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Baby names

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

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Original poster

hyphenated first name?

62 replies

ditsydoll · 27/02/2013 08:41

DH and I have decided on Ella Rose (surname) ,however I actually prefer the name when it's hyphenated so her first name would be Ella-Rose.

Has anyone hyphenated their children's first name?

OP posts:

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willyoulistentome · 27/02/2013 12:31

I'm dead posh!!

NotADragonOfSoup · 27/02/2013 12:34

It will confuse all who meet her and make bank/card etc applications a nightmare as have to be redone when people miss off hyphen. And she will just get pissed off with having drs/nurses etc call her by the first name not her actual name.

I speak from experience

I disagree.

And I also speak from experience :)

BeeBopDingALing · 27/02/2013 15:52

I wouldn't bother hyphenating. The girls at school I knew with hyphenated names only ever used (and still do) the first part of their names.

Ella is a ok first name and Rose is an ok middle name but together as one name sounds a bit twee and childlike iyswim.

GW297 · 27/02/2013 18:53

Ella-Rose is lovely!

sooperdooper · 27/02/2013 19:59

It amuses me greatly how much people get worked up about hyponated names on MN, I've never in 34 years in RL have anyone make such a big to-do about my name!

Nor have I ever had anyone say they think it's pretentious, or pointless, or weird or anything really, it's just my name and I've never met another person with the same one

If you like it, do it, I think Ella-Rose is pretty

Ginebra · 27/02/2013 20:03

Only for certain combinations, like Marie-claire, Anne-Charlotte, Mary-Anne. i don't like religious names for the sake of it but they are the only names that can side step the hillbilly vibe, or the can't decide vibe

Ginebra · 27/02/2013 20:04

If it works in France then I will give it approval

nectarini1983 · 27/02/2013 20:59

Not a fan or hyphenated first names. Just seems unnecessary really.

NotADragonOfSoup · 27/02/2013 21:54

More than one name is unnecessary. Necessary is rarely a consideration in these things I find.

ErikNorseman · 28/02/2013 12:47

Hate hyphenated names in general, Ella is pretty but overused, Rose is pretty but overused. Ella-rose makes me cringe, EllaRose even more so. I'm sure you don't care what I think but believe me I'm not the only person who cringes at hyphenated names.

ErikNorseman · 28/02/2013 12:49

sounds a bit twee and childlike iyswim.

Yes! This is why I hate them. They sound like nicknames. Like calling a baby Millie moo or daisy boo or something, but making it their actual name

It seems like you are naming a baby, forgetting that she will grow up into an adult woman and hopefully want to be taken seriously.

Willow36 · 28/02/2013 14:29

I like hyphenated names. My best friends daughter is Ava-Grace & I love it. Ella-Rose is lovely, go for it!

Masterchuff · 28/02/2013 14:30

My DD has a hyphenated first name. Never caused a problem yet. Beautiful name OP

BananaHammocks · 28/02/2013 22:27

Sorry but I'm another one who thinks it looks twee and hillbilly and childish to hyphenate names! Also agree that Ella and Rose are both pretty names but soooooo overused that it unfortunately makes them a bit boring. I think of the names that were super popular when I was born and I think of them as boring whereas I guess people of our parents generation thought they were pretty and different.

mmmmsleep · 28/02/2013 22:41

OP sorry if i seemed a bit harsh. Ella-Rose is lovely and many hyphenated names are. On the continent my hyphenated name is very common and wouldn't have been an issue. i just found it a bit of a drag having it in uk esp growing up as it is vv rare here hence sharing my views. If you love it go for it. Good luck with the birth.

MoonlightandRoses · 28/02/2013 22:45

It's a really pretty name. No idea why, but for some reason using the hyphen makes it look more 'complete' IYSWIM? Doesn't really matter for the spoken version(s), but, to me, is much more elegant on paper as Ella-Rose, rather than Ella Rose.

wonkylegs · 28/02/2013 22:45

My cousin has a hyphenated name both parts of which are unusual. She's always known by the full name and it's generally accepted. It's a very unusual combination but she does live in California with friends with much weirder names.

GW297 · 28/02/2013 22:47

Moonlightandroses - I agree. Aesthetically it looks much better with a hyphen.

getmeoutofthismadhouse · 28/02/2013 22:52

I wanted Lily-Ella for my DD and my exP vetoed it saying the double names are cute when they are little but as solicitors or doctors or high level jobs would it still be a nice name for a 30+ woman ... same with Georgia-Lily which she ended up with but shes Georgia middle name Lily on her birth certificate for that reason.

UnrequitedSkink · 28/02/2013 23:10

It's just a bit naff innit?

amck5700 · 28/02/2013 23:38

Lovely name, don't have strong feelings about hyphens either way, except when it comes to emails. In a work environment people who have hyphens, apostrophes etc are a pain in the butt when you are trying to email them :o

I have one colleague who has a non hyphenated but could be hyphenated name - with both names having 2 spelling options and she tops that off with an apostrophed surname - I hate her!! Not really cos she is lovely It's not her fault, but every time the IT people set up an email address they use a different style - sometimes they leave a gap between the two first names, sometimes they don't , sometimes they chuck a hyphen in - and then comes the surname, is it a gap, no gap or an actual apostrophe....or even an underscore?!?! I guess you get the picture!

mrstowers · 28/02/2013 23:48

Hyphenated names have become really overly popular where I live. I have heard parents actually quite distressed because they can't think of a second name to go with the first when hypenated. Er, it doesn't have to be hypenated. We've had first name-May, first name-Rose, first name-Grace, first name-Rae, first name-Belle. Really really overly popular.

VinegarDrinker · 01/03/2013 08:18

Lol at hyphenated names not being suitable for a doctor. Hasn't stopped me!

ErikNorseman · 01/03/2013 08:33

IMO there is a difference between Sarah-Jane or similar 70s-80s era hyphenated names and the current trend which is infinitely more twee. Anything at all with the 'ae' sound just makes it sound excessively cute and like a little girl's nickname. Rose or belle are just gilding the lily, too pretty, especially when teamed with another 'pretty' (ie flower or similar) name (lily-rose, Lula-belle, Lola-rose, tallulah-belle, etc). Then you have the bodging of two names together that don't even flow, like Courtney-Madison or similar. They are all just so naff.

MolotovCocktail · 01/03/2013 09:27

It's clearly a question of taste and what individuals prefer. I love the suggestions of Lily-Rose, Lily-Ella, Tallulah-Belle, Lola-Rose.

I strongly disagree with the "hillbilly" statement made upthread: IMO, this connotation depends upon the names used rather than the fact of a hyphenated name (to me, Demi-Lee is not a particualarly nice name, but Lula-Belle is).

I think hyphens mark an evolution in naming trends - some will want to be part of it, others not. Such is life!

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