly but I asked everyone here what they thought and it ended up getting vetoed. We decided to go with Jane Alice but now we're not sure. Simply put, I'm in love with Margaret and that extended to my love of it's nickname "Molly". My husband is also equally into the name, not surprising, since our first daughter's middle is Margaret.

I know some people do it and it works, like Eva Mendez and Ryan Gosling with daughters Esmerelda Amada and Amada Lee.

Is it bad form or should we go for it? She'll be here in a couple weeks according to the docs, but if she's anything like my older daughter we'll be meeting her sooner.

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Cookit · 17/07/2019 09:05

You decide so quickly!

Sparklypurpleunicornsaremyfav · 17/07/2019 07:57

Personally I don't think scarlet or bonnie go with Mary Margaret but it's your decision, go with what you love. I really love something like Annie Beatrice it fits your naming pattern and I think they go with dd's name

FenellaMaxwell · 17/07/2019 07:04

I didn’t think the first kid’s name actually was Mary...? I like Bonnie.

I wouldn’t reuse - it’s edging towards George Foreman territory. (All his sons are called George Foreman)

daisypond · 17/07/2019 07:00

Agree with Bertrand. Both Bonnie and Scarlett are very different names to Mary and Margaret and it does seem odd to me. Jane is great and fits loads more.

BertrandRussell · 17/07/2019 06:55

But Mary is such a wonderful sophisticated grown up name. And Bonnie...isn’t.

I still think Jane is lovely. Jane Charlotte and Mary Margaret.

Astronica · 17/07/2019 06:49

I really like Bonnie and think it sounds great as Mary's sister. Love the middle name options too.

ladycarlotta · 17/07/2019 00:07

Bonnie is lovely! I think it does go with Mary.

user1493494961 · 16/07/2019 21:27

Mary and Bonnie don't go together, they are different types of names.

user1493494961 · 16/07/2019 21:23

Name her Molly, much nicer than Bonnie.

daisypond · 16/07/2019 17:50

Molly is a ”pet” form of Mary, along with Polly, not a diminutive as such.

Nova324 · 16/07/2019 16:20

Aww I like Bonnie Scarlett!
But just for reference I'd never heard of Molly being a NN for Mary.. considering its longer than Mary anyway

Original poster
mrsmamaleone · 16/07/2019 08:36

We've decided on Bonnie Scarlett or Bonnie Charlotte.

OP posts:
Original poster
mrsmamaleone · 16/07/2019 06:16

We've decided that one of the names will be Scarlett or Charlotte since they both sound very similar to Margaret and we like them both a great deal. We'd like both the girls to have similar naming style, ie short first name long middle. Right now we're balancing Olivia Charlotte and Olivia Scarlett. We'll see when we meet her. Nothing concrete yet.

OP posts:
pregnantncnc · 15/07/2019 23:38

I didn't read the thread before posting! Oops

pregnantncnc · 15/07/2019 23:38

The duke and duchess of Cambridge did it, so I would say etiquette dictates that you can too (George Alexander Louis, then Prince Louis).

PrincessLouis · 15/07/2019 23:33

Sorry ALSO in the Mary vibe...

PrincessLouis · 15/07/2019 23:32

I wouldn’t

Maybe another alliterative pair?

Jane Jemima
Jane Joanna
Jane Juliet

Alice Amelia
Alice Annabel

Alice in the Mary / Margaret / Jane / Alice vibe, what about:

Charlotte
Anne
Elizabeth
Eleanor
Frances

Tonks101 · 15/07/2019 20:46

I think it's fine

Skyejuly · 15/07/2019 17:03

My 2 sisters have same MN it's really no big deal.

ItProtectsMyHead · 15/07/2019 17:01

I know of two sisters, I've changed the names but for example, the older sister is Amelia Lily Eva Grace Surname and the younger sister is Lily Eva Grace Surname. That definitely struck me as odd Hmm

MrsDimmond · 15/07/2019 14:59

Molly(also spelledMolliorMollie) is a diminutive of the English feminine nameMary. It may less commonly be used as a diminutive for popular feminine names that begin with M, such as Margaret,

MrsDimmond · 15/07/2019 14:55

Molly is traditionally a diminutive of Mary. It's not a diminutive of Margaret.

It is also a diminuitive of Margaret

DramaAlpaca · 15/07/2019 13:43

Molly is traditionally a diminutive of Mary. It's not a diminutive of Margaret. Having two children called Mary & Molly really is a bit daft.

I'm not keen on reusing a middle name either. I can understand two siblings having the same middle name, but not using an older child's middle name as the first name for a younger sibling.

Cookit · 15/07/2019 13:35

I know someone who did this. In fact, their last child has no original name as the their middle name was also a middle name of a previous child as well as their first name!

Astronica · 15/07/2019 13:31

Molly (and Polly as pp raised it) are both nns for Mary, so calling the child Margaret won't get you Molly. And I certainly wouldn't use Molly if you already have a Mary.
You can re-use Margaret but I think it much better to come up with a name you love that doesn't involve re-using a name. You probably need to keep looking I think. You mentioned medieval names in your other thread - why not explore lists of medieval names?
Some medieval populars: Agnes, Amabel, Annabel, Beatrice, Cecily, Christiana, Edith, Eleanor, Elizabeth, Ellen, Gillian, Helen, Idony, Isabel, Isolde, Juliana, Katherine, Lettice, Lucy, Margery, Marion, Matilda, Millicent, Rose, Sarah, Susan, Sybil.

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