Middle Names - Why?

I feel like it completes the name. Both my DC have one middle name, named after family members but I'd still have given them a middle name even if I had nobody special to name them after.

A bit like fifthtimelucky above, I have an American friend who has a middle initial. It doesn't stand for a name but the parents gave him the initial just to make his name sound more formal/complete.

I know someone who has four daughters all with the same middle name, named for someone special.

Ours are family names with meaning.

Neither of my parents had middle names. My father worked in the US for a while and some forms couldn't cope with the lack of middle names. One official form had him down as Firstname N. M. I. Surname. The NMI stood for no middle initial!

Jacques, They often are! People were more conservative with names in the early 20th century so names like Jane and Anne were popular.

I was thinking of names like Aurora Francesca Rose Smith or something.

@JacquesHammer with you there! If we have a girl her middle name will be Rose after DH's grandma who recently passed away. It also happens to be my middle name (and also had a special meaning to my mum, it wasn't just a 'filler'). Everyone will probably just eye roll at another 'something Rose' but I couldn't care less!

We chose more everyday type names for our two daughters middle names for two reasons: we wanted to have a link to some strong female characters we loved growing up and just in case they grew up hating their classic goddess first names and wanted to use something else. They are simple names and we dithered a lot, dd1 didn't have one until she was 11mo as we weren't sure which name to choose (if any) and we didn't know if we particularly cared enough. We had three characters we liked and used one name for dd1 and one for dd2. I don't have a middle name and it's never been a huge issue, though my sisters and I were the only people I know who haven't got them, even both parents have middle names!

Don't really see the point of having several firstname middle names or filler ones like Rose, Grace or May (or Anne, Jane or Louise if you're older)

What happens when the “filler” name IS the family name

I understand having a middle name if it has meaning, like the name of a family member or loved one that you want to honour

Agree. No need for middle names unless to honour somebody.

Sometimes all the angst on here over finding the 'right middle name' is a bit over the top.

I don't know anybody's middle name, or even if they have one.

i’m in south korea and middle names aren’t a done thing here actually, however, i still gave my dc middle names because their first names are short and they felt a bit like nothing names on their own 🤷🏻‍♀️

I don't have a middle name. I've never missed not having one.

It might have been nice to have my grandmother's name as a MN, but I've not missed having one. I don't really see the point of them unless you have a popular first name and surname.

Don't really see the point of having several firstname middle names or filler ones like Rose, Grace or May (or Anne, Jane or Louise if you're older).

I haven’t met many people who don’t have a middle name, it’s just traditional.

DH has only one name. He couldn’t understand why middle names were needed. When DS was born he said he’d like to give him only one name. I was ok with this as we found it hard enough agreeing on a name we both liked.
Recently DH was lamenting on how he wished we’d given DS his name as a middle name

That should say...

The organisation I’m in now had two women with the same name, so for the second one they used her middle initial for her email...

My middle name isn’t a familial connection. However, I have a very common first name and a very common second name. When I worked for a national organisation with about 10,000 employees - there were two of us with the same first and last name. My email (as I joined after) was FirstName.MiddleInitial.Surname@... The organisation I’m in now had two women who had the same name, so they one her got middle initials in their emails. We have two men with the same name too (it’s not that big of an organisation but it’s a common surname) but without middle names, the one who started later has been given a middle initial of ‘x’ for the email.

I don't have a middle name. Never missed not having one!

DD has two middle names. Her second middle name is a family name on her dad's side. We also have a stupidly common surname so it may help with identification going forward.

Also, without any middle names at all, how do you know when you're really in trouble.

It's so your child knows when they have been really naughty.

I personally love out-there names for my children, but fully appreciate my children when they are older may not, and therefore can use their more traditional middle names if they desire

Well if you have a surname like “jones” or “smith” it is highly recommended as it is easier when it comes to cases of fraud etc etc.

I know three people within my fairly close family that go by their middle name rather than their first names (we are all boring English people btw incase anyone is thinking this is a cultural tradition or something, it isn’t).
So I view middle names as an alternative option for a first name.

We gave one to DD, DH wanted her to have an African middle name since her first name isn’t African. I can get on board with this logic but generally think middle names are a bit pointless. That might just be because I don’t like my own middle name though!