Middle names - necessary?

[DwangelaForever]

Ok so I'm currently pregnant with baby number 2. Naming number 1 was hard enough but we got there in the end, a name we both loved with DHs late mother's name as a middle name.

Due in just over 4 weeks and we're at an absolute loss over first names (never mind middle names).

I'm loving the name Lewis and I think hubby likes it too, my only problem is that I don't think it flows with any names for a middle name?

Also worried cause our DDs middle name is so personal and we don't really have any personal names to give DS. Don't know if we should avoid a middle name for lack of meaning or give him one cause DD has one.

There is a sort of family middle name of Reid in my mums side of family so that could be a contender but does it flow?

Advice and suggestions welcome 😊

Lewis Reid sounds great to me. I think it works whatever the surname.

But equally, there’s no requirement to have a middle name. My youngest sister (in one of 8!) has no middle name. Two reasons: she has a four syllable FN and a Danish surname so the name as a whole was considered to be enough of a learning challenge 😂, and second, mother had simply used up all the names she liked!

My best friend also ran out of names for her third child, who has no middle names, whilst her siblings do. It’s not a big deal if you don’t actially have a name to give!

I posed the question about what the utility of middle names is some time ago, here. I think they are a religious throw-back (confirmation names during the process of the sacraments) as well as a means to identifying those relatives named for their ancestors etc.

I don't have a middle name! Never was a problem

Reid would be fine as middle name. Lots of names would work well.

Lewis Alexander
Lewis Henry
Lewis Jacob
Lewis Arthur
Lewis George
Lewis Edward
Lewis Niall
Lewis Albert

I like Lewis Alexander too and I think it fits in with DDs name as she has two quite long names whereas Lewis Reid is a bit short 🤔

Although my cousin has just had a baby and his middle name is Alexander - wondering if my cousin would be annoyed by this? I had been considering it for a while as a middle name and was a bit annoyed when I saw she'd used it as a middle name too but I suppose it doesn't overly matter!

Definitely not necessary. Me, my OH and the two kids don't have any middle names. I don't see the point tbh. It's nice if you're using a family name but if you don't have one then I don't really get the whole plucking a random name out . It rarely gets used so I don't know why people bother lol

Nobody in my family has a middle name - it's never been an issue. When do people ever use them ?

Dd has my mum's name as a middle name (it's also my sister's name) - Elizabeth. Ds has dh's dad's name as his middle name (it's a tradition to have that name somewhere so dh also has it as his middle name) - Kenneth

I have 2 middle names (my 2 grans' names)

My god daughter was not given any mn and she says she wishes she had one. The child might feel that since everyone else has a mn his name is missing something, esp if Dd1 has one. I would certainly give him a middle name.

I agree with EducationComesFirst . My DPs and older DB have middle names but I don't. It's like they couldn't be bothered.

@disappearingninepatch @EducationComesFirst see that's what I was thinking too!

I would give a middle name if your other child has one, I think Lewis Reid sounds fine as does Lewis Alexander. I can’t see an issue with it being the same as your cousins baby especially as they’re both middle names. I would take it as a compliment you both have the same taste in names/ think it’s a lovely name.

I don’t have one. Wish I did. I gave my DC two each

No, of course they're not necessary. I've always seen their main function as being to give parents who love lots of names a chance to use more of them. If you only like one name, there's no harm in only giving one. On the other hand, I don't think I would give one to one child and not the other. Either one of them could end up feeling that was unfair. I quite like both the combinations you're considering.

Necessary?
No. But it's really nice imo.:)

A bit of family history, something sentimental, well wishes by the parents (especially in regards to virtue names or names chosen for their meaning)...

Middle names also give options. Your DC may end up disliking their first name. Or their name (especially if it's a rare one) may end up being associated with someone infamous or a catastrophic event.

And it just seems a bit weird ("unfair"?) to give a middle name to one child but not the other.

You could use you maiden name (if you took his name) or your mother's (grandmother's, your DH's mother's...) maiden name :)

Lewis Alexander is nice imo.
It's rather popular so your cousin would be unreasonable to be annoyed imo. (Unless she gave her son a name that was similar to Lewis...)

Does Lewis Christopher flow?

I think Lewis and anything suggested flows tbh. Lewis is a versatile and easy name. Lewis Christopher is as nice as any.

I have given DD a middle name so now all subsequent babies will get one. I don't have one and always wished I did! I tend to go for nice names for the first and good meanings or religious ones for middle x

I like both Lewis Reid and Lewis Christopher, but I’m on the fence about middle names. I don’t have one, but as a teen always wished I did because my name seems a bit “cut and dry”. Mind you, now I’m an adult I’m very happy with my name! Having said that, I only think they make sense if there’s a family connection or similar, otherwise it just seems unnecessary. So, I’d pick Lewis Reid.

I prefer Lewis Reid. It sounds nicer and there's a family connection...

I love a middle name.

Lewis Reid works.

Some other options:

Lewis Matthew
Lewis Robert
Lewis Jacob
Lewis Samuel
Lewis Richard

I think Lewis Reid sounds lovely, it flows beautifully

I actually use my girls' middle names quite a lot (without the surname so not in a telling off way) when talking to them, maybe because their first name is quite short. If one child has a middle name I would give the second child one as well in case it's a source of conflict. My uncle didn't have a middle name whereas my dad was middle named after his father. Uncle adopted his own middle name because he wanted a middle initial.

What about using your DH's late mother's surname as a middle name (assuming it is different from your own surname - perhaps a maiden name) to keep the family connection going?

Or danger

Which is the best middle name

I don't have a middle name, and neither does DS1. Do you ever use your middle name?

No middle names here, we've survived for forty-mumble years without.

A friend has a good ploy - one flouncy name, one sensible name, both with different ways to shorten them. Six names for the price of two, gives the kid a good chance of finding one that they want to be known by.