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Baby names

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Original poster

My friend has just given her new baby girl the middle name....

61 replies

Kathyis6incheshigh · 31/01/2008 18:19

Douglas!

Is it just me, or is this a boy's name?

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sabaidii · 02/02/2008 10:37

I knw a little girl called Abigail Michael. Her mum didn't think she would be able to have another child. She did have a second girl and called her Madeleine John. She thought if she gave Abby a boy's name, then she should do the same for the second one.

pointydog · 01/02/2008 17:53

Morvyn's an odd spelling but I love the name Morven

Bucky2008 · 01/02/2008 17:52

origins of douglas

Douglas was indeed a girl's name first.

ComeOVeneer · 01/02/2008 17:10

Dh's (female) cousin's middle name is Timothy, after her uncle who died of leukemia the month before she was born. She was embarrsed about it as a young child but as she got older she is now very proud of it.

chipmonkey · 01/02/2008 17:03

twelveyeargap, my Dad remembered teasing the boy next door shouting "Brian Mary Carthy, neh neh neh-neh neh!"

calzone · 01/02/2008 17:01

A good female friend of mine is called Ross Joseph.

Her mum wanted a boy!

twelveyeargap · 01/02/2008 16:57

In parts of Ireland, it's traditional for children to get their mother's first name as a middle name. I knew a Paul Mary.

hanaflower · 01/02/2008 16:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BellaDonna79 · 01/02/2008 16:51

My poor mother's first name is, wait for it McDougall... My grandmother is a slightly odd woman, luckily at 5 she made the decision to tell her teacher that all her family called her by her middle name, Morvyn, whcih while still pretty bad is a HELL of a lot better than Mc fucking Dougall!

fishie · 01/02/2008 16:49

yup my granny's middle name was macpherson. but she had a betty in there too, lots of names!

NKF · 01/02/2008 16:45

It could be a surname used as a middle name. Scottish people do that quite a bit so perhaps it's that.

MsHighwater · 01/02/2008 16:45

Actually, I once knew an old lady whose first name was Graham!

I plucked up courage to ask her why she was called that. She replied that "After my mother"

MsHighwater · 01/02/2008 16:42

My dd has a surname that is similar to a boy's name as a middle name(Robb) but it was my dh's mum's maiden name, not mine. We knew we would almost certainly have no more than one dc together and decided to do the family thing on names. Her first name comes from my side of the family so we decided to take her middle name from his side. (Also because it avoided having too many syllables).

We're in Scotland, too, but I was never aware of it as a tradition, particularly, though obviously that would explain why it would seem quite normal to me. Which it does.

So, nothing wrong with a girl having Douglas as a middle name. I could think of a lot worse.

specialmagiclady · 31/01/2008 21:26

PS am also Scottish...

specialmagiclady · 31/01/2008 21:23

My middle name is Grant. I am a girl.

Hated it as a kid, love it now.

fryalot · 31/01/2008 21:20

Twas tradition in our family that the first born had the mother's maiden name as a middle name.

My granny broke with this tradition when she had my mum, so I didn't have to suffer it either, but I think it is a lovely idea, it meant that the maternal family name was continued as well as the paternal one.

yummylittlelapin · 31/01/2008 21:19

My parents apparently considered doing the family name as middle name thing, but decided McGregor was a bit much

crabby · 31/01/2008 21:13

My mother is American and my father half American. My sister and I both have family surnames as middle names. It is a tradition that when a woman gets married that her surname becomes her middle name i.e. Jane Smith marries Mr Jones and becomes Jane Smith Jones. A lot of families just carry this tradition through and give children family surnames as middle names even prior to marriage! V. traditional in USA. Sounds like it may be from scottish tradition.

Fubsy · 31/01/2008 20:55

Its defo a Scottish thing, my Mum's middle name is Stewart. I thought that was hilarious when i was younger!

McDreamy · 31/01/2008 20:53

Same here, scottish tradition, first female of the family gets mum's maiden name as her middle name.

pointydog · 31/01/2008 20:52

yes, it's the female line thing. Mine is some great granny's maiden name

pistachio · 31/01/2008 20:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

pointydog · 31/01/2008 20:50

ah suzy, I feel myself becoming increasingly tetchy tonight and I don't know why. I should slope off and do something else.

kaz33 · 31/01/2008 20:46

My scottish mum has maiden name as middle name, and my son has my maiden name as middle name .

suzycreamcheese · 31/01/2008 20:44

and ready for a square-go pointy?

its scottish thing to do..keep your hair on ladies..