Middle Name Help

[pinkpeony4]

Hi there

I think we have decided on the name Iris for our baby girl but I am having trouble deciding on middle names. We have 3 boys who each have 2 family middle names. Female family names are: Barbara, Catherine, Kathleen, Mary & Holly. Do you think we should use two of those or do we just use two other names we like?! (Violet, Ottilie or Dora) This is definitely our last baby and I really want to love her whole name so having a dilemma. Which combination do you think works best?

Many thanks

I don't really like any of the family names, although I know Catherine is big on mn.

I think if its your last baby, use names because you love them not because you feel you should. A compromise could be 1 middle name from the family and 1 name you love.

Iris is a floral name so I don't think it sounds that good with others like Violet (although I love Violet) also think Dora is a bit short, Iris sounds better with longer names so maybe Isadora?

Iris Ottilie Mary XXX
Iris Catherine Dora XXX

Why not have 2 middle names? - just because your other dc may not, doesn't mean this one can't - when she is older you just tell her you wanted a family name in there

Iris Mary Ottilie is my favorite combination, followed by Iris Catherine Mary depending on the surname!

I agree Violet with Iris might be a bit much due to the floral theme, same could be said of Holly...

MissusBeee Yes it depends on how many syllables are in the surname. A monosyllabic surname such as smith brown jones etc would probably work best with Iris Mary Ottilie or Iris Catherine Dora but a 2 syllable name such as jackson, davies, taylor etc would work best with Iris Ottilie Mary I reckon. Its all in the rythym

Iris Ottilie is wonderful.

Could you use Kate or Kit as a mn and knock out both Catherine and Kathleen in one go - I think Iris Kate Ottilie or Iris Ottilie Kate is fab.

eatyourveg my boys have two middle names each so I would want this baby to as well. Surname is two syllables.

I love Iris Ottilie too, can't have Kit but like the idea of Kate. Biggest problem is that my mother will probably want her named after her and her name is Barbara...! Any suggestions?!

I think Barbara is great. I like Kathleen and Mary too.
Loving your daughter's full name is important but you can love what it means/ the people behind it too.
Just a thought, good luck choosing.

Whats your mum's middle name? Is it better than Barbara?

It's Joan

So do you have grandparents who are Mary and Dora? Using a maternal great grandmother's name would negate any upset from your mother surely?

I'm sticking with Iris Ottilie Mary - definitely Ottilie in the middle of the three for the rhythm to work best

Iris Ottilie probably works best out of the names you suggested. Has a certain ring to it that is missing from the others.

Eatyourveg Mary was my paternal grandmother and Dora is just one of the names I love for a girl. Maternal grandmother was Catherine. I also love Iris Ottilie ...... just unsure which name to put next without offending! (Kathleen is mil so not bothered at all about using that)