Double barrelled First Names

[Sprinkles07032020]

I'm after your thoughts and opinions on double barrelled first name opposed to a first and middle name.

Basically my partner is called George and wants to call our child if a boy George but I don't feel comfortable as I find it already confusing when we're around his family as he is George the 3rd so potentially there is 3 people in the same room with the same name. We discussed calling it George to honour the tradition with his name being legally George then a middle name to which I would use. (The other name we have agreed on is Freddie.) however im not starting to think it would be better double barrelling it to be George-Freddie so he's legally called both and can choose when old enough which he would prefer.

We would also like to use my dads name which confuses everything even more...... soo what do you think is best

Double barrelled / George-Freddie Wayne

Or first & 2 middles names / George Freddie Wayne

Sorry for the long post!

George-Freddie is Both terrible and unnecessary. Just give him middle names.

I think if you are going with double barrel first name then you should be thinking in terms of using the initials as his actual name. Think Peter James as PJ.
George Freddie doesn't sound right to my ear - Freddie George sounds better - but I've no idea why.

George-Freddie really doesnt flow well at all. Some names lend themselves to being hyphenated but many sound clunky and strange. Unfortunately George-Freddie falls into the latter category.

Legal name George Freddie and call him Freddie on a day to day basis. Or just call him Freddie George and be done with it.

He can change his name at any time legally anyway, or just decide to go by a different name so having the option isnt really necessary.

@BennyTheBall

George will be his first name no matter what! I wasn't asking for your personal opinion on the actual names chosen just the layout.

Jesus that is AWFUL!

Just no.

Let's start from the beginning here - right, this is your baby too. You don't want the name George. So - no George! Easy. The end!

Frederick George Wayne flows nicely. Freddie George Wayne also fine if you just want the diminutive, I'd always go for the full name but that's personal choice.

And he will be Freddie, which you both like and no confusion, and George (partner's side) and Wayne (your side) have equal status as the middle name.

Hope the baby is having your surname though as is traditional if you're not married!

I am a bit confused about "then a middle name to which I would use." So.... are you saying that everybody else is going to be calling him George and just you will be calling him Freddie? Isn't that going to be a bit weird? Or do you mean that you are a single parent in sole custody and will be the only one calling him anything? By the way, going by a different name to your "legal" first name is very awkward and can cause all sorts of paperwork difficulties later on. Especially if you go by one name in one situation and another name in another situation.

Giving a son his father's first name is not something I would advise in this day and age--unless you have a stately home to bequeath or something, it's just a bit odd. Why is he so insistent on this? What are you doing about the surname?

Yes but you don't want it as his first name?

It's quite odd to actually literally call him the same name as his father.

Something tells me your 'it's all about ME' partner will also be insisting on his surname being used?

I'd go for George Frederick Wayne Surname on the birth certificate and call him Freddie on a day to day basis.
I think Frederick flows better than Freddie if you're putting it before Wayne.

Otherwise it works nicely the other way around: George Wayne Freddie Surname.

It's the layout that people are really commenting on though.

George is a good name.

Freddie/Frederick is a good name.

George-Freddie is beyond awful - twee, silly, over the top, sounds like you're naming a soft toy.

Also it totally sounds like it's your cobbled together solution to your partner insisting on a name you don't really want (for very good reasons) and instead of saying no, George as a middle name (sensible) you're giving in to him and trying to find a messy way for the baby to actually have a different name.

@FizzyGreenWater

Me and my Partner are married so yes the child will have the same surname as us both.

We've never thought about Frederick instead of Freddie so thank you for that suggestion I like Frederick George Wayne and like you say both grandparents names have the same value.

Sorry but having a double barrelled name as a first name like that sounds ridiculous
George on its own is a lovely name
George-Freddie is utterly ridiculous- please don’t do that

Frederick George Wayne is absolutely fine.

George is a great name. Freddie is great as a middle name.

George-Freddie as a hyphenated name is awful.

I know a Joey-John and an Ellie-Rose. Both know as Joey and Ellie. I think it’s pointless double barrelling a first name.

OP sorry for the assumptions! Partner usually means unmarried so I assumed you'd have different surnames. Both sharing a surname with the baby - great.

Well hopefully that sounds like a good compromise?

Frederick is fab and yes the 'equality' between the two family names is really nice.

Nothing to stop your partner having a special 'thing' with the baby where he sometimes calls him George as their little nickname? Big George and Little George. It could be their special joke with each other, and that would keep it in mind that he's also a 'George' in the family - but with his own name too!

George Frederick Wayne is OK, but it can be a PITA to use your middle name as your known as name.

George-Freddie is not George as a first name, looks tacky and doesn't flow.

If you really want to use George as a first name could George 1V be known as Georgie or a nn?

My first name is double barrelled.
I was adopted and the first part is a nod to the country I was born in and the second my darling DF's mommas name.
My DF is American but of German decent .
I used to get the piss taken out of me at my British schools and called clampit.
As in the Beverly Hillbillies 😂
Unfortunately it's stuck with that friendship group.
My family are middle class , midwestern Americans and I'm the only one with the very southern sounding name.
I appreciate the sentiment but I'd rather have had grandmas name and the other name as a middle name.
My DC both have family names. 1 is the 5 th in my family with that name ( it's DFs name too) and the youngest the 3rd generation.
First and two middle names.
I love the tradition of it but I wouldn't have given either their dads name as a first name.
I think it's odd but that's just me.
They have their dads and his dads name as middle names

Personally me and my wife would never give our child a double barrelled middle name as we thought after what we saw through our time at school it would be unfair on them. Up to you though hun as it's your child and who am I to tell you what to do.

Hope the birthing goes well

xxxx

Fredrick George is a nice name.

I have a double barrelled first name but I never use the second name. Together they sound similar to another full name which is then shortened to something different again. I just stopped using the second name. It's also a right faff when completing official docs as a lot of organisations don't consider or recognise a hyphen in the first name.

Another way to Freddie is Alfred...but that can also create Alfie.