Are hyphenated/double first names really that bad?

[VanillaV]

We're considering choosing a hyphenated/double first name for our daughter. My husband loves many of them, and they have grown on me. I know that they're viewed quite negatively and generalised as being chavvy in the UK, but my husband is American so he's unaffected by that association. He has known many lovely people with double first names throughout his life (Emma-Jean, John-David, Mary-Grace, Rae-Ann). If we choose a hyphenated name, we intend to call her by the full name at all times. I guess I just wonder how disliked hyphenated names actually are and if they're a major inconvenience.

I've listed all of the names that we're considering below, and I'd like to get everyone's thoughts. We want a name that fits in both the UK and the US.

HYPHENATED
Anna-Kate
Anne-Marie
Joy-Anna

NOT HYPHENATED
Alaina
Camilla
Galilee
Jodi(e)
Julianna
Katherine
Lori
Lorraine
Madeleine
Rosemary
Stella

Alaina - I quite like this spelling
Camilla - It reminds me of our Queen Consort
Galilee - I like it but it's a bit awkward to say
Jodi(e) - It reminds me of Jodi Arias, Jodie Foster, and Jodie Sweetin
Julianna - I like it but dislike the potential nickname "Jules"
Katherine - It's ok
Lori - It reminds me of Lori Vallow Daybell and Lori Loughlin
Lorraine - I like it and it's due for a revival
Madeleine - I'm not a fan
Rosemary - This is my favourite
Stella - I like it but wonder if it's too popular at the moment

I like all of your hyphenated names (especially Anna-Kate).

Do you live in the US or UK?

Anna-Kate
Anne-Marie Very middle aged. Anna seems “younger” and fresher than Anne
Joy-Anna In the UK I think people will mishear this as Joanna
Personally I’d use Anna Kate (no hyphen) because hyphenated names are not popular. Plus people seem to be desperate to nickname people so I wouldn’t be surprised if an Anna-Kate at school became Anna or AK.

Alaina
Camilla - current Queen so you might want to avoid
Galilee - I didn’t know that this was a human name, never mind for girls
Jodi(e), Katherine, Lori, Lorraine, Rosemary - very middle aged names Is Lori a full name or nickname because it sounds like the latter.
Stella - I like this but some people avoid because of the beer
Julianna - one of the beat names on your list
Madeline - very popular in UK.

Thank you for the feedback! My husband suggested Anna-Kate. According to him, it's a common combination in the US (particularly the Southern US). I did consider that it might be seen as quite an unusual choice in the UK.

I agree with PP that double barreled first names aren't great. I don't see them as chavvy but they're a mouthful and people will inevitably drop the second part. We had a Marie-Louise at school and she was just known as Marie.

Nothing against any name but have heard multiple ‘Lilly-May’ shouts across the park which sounds awful usually due to the person yelling it rather than the name.

Also people that give the death stare if the name isn’t said in full every time.

I dont know what he has told you, but double names come with a heavy connotation in the U.S. They are highly regional and outside of very specific areas they are viewed the same way they are viewed in the UK. I don’t know how strongly the negative associations might be, but it might be even stronger in the U.S in certain areas.

I think hyphenated names are naff.

Your name choices are nice.

except Galilee - that’s dreadul

All I can say is my friend who has an “unusual” double barrelled first name (I won’t say it as it would be outing) absolutely hates it. No one has called her the full name since she was a preschooler and now she just has to fill out forms with this ridiculously long name and correct people all the time. She could have just been First Name Middle Name - especially as she has no middle name!

Madeline always makes me think of the missing Madeline.

I think they either sound overly frilly, like an over-elaborate dress, or just indecisive — ‘Hey, we couldn’t decide between Anna and Kate, so we called her Anna-Kate!’

Julianna is much the nicest of your list.

Living in the UK people will just shorten to the first name, unless it's something well known like Anne-Marie.

Americans will call each other Sarah Jessica or Sue Ellen but I think your DD will have to correct people loads, even with a hyphen (you don't see the hyphen when you introduce yourself to others)

Love Jodi x

Me too and poor Madeline Soto (https://crimetimelines.com/madeline-sophia-soto/). It's too much of a tragic name for me.

You are making this up? Chardonnay cannot be be a name?! 🤭 I thought it was a type of wine?
but agree with you when naming my kids I also thought would they be taken seriously? But my daughter ended up with one that is not serious at all (which she loves!) but hopefully she doesn’t want to be someone too serious 🤣

I think most people will just use the first part. My ss is Lucy-Anne and no one ever calls her anything other than Lucy. I don’t think most people even realise that’s her full name.

What about Mariella?

We live in the UK currently, but that could change.

I love it, and we hadn't even thought of it!

I agree. We like the more traditional and less used ones. We don't like the modern generic -May and -Rose ones where the second part is never used (even by the parents themselves). They feel a bit pointless.

We're hoping that our families (mainly our parents) will call her the full name but realise that not everyone will. I guess that it doesn't really matter all that much to us if anyone else does as long as we do.

I have a friend in her 20’s named Anne-Marie and she’s always that, if someone said Anne, I’d have no clue who they meant!

I know a Corey-Dylan which makes no sense to me at all.

He's told me that the only double names that are widely disliked in the US are the ones that sound extremely "hick" (Billy-Bob, Jim-Bob, Mary-Sue, etc.). He says that any other double name is associated with being Southern or Catholic.

They're awful and a pain in the arse for her. Just choose one name and a middle name.

I know a Jane-Marie who always goes by both names. I think as PP’s have said, the reception will really depend on the name.

I like Anna-Kate and Anne-Marie.

I love Lorraine! It would have been on my list but my husband wasn’t a fan. Daughter is Marcella instead :)

I named my daughter a hyphenated first name that quickly got shortened by her big brother to a nickname based on the first part of the name... It has stuck and followed her through the years, through school, where she introduces herself using only the first part of her name, and then proceeds to fall back to the nickname again. Her full name is just too long (I wanted to honor her grandfather and auntie) and in hindsight it never really should have happened, maybe first and second name.. But not hyphenated.

As you can tell from my username, I think Annemarie is fine (it’s not my real name but I’ve known a couple in RL of different nationalities and they were lovely women) - there is really no need for a hyphen though as it’s an established full name just like the reverse Marianne, so if you choose it I think most people wouldn’t use the hyphen when spelling it.

I suspect Joy- Anna will often get confused with similar sounding Joanna (as that’s much better known) so that would also be a no go for me. If you really want a hyphenated name then I think Anna-Kate is your best option, it’s not a commonplace hyphenated name here but Anna and Kate are both nice classic names in their own right and I can’t see the hyphen causing any real issues.

Personally of your non hyphenated options I only like Madeleine, Camilla, Katherine and Stella, although Julianna is fine if a bit frilly for my taste (Juliet or Julia are much more classic). Alaina has a pretty sound but will be a spelling nightmare- she’ll get Elena or Alana as they are much better known.

Galilee is very religious sounding (and rarely used in the UK), Lori is very American (not really used much here as “Lorry” is a truck), Lorraine and Rosemary would probably be in their 60’s in the UK, and Jodie likely in her late 30’s or 40’s (ie. all 3 are dated names here so not my personal taste- I like something more classic).