Baby Middle Name

First, consider any family members you might want to honor by assigning his or her name to your baby. Perhaps you feel that giving your baby a loved one’s first name puts too much pressure on the child, or could take away from his or her individuality. (We all know families with “Big Joe” and “Little Joe.”) The middle name may be the perfect place to do that.

I had a college friend whose first name was that of the doctor who delivered him. But he went by the middle name his parents had chosen. My niece has the middle name of her maternal grandmother, but instead of “[First Name] Kathryn” she goes by “[First Name] Kate.”

The middle name is the perfect place to preserve an old family name. This is also a great option if you’ve already decided your baby will have more than one middle name. My grandma’s family name is Miller; I seriously considered adding that to our son’s name.

The middle name, or even a second middle name, would be a nice place to preserve the mother’s maiden name and carry on the maternal side of the family line that way. In some cultures, this is in fact tradition.