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Baby names

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

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Original poster

Mothers maiden name as middle name?

58 replies

bluebabydinosaur · 07/02/2018 09:21

What do you all think about using the maiden name as a middle name for baby? Im keen to do this for my son and wanted to know others thoughts. My surname sounds like a surname and not like a first name. I dont want to double barrel his actual surname and wondered if this would be a realistic alternative or is it just silly? Do many people do this? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

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Buglife · 07/02/2018 18:46

My DS has my maiden name as one of his middle names. It wasn’t something I was too fussed with but my DH thought we should as his family did it.

MikeUniformMike · 07/02/2018 19:15

It's not unusual in Wales. Either the mother's maiden name or a family middle name is often used as a middle name for a boy or a girl.
e.g. Huw Vaughan Roberts or Cadi Lloyd Jones

DuggeeHugs · 07/02/2018 20:55

DS has my maiden name as a middle name - it is more commonly used as a boys name then surname anyway so works well. I'm glad we did so as I was feeling a bit unrepresented (although I can't really explain why) and this helped a lot.

Ljgstorm · 08/02/2018 06:30

Like pp my dd has two middle names, 1 a traditional middle name and the second my maiden name before her surname.

ShiftyMcGifty · 08/02/2018 06:39

We have this too. I didn’t take my husband’s surname after marriage and I find it helps when I travel alone to have my (somewhat uncommon) surname somewhere in my kids’ passport :-)

ShiftyMcGifty · 08/02/2018 06:39

I mean travel alone with the kids

Tangoandcreditcards · 08/02/2018 06:46

We actually gave both my DSs my mother's maiden name as a middle name. It had otherwise died out.

If I ever get around to it I'll add it to my name too.

I wanted to recognise my (late) DM's family/heritage and we didn't fancy double barreled surnames

WhiskeySourpuss · 08/02/2018 06:47

I think it depends on the actual name. I have my grandmothers maiden name as my middle name, it's a definite surname & also a place name & it's awful, I hate it! I never tell anyone what it is.

Avocado0nToast · 08/02/2018 06:49

My DS has my MILs maiden name as his middle name - it's a surname that is also a name in its own right. I love it, and it suits his other names that also have Celtic links.

Rainatnight · 08/02/2018 06:50

I have my mum's maiden name as my middle name. It's very much a surname and not a particularly pretty one. I didn't like it when I was a princessy little girl - I'd have preferred something flowery! But by the time I was a teenager I really like it, and still do. I've done the same with my own DD.

Rainatnight · 08/02/2018 06:51

Ps no one else cared when I was a kid.

KillashandraRee · 08/02/2018 07:01

We did this with DS2 as my maiden name won't carry on as I've no brothers. As the surname is definitely a surname we have him two middle names, a normal name and then the surname. No one batted an eyelid and he likes it.

floriad · 08/02/2018 07:10

We're currently thinking about doing that...

There's nothing strange about this. But it really depends on your surname. (I don't know if it works with mine...)

Wheresthel1ght · 08/02/2018 07:14

My lovely mil was diagnosed with cancer not long after we found out we were pregnant, her maiden name is often used as a first name so we have used that as a hyphenated first name, sounds lovely together, didn't sound right as a first name on its own with dps surname so she has my great grandma's name as her middle name and they flow beautifully

BikeRunSki · 08/02/2018 07:25

It’s quite normal in my experience, not just in Scotland. Off the top of my head I know of maiden name middle names” of Ambrose, Innes, Harvey, Johnson and Dawson. Definitely middles, not double barelled to surnames.

SchnitzelVonKrumm · 08/02/2018 09:24

My children all have my surname as a second middle name.

ElphabaTheGreen · 08/02/2018 09:59

It's definitely a common thing in North America and has been for generations, but more so among female babies. So, my middle name is my maternal grandmother's maiden name, my mother's middle name was her maternal grandmother's maiden name, and so on, back for literally hundreds of years in my family.

The down-side for me when I was in school was that most/all other children had middle names that were basically first names, whereas I had this slightly odd middle name which scored a bit of derision (because kids can be cruel), so I ended up hating it, even though I love the tradition it comes from. Even now in the rare occasion when I have to give middle names (I discovered in my late teens/early twenties that I have a second even stranger middle name but that's a whole other story!) I do get people pausing and requiring extra spelling/repetition because it's not the expected type of name. But it's no biggie.

I didn't change my name when I married, so my DSs surnames are double-barrelled. I wasn't having my name being hidden and forgotten as a middle name, which I find middle names invariably are, so my sons just sound dead posh instead We didn't give them middle names because we assumed they'd be using up all the boxes on application forms with their surnames alone, so didn't want to give them the extra hassle.

ShanghaiDiva · 08/02/2018 10:06

My brother has my mum's maiden name as a middle name and my dad his mum's - Scottish family. We did not do that with my son as my dad died a few months before ds was born so he has my dad's first name as his middle name.

CotswoldStrife · 08/02/2018 10:11

My DH has this and hated it when younger, we did briefly consider double-barrelling to make it a surname again. He's more used to it now but absolutely hated it well into his twenties I'd say. He would avoid using it wherever possible.

Callamia · 08/02/2018 10:26

Both of my sons have my surname as their second middle name. I use my un-married name, so it makes sense for them to have it too.

whifflesqueak · 08/02/2018 10:29

My siblings and I all have old family names as middle names.

Mainland, Balfour and Burnett.

I think it’s absolutely lovely.

TittyGolightly · 08/02/2018 10:31

I only have a name (not a maiden name).

DD has Firstname Secondname Mysurname DHsurname.

Never caused her or anyone else any confusion and she loves that she has such a strong link to both sides of her family.

flowery · 08/02/2018 10:31

DS2 has my maiden name as his middle name. He likes it. No teasing as far as I'm aware at school.

I think it's a much better option than just choosing a random name as a 'filler' for a middle name, which lots of people do and which always seems a bit pointless to me.

DS1 had a bit of a 'family name' from DH's side for his middle name, and as both boys have DH's surname as well I wanted my family in there for DS2.

grannytomine · 08/02/2018 10:35

We did this with my youngest, wish I had done it with all of them. My maiden name was a traditional surname but has been used as a first name more and more over the last 20 or 30 years. I know a baby with it as a first name and the family has no connection with it as a surname. I suppose it might depend on the name.

Merrz · 08/02/2018 10:46

Yes do it!! In Scotland this is very common, especially in countryside/farming communities. Personally I don't really see the point in a middle name unless it has some kind of family link or tradition.

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