Often, choosing your child’s middle name is merely an afterthought, because more importance is put on the first name. However, consider that your child’s middle name will be seen and heard numerous times throughout his life—every time you yell his name in frustration for the entire neighborhood to hear, on graduation day when he receives his diploma, on certificates and licenses. Middle names distinguish your child from all the other children who have the same first name and possibly even last, if you have a common last name like Brown or Smith. All of a sudden, the middle name takes on some significance.

If your family is after you to use a family name, consider using it as the middle name, that way your child isn’t saddled with the first name Albert or Henrietta for the rest of his life. Many parents who don’t really want a “junior” use one of their names as the middle name. That way family is still honored while the child’s individuality is still protected.
You can even use more than one middle name if you wish. This is especially nice when you and your spouse can’t agree on any one name. Now you have the option to use several of your favorites. Your child will appreciate having additional names to fall back on in the future, if he or she decides that they really don’t like their first name. Many people decide to go by their middle name later in life.

A unique middle name can help bring individuality to your child’s title. Although you don’t want to choose a name that is too extreme. It’s usually best to choose something that flows smoothly with the first name, so that the entire title trips easily off the tongue. (After all, you may be using the entire name often!) You will also want to check the initials to make sure that they don’t spell anything inappropriate or that the name cannot be shortened into something crude. (It may come back to haunt them in school when children can be particularly cruel.)

Generally speaking, if you use a shorter first name, then a longer middle name works well, and vice versa. For instance, shorter (single syllable) names like Brooke, Grace, Rose, Claire, Dale, Quinn, or Blake, work well with longer (multi-syllable) names like Elizabeth, Sabrina, Victoria, Alexandra, Timothy, Nicholas, or Zachary.

Typically, you probably will want to steer away from a middle name that starts with the same letter or sound as the first name ends with. For example, Adele Lynn or Nathan Neil both sound like they are missing a consonant when spoken together. Also, names that end with the same sound, such as Emily Kristi or Dylan Justin, sound a bit awkward.

Whatever you decide, it is not going to change your child’s personality. There is no such thing as “Well, she just acts like a Charlotte” or “He looks like a Trevor.”  Your child will grow into his name and still be the unique individual that he was destined to be.

This is an original news article © The Kids Window

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