Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Picking A First And Middle Name for Your Child

You might think that picking your child’s name is a process that ends with the choice of a first name. That would be challenge enough for anyone, but there’s still the question of your child’s middle name and even their last name. If you subscribe to a culture or religion that includes choosing special, ceremonial names for your children, you may have even more naming fun to look forward to. In any case, when it comes to unique baby names and naming your child, there’s never just one name to consider.


Middle Names

You can choose not to give your child a middle name and some people don’t. Some parents choose a middle initial and let it go at that. That’s fine, as long as you take the time to think about it first. What you don’t want to do is overlook the potential that a middle name has to offer. Traditionally, parents have been advised to give their children middle names in order to honor relatives who might otherwise feel overlooked in the name game. Middle names are also a place to refer to family heritage, like a mother’s maiden name. They can do so much more though. By giving your child a middle name you increase the chances of their full name’s overall uniqueness. Jennifer may be a fearfully common name, but Jennifer May will be less common and Jennifer Eustacia even less so.

Last Names

This one, you think, is a no brainer. Same last name as me. Except many families are finding it necessary to consider new solutions to the issue of family names. In some cases, parents choose to honor both family names by creating hyphenated last names for their children. In other cases, a divorced or single mother may want her child’s last name to reflect her maiden name or perhaps she wants to give the child its father’s name. In many ways, the name you chose for your child’s patronymic is just as important to their social identity as the first and as such, it, too, should be carefully considered.