Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Baby names

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

Valentine as middle name for boy

78 replies

FozBoz · 10/02/2018 07:09

There's a chance I might have to have my baby this week, very possibly Valentine's day. Could I use Valentine as a middle name without sounding like a knob

Is it wanky? Will he hate me? I thought it might be nice to mark his birthday, and if it were any other saints days, I use those.

First name James, surname starts with F.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Notso · 10/02/2018 17:10

It's not the name as the twee aspect of using it just because of when he was born. I just find it a bit naff.

upsideup · 10/02/2018 17:34

DD's middlename is Valentina. James Valentine is beautiful, I would go for it OP!

yikesanotherbooboo · 10/02/2018 17:51

I think it's an ok name but not keen on the commentating Valentine's Day aspect.

kaytee87 · 10/02/2018 20:31

He'll be made fun of.

James is a lovely name op.

pilates · 11/02/2018 22:47

Hardworkharriet, was your husband’s relative a young 16 year old boy? If so, I could be distantly related 😂. I really like James Valentine.

Beeziekn33ze · 11/02/2018 23:05

FozBoz - Val Kilmer? And a long ago Radio actor called Valentine Dyall.
Go for it!

SaraTwelve8 · 11/02/2018 23:07

Love it. It’s my nephews middle name and everyone else seems to love it too! As far as being teased or ‘bullied’ goes, don’t think there’s anything to worry about.. :)

lottiegarbanzo · 11/02/2018 23:13

I really like it. It's a nice name in itself and the association is lovely (though I imagine something really gory happened to the actual saint, it generally did).

I think of Valentine Warner, the chef / food writer.

Val isn't such a standard boy's name abbreviation these days, in fact I'd say it's one of the many former boy's names that's gone from unisex to girl's name, like Lesley (Les), Lyndsay etc - though it's hardly a popular girl's name at the mo, so little source for confusion and you wouldn't really use a nickname version of a middle name anyway.

I do think it depends on ones social millieu (to the extent that anyone talks about middle names). The same places in which it's possible to grow up as Benedict (bendy dick etc) would be fine for a Valentine.

Youcanstayundermyumbrella · 11/02/2018 23:13

I know a rather posh man in his 80s born on 14th February with the middle name Valentine. It doesn't seem to have bothered him.

lottiegarbanzo · 11/02/2018 23:17

Not Valentino though. That's a surname and would sound weird.

RebelRogue · 12/02/2018 00:17

As long as you don't pick his first name as Teddy,he should be fine.

Teddy Valentine Confused what were they thinking?

windchimesabotage · 12/02/2018 00:25

No I think its lovely as a middle name. Id even give it as a first name but I hate the NN Val.

Our son has an unusual middle name. Its the place he was conceived lol although no one knows that. It was a special place to us.

I think middle names are a great opportunity to do something fun or meaningful even if you wanted a more traditional first name.

MollyHuaCha · 12/02/2018 00:26

I like Valentine

EmpireVille · 12/02/2018 00:56

I went to school with a boy called Valentine, Val for short. His parents were Irish. It just seemed normal to us. I haven't met one since.

Onceuponatimethen · 12/02/2018 01:03

I knew an adult one who had it as his first name. He found it mortifying and called himself Vic instead - so we all thought his name was victor

Onceuponatimethen · 12/02/2018 01:05

Meant to say he also really didn’t suit the name - just didn’t seem right for him

Perfectly1mperfect · 12/02/2018 01:10

He will hate it when he's s teen and his friends take the piss...sorry. I think the test for all names should be would it be ok for a state secondary school ! Lol

windchimesabotage · 12/02/2018 01:20

My husband went to a state secondary school and has both an extremely unusual first name and middle name. He did not get bullied and he loves his name.

Its a bit of a lottery getting teased. Could happen to anyone about anything. I got teased at school for very random things. I dont think you should base a childs name on trying to protect them from teasing. As long as you arent naming them Satan or Rubella or Peter Phile or something completely mad an unusual name is not actually any real indicator whether someone will get bullied or not.

Sophisticatedsarcasm · 12/02/2018 06:37

There’s a Romanian boy where I work and he’s called valentine. I thought it sounded a bit strange at first but I got used to it 😊

annawoolfworries · 12/02/2018 06:42

Valentin is s very popular name in Eastern Europe. If you live in my school catchment area he won’t be the only one in his year. Go for it, it’s lovely

itsbetterthanabox · 12/02/2018 09:39

Valentino would be better

elderlee · 12/02/2018 13:55

I think it's great - I know someone with middle name Valentine and he was very well liked when we were at school together.

SadieHufflepuff · 12/02/2018 19:50

I love it

unenthusiasticfuturedancemom · 12/02/2018 20:07

I think it's lovely. He can always bury it when he's going through his awkward teen phase if he doesn't like it.

ThePurpleSheep · 12/02/2018 20:20

My DS was born on Valentine's Day and I considered giving him the middle name Valentino. Didn't in the end as I thought he would get enough comments from his birthdate alone, which he certainly does! Funnily enough I gave him James as a middle name instead.

As an aside DS's birthday present was delivered by a lovely DPD courier today called Valentin.

Swipe left for the next trending thread