Why do people double barrel first names?

[FlawlessFuckup]

Inspired by the ‘somebody explain Nando’s to me’ thread to find answers to my own personal mysteries.

I just don’t get it. I think hyphens look ugly, and most people only get called the first half of the name anyway, Sofia for Sofia-Rose etc.

I personally feel hyphenating names with a made up misspelt half-name like -Mai is odd. But I find it even odder when people hyphenate two ‘normal’ names, that have no obvious connection to each other, like Sofia-Rose, to use the same example.

I just don’t get it. Could someone explain it to me? Why would/did you do this? Is it because you couldn’t decide between two names, or another reason?

It’s common in France because until 1993 you could only give your child a name from the list of official prénoms. Because this was a relatively small list you ended up with a lot of children with the same name, so you would hyphenate two to make it slightly more distinctive.

Satan's a boy's name isn't it?

I know a girl called something very like Johnnie-Mai. Her friends just call her John.

"and several are also French"

I think this is important. It's an utterly normal naming tradition in much of southern mainland Europe. In the more diverse communities in the UK, some traditions/habits spread. This is something that appears to be doing so, and also being more fully assimilated by the names used together being names already in use in the community that is taking on the new fashion.

I use 'fashion' advisedly, because it is probably just that. It might not stick around for long, as there are very few double barrelled first names which have been in use for generations. Well, not in UK. I think it might be more of a US habit (different European traditions dominate there) and the global selling of US telly programmes and their availability online might be a factor too.

I find it irritating because our surname is one of the typically used double barrelled first names, so it sounds like I've done it anyway!
My daughter says her name and quite often gets asked what her last name is. She then has to explain that she's already given both names.
It wasn't a thing 18 years ago!

The French tradition of double-barrelled first names dates back to Napoleons times, where names had to be chosen from a government approved list of about 200 names. Double barrelling them gave a bit more individuality.

Imagine my sister’s surprise on meeting her new boss - Jean Marie - who she had thought was a woman.

I have never met a middle class hyphenated first name.

Without reading TWT, my guess is that it's to make sure people call the child by their full name (i.e., not leave out one bit).

BTW OP, to my mind thinking a hyphen looks 'ugly' must be one of the oddest things I've ever heard. Proper punctuation should always be encouraged .

Without reading TWT, my guess is that it's to make sure people call the child by their full name (i.e., not leave out one bit).

I'm being driven bananas by the reverse. DD is something like Ava Grace - Grace is a middle name. Fully half my friends refer to her as Ava-Grace. I constantly feel like shouting that the middle name was just to placate my granny and could they stop please .

I have a double barrelled Christian name which is never used - most people don't know I have it.

The reasoning behind it was I should have anther 'middle name' inserted honouring my deceased mother. This was added in to the name she had left for me to have and so when being registered I had two middle names, one being Louise and one being her Christian name. Only problem was it didn't flow well and it was decided to hyphenate my first name with a shortening of Louise, ie -Lou.

Now if you think of the Mary-Lou's, (not my name I hasten to add) Emma-Lou's, etc it all seems a bit American for 1970s London. I don't like it at all, but I see the reasoning behind it. Didn't like being the odd one out at school and never used it since.

The modern take on hyphenated names to me sounds like people giving their kids cutesie nicknames as full names. Like adding 'moo' or 'Lou' to the end of a single girl's name affectionately, but making it the actual full name. I think the 'pixie-poo' type sound awful. Even worse is the two random full length names bodged together like Alison-Victoria. They don't sound posh they sound like a mouthful. It's a bit attention seeking.

I have never met a middle class hyphenated first name.
The most middle class person I know has a son with a name like Kaiden-Jay, equally I know someone who mumsnet would call ‘chavvy’ with a name like Harriet. I don’t really think you can guess class based on names.

There's going to be a lot of Gracie-Mae's in years to come changing their name to Grace, removing the hyphen and correcting the spelling to May.

Only winners here are the Deed Poll office.

I know siblings show parents didn't bother with hyphens - think Janelouse and Johnpaul but not .

I also know one mum who insists ther DS has two first names and no middle name. But apparently it's ok just to call him by his first name. I really struggle to get my head around that. I'm wondering if it's cultural? Anyway, I think he needs a hyphen.

Imagine my sister’s surprise on meeting her new boss - Jean Marie - who she had thought was a woman.

Marie Jean would have been a woman, of course.

The French don't seem to shorten names like the British do. British people rarely call their intimates by their whole names (see obsessive Baby Names posts about shortenings) and it occurs to me from my very limited knowledge of Russia that they frequently shorten names too. Maybe it's a cold climate thing, to conserve energy

Joking aside, if you accept that your child's name will be shortened by her friends but REALLY want her to be known as Emily, then you could name her Emily-Rose and her friends would be highly likely to call her Emily; whereas if you went for just Emily she'd end up being Em.

#showerthoughts , not a fully formed theory

Hummus, you shouldn't have given in to granny!

Is there be another Ava in your DD's class by any chance? That's where middle names come into their own. Bloody useful they are then. I know of two Hannahs in one class. One is known as 'Hannah' and the other as 'Hannah Rose' (first & middle).

I come from a different culture where middle names are for using (so no hyphen required, people will generally use them until told otherwise by the grown child, if they so decide).

like people giving their kids cutesie nicknames as full names.

Indeed. I used to refer to my daughter as Missy-Moo. Her name isn't Missy. It doesn't even start with M. There does seem to be a general feeling among many mothers that a baby girl's name has to be cute above anything else and sound nice. Boys names have to be stong and masculine.

All a bit depressing really.

Yes. It's part of a culture of infantilising and cutifying little girls and forgetting that they will grow into adulthood IMO. Although more and more boys are getting them too, tommy-joe, Alfie-ray etc

Almost 30 years ago, I taught a DC with two traditional English names both with three syllables, joined with a hyphen. Think Harriet-Annabel. Her mother insisted on her being called by both names.

There was a Hannah-Elizabeth at my DS's school. I've also met a child I can't name as it's too identifiable with a 3 syllable-4 syllable double barrelled name. 7 syllables for a first name is at least 2 too many.

sticky we're not near school age yet; she's not even crawling! Oh well, it's a very minor thing, just took me by surprise. And after giving her all these lovely feminine names I mainly call her Squidgy .

I'm double barrelled but it was to differentiate me from a close relative who was born a few weeks before me and by coincidence her mum gave her the name my mum had picked out for me!

My maternal family all call me by my full double barrelled name, everyone else just uses my first name

The trend in hypentated Mae names, I can maybe understand. 'Lily-Mae', 'Lola-Mae' etc sound cutesy which I think is the appeal. And they also tend to be just three syllables which isn't too much of a mouthful.

But I can't understand plonking two names together that sound so clunky. For instance, Emma-Lily. Just choose one name! It's four syllables of pointlessness. And Emma-Lily's parents will probably complain when teachers at her school are calling her Emma.

Or just call her Emily

It's a nice way to use a really popular name but make it different like Satan-grace or Clara-rose or whatever. I like it.
This made me laugh so much