View Message

I'd keep it as a middle name because I do think people would hear it and think "older." One of my brother's best friends has Elder as his surname. When he was growing up, there were plenty of jokes about "Young Elder." Now that he's grown with 2 kids of his own, his friends refer to them as the Elder Elder, Elder the Younger, and Elder the Youngest.

---

To be honest, I think "older" is a more pleasant association than the elder tree, which has so much dark symbolism attached.