Was rose always a popular middle name? It seems like it’s only been a trend since the 90s

[hcarter8]

I know the name Rose was used as a first name for many centuries and is a very old fashioned historical name, but the use of it as a middle name seems relatively new and somewhat trendy? Similar to mae.

i went to school in the late 70s and no one had rose as a middle name, it was either Ann, Elizabeth, Jane etc but it seems like Rose really took off as a middle name in the 90s. I’ve worked as a midwife since the late 90s and nearly every baby in the 00s was an Emily Rose or Chloe rose etc Now mae seems to have took its place as the go to middle name.

it could just be my area but am I right about rose not always being a popular middle name? It seems like it’s become ubiquitous in the past 25 years.

In my age group, it was Ann/Anne or Jane.
Clare/Claire or Marie were also popular.

Then it was Jane or Louise.

Then Rose, joined by May or Grace.

Middle names have always followed trends, just like first names (especially for girls). As you say, Ann, Elizabeth and Jane use to be popular, then in came Louise, Marie, Claire and Kate. Victoria and Catherine were also quite popular.

Then things like Jade and Leigh became the in thing.

Now it's all Rose, Grace and May/Mae or Rae.

Snap, we were posting at the same time but pretty much the same answer lol.

I've got a 90s child with Rose as a middle name but she's named after a grandmother. So maybe the 90s was when lots of Roses became grandmothers.

All girls had Anne or Marie as middle names when I was at school.

My daughter’s middle name is Rose but she was born in the 80s. I unfortunately started a trend.

I think in the early 1900s it was a popular first name and then many women were named after Grandmothers. Then people heard it as a middle name and it took off into popularity.

My gran was Violet Rose Surname and she would've been 86 this year

Most of the late 80s-early 90s babies I know were Louise or Elizabeth middle names. I think Rose must have been well after 2000 before it was replaced by May

Margaret Rose, sister of QE II, b. 1930

And probably quite a few named after her.

Lee/Leigh was the 80s or 90s wasn't it. Often something like Emma-Leigh.

Rose and May were dated as middle names in my school days.

I think the names Jack and Rose soared in popularity after the release of the movie Titanic.

I feel like all women my age (born late 70s) are required by law to have Jane or Elizabeth or Louise as their middle name.

When I was at school in the 90s it was Louise, Marie or Ann. Now everyone is something Mai/May/Mae/RoseGrace. I work with children and the girls all have the same middle names or hyphenated names.

I’m an 80s baby and my middle is rose.
i like it though!

Checking in!

Will say that didn’t meet any of my classmates with same middle. They were all Claire, Louise, Anne. Jade, Elizabeth, Margaret

Im an 80s baby, Louise was the mandatory middle name back then, maybe Elizabeth if honouring a relative.

Or earlier

Me too! We chose it because her first name was rather long and we thought Rose was a nice short middle name. She hates it though so we did that wrong....

I was just going to say this!

When I was young Rose was a very old-fashioned but classic first name. It wasn’t a very usual middle name, though - in the 80s girls tended to have middle names like Jane and Louise. I reckon Rose became popular after Titanic - people liked the name but maybe thought it wasn’t quite individual or modern enough for a first name, but stuck it in there as a middle name instead. Grace similarly (that was very old-fashioned, much like Rose, in the 80s, but suddenly revived as a middle name in the 90s and 2000s).

My aunt, born in 1904, was Lavinia Rose and she'd been named after her aunt of the same name.

Due to its romantic imagery I feel like Rose or its variants has always had steady use as a middle name (just as it has as a first name) - see people like Princess Margaret Rose and Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor.

But yes, it does seem to have become an overwhelming trend now. And imo having middle name trends is such an odd thing- because how many people even use their middle name that often for others to hear it and carry on the trend? Yet no one can deny that in previous generations so many women seem to have Louise, Jane or Anne instead of the current Rose, May or Grace 🤷‍♀️

And it can’t even be an honouring relatives thing - because historically names like Rose, May and Grace etc, while well used, were never Top 10 type popular as first names. If honouring people was the reason, surely most women would have had Mary or Margaret etc as middle names instead 🤣

My child’s middle name is Rose after a relative, the relatives middle name is May after her mother, and her grandmother was also a May Rose
its definitely doing the rounds in our family.

This!

In my age group everyone has Jane or Ann as their middle name.

Today it feels like everyone is a xx Rose, in fact I know three girls called Emily Rose Surname!!

Such overused middle names seem like ‘fillers’

@Zebralie , most of the Julies, Sallys and Carols I know are Julie Anne, Sally Anne or Carol Anne. Lots of Sarah Janes and Tracey Jane/Annes.
Basically, if the first name ended in an -a sound, middle name was Jane, otherwise Anne or Jane.

There wasn't much variety in surnames either.