Are hyphenated first names a bad idea?

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NannyOgg26 · 19/05/2026 22:50

Are hyphenated first names a bad idea? There are a couple that we like, but I've heard people be quite disparaging about hyphenated names before. The ones we are considering are
Anne-Marie and Amy-Beth.

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RiaOverTheRainbow · 19/05/2026 23:22

NannyOgg26 · 19/05/2026 23:20

Is is usually the first or the second one they end up going by or does it vary?

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Ime usually the first

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NannyOgg26 · 19/05/2026 23:20

RiaOverTheRainbow · 19/05/2026 23:17

I know quite a few children with hyphenated names, the majority end up being known by just one of them, so make sure you like both the names individually.

Fwiw Amy-Beth makes me think of Little Women.

Is is usually the first or the second one they end up going by or does it vary?

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Firebird83 · 19/05/2026 23:19

Anne-Marie is ok. The ones people are disparaging about are the Demi-Leigh, Lexi-Mai type names.

emeraldcoffee · 19/05/2026 23:18

My name is Anne-Marie. It’s French. It’s a ‘proper’ name.

I think hyphenating a random two names is a bad idea though. It’s seen as ‘common’.

RiaOverTheRainbow · 19/05/2026 23:17

I know quite a few children with hyphenated names, the majority end up being known by just one of them, so make sure you like both the names individually.

Fwiw Amy-Beth makes me think of Little Women.

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