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ArchivesRe: Whither middle names?
in reply to a message by Tue
I'm not sure why or how middle names originated, alas, but others around here probably are. There are a few modern purposes . . . one, it's often hard for two people to agree on a single name, and having two gives more flexibility. Middle names also protect prospective parents from having to give their child a really horrible name if they want to honor the people who bears it; just give it as a middle name and call the baby something nice. :) I've seen a lot of middle names that are the mother's surname or the name of a friend or relative of the parents [not all necessarily because the name was ugly, though...]. And with names, complicated is better—if names' meanings weren't so complicated to find, this beautiful website would not exist! Heh, I'm mostly kidding.
I'm not sure about which reason is the main one for your last question, but some parents might choose two names for their child and decide they sound better with the favorite name second—if they want to call the kid Denise, and want to use Lia as well, they might name the child Lia Denise and call her Denise if they think Denise Lia sounds horrid. I'm not sure about people choosing their middle names over their first; I tried it once [in fifth grade] but it never stuck. Hard. :\
The main reason I like middle names is because it's an excuse to use up more of my favorites. ;D And this was really long for so little actual content, I guess I'm not in a very conciseish mood tonight.
I'm not sure about which reason is the main one for your last question, but some parents might choose two names for their child and decide they sound better with the favorite name second—if they want to call the kid Denise, and want to use Lia as well, they might name the child Lia Denise and call her Denise if they think Denise Lia sounds horrid. I'm not sure about people choosing their middle names over their first; I tried it once [in fifth grade] but it never stuck. Hard. :\
The main reason I like middle names is because it's an excuse to use up more of my favorites. ;D And this was really long for so little actual content, I guess I'm not in a very conciseish mood tonight.
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Replies
Thanks for your response, Lilith
I agree that there's a good deal of entertainment value in middle names, although that's probably not why they first came into being! My interest in names has to do with creating interestingly named fictional characters for stories I hope to write someday, and middle names extremely rarely enter into the picture for fictional characters (and, again, when they do, it only complicates matters!). Especially when it's science fiction - Luke Skywalker doesn't run around with a middle name. Would be a fine mess indeed if he did; imagine "Luke Ruprecht Skywalker." :)
So, I'm still hoping to find some more definite info on the origin and original purpose of middle names.
- Tue
I agree that there's a good deal of entertainment value in middle names, although that's probably not why they first came into being! My interest in names has to do with creating interestingly named fictional characters for stories I hope to write someday, and middle names extremely rarely enter into the picture for fictional characters (and, again, when they do, it only complicates matters!). Especially when it's science fiction - Luke Skywalker doesn't run around with a middle name. Would be a fine mess indeed if he did; imagine "Luke Ruprecht Skywalker." :)
So, I'm still hoping to find some more definite info on the origin and original purpose of middle names.
- Tue
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oh, a little more
Hey, Luke Ruprecht Skywalker is a good name. :D But yeah, middle names are pretty rare in fiction, probably partially because they hardly ever come up in everyday conversation. Or even non-everyday conversation. And sci-fi fantasy it'd be even weirder to see a middle name, since they're hardly universal.
Not sure if it'll have what you want, but there was another discussion on middle names a whiles ago, http://www.behindthename.com/wwwboardarc/messages/4684.html. And Nanaea gave this url [http://www.firmament.com/genealog/howname.htm] to someone else who asked, I think the site has some info on middle names' origins.
Hey, Luke Ruprecht Skywalker is a good name. :D But yeah, middle names are pretty rare in fiction, probably partially because they hardly ever come up in everyday conversation. Or even non-everyday conversation. And sci-fi fantasy it'd be even weirder to see a middle name, since they're hardly universal.
Not sure if it'll have what you want, but there was another discussion on middle names a whiles ago, http://www.behindthename.com/wwwboardarc/messages/4684.html. And Nanaea gave this url [http://www.firmament.com/genealog/howname.htm] to someone else who asked, I think the site has some info on middle names' origins.
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Great! Thanks, Lilith!
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