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My brother-in-law was named by his father. His name is Richie. Not Richard and to complicate it further, he has no middle name. On documents, a middle name is provided for him and it is "nmn" which stands for "no middle name."

Everyone I know who doesn't have a MN has complained about it...granted, it was mostly because their siblings had middle names.

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So if you have other children who don't have MNs, I think it'd be good to be consistent.

This message was edited 10/20/2024, 3:12 PM

I would use a middle name. For me, I’ve always liked having a middle name, despite the fact I would be surprised if there were other Katherines with my last name.

I was advised to give my children two middle names, to make sure that there could be no confusion with anyone else. The person who told me had worked for the British Navy in the Second World War, and her job was to inform relatives if their relative had died or was missing, presumed dead. She said there'd be five pages of John Smith, three pages of John William Smith, and one single entry for John William George Smith. I took her advice, and gave my kids two mns with strong personal associations. It's worked well, though they do complain that it's sometimes difficult to fit the whole three given names plus surname on forms. But Griffin Cole should fit quite easily!

Griffin Cole

I always think it's wise for parents to give their child a middle name especially if you have a common surname.

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For example, let's say there are two Griffin Millers. We live in a world where identity theft is a sad fact of life. Having a middle name would come in handy in cases like this if they arise. I would use Griffin Cole.

Griffin Cole, with the middle name.

Griffin Cole

With