Conference oass::babynames

    My mother is a native of Nashua, NH, and my dad is from Lebanon, NH, so
    I am also from an "old New England" family.  Of us 7 kids, only 3 of us
    have middle names that are from the family.  (Randall Leo - my dad,
    Karen Theresa - my mom, Peter Joseph - my maternal grandfather).  The
    other 4 have middle names that just go with the first name. (Sandra
    Ann, Richard Steven, Cathy Jean and Lawrence Scott)  (for the record:
    Rick and Peter are the only ones whose FIRST names are "family" names.)
    
    ALL of the names that my hub and I have picked out, first and middle,
    are names of people dear to us, family or as good as.
    
    I think that "family names" are good to use, but I also feel that they
    should "go" with the chosen first names.
    
    K.C.

    
    Why a middle name? I never used my middle name and I don't see the
    meaning of a middle name. (I hate mine: Beatrice)
    
    It could be useful for a an add to a name which is not 100 % clear
    if it's a boy's or a girl's name. For example Andrea...
    
    Andrea is basically a girl's name, but in Italy they use it as a
    boy's name. So I would give a typical middle name either for a girl
    or a boy just to make clear that he/she is male/female.
    
    - J.
    
    

I was not born and raised in New England, and I don't know anyone who's
middle name is a surname of a family member.  My maiden name is Novitske and
I can't IMAGINE giving that to a baby as a middle name!!!!!

I am Catholic, and you make your Confirmation when you are about 14 years old.
At that time you are to pick a "Confirmation" name which becomes a second
middle name.  (It's like a rite of passage to adulthood - confirming your
faith and choosing your own name.)  If Mary Smith's middle name was Jones,
after her mother's maiden name, and she chose something like Christine as
her Confirmation name, she would be Mary Jones Christine Smith.  Sounds like
two people!!!  

- �ori

P.S. The Confirmation name is rarely used - you don't go out and change all
your monogrammed items once you become Confirmed.

    Lynn,
    
    In my family, two of us received middle names after other members
    of the family, and two of us got middle names picked out of thin
    air.  I don't believe that it's a New England tradition, but I
    chose to give my daughter a middle name after my mother even though
    it really doesn't go with the rest of her name.  Well, actually
    it was my husband's idea to name her after my mom.  He never knew
    her - she passed away almost 14 years ago...  For what it's worth,
    I agree with you.
    
    - Kathryn
    

    I am also from New England, and never heard of the practice of using
    the mother's maiden name as a child's middle name until I met a
    couple from the South (USA).  In their case, the maiden name and last
    name sounded very distinquished together, and they gave it to both
    their children, who happened to be sons.
    
    My own parents gave middle names to 3 of 5 children, picking my 
    mother's first name for one (Ann), the feminized version of a recently
    deceased brother-in-law another (changed Russell to Roselle), and a
    favorite saint's name for the third (Gerard).  All 5 of us then took
    Confirmation names - picked for a variety of reasons from other family
    members and "just liked it".
    
    

    I think it is wonderful to use a family name as a first - or middle
    name.  It lends a sense of connection to one's family and past.
    
    My father's father's firstname was Brierley (from England).  My father
    was named Brierley, and each of his 6 sisters had Brierley as their
    middle name.  My brother was named Jonathen Brierley Preston but
    was always called Brier and now signs his name J. Brierley Preston.
    
    Consequently I named my daughter Paige Brierley and will name my
    my next child (due early May) Brierley Jake (boy) or Dylan Brierley
    (girl) or Chelsea Lillian after my mother who passed away this past
    year.
    
    I like the idea of names having a family connection.
    
    my 2 �,
    
    -alison

    My husband and I are due with our first child in about 6 weeks.  We've
    gone through the "pain" of trying to decide on names... after family
    members, close friends, or whatever.  What we've decided on are names
    that *no one* has on either side of the family, both for first and
    middle names, and the child will have it's own identity.  I guess we're
    starting our own tradition.
    
    Mary
    

    I like the idea of having a middle name be a family name--especially a 
    last name.  Maybe I am biased, because my middle name is my
    great-grandmother's maiden name as well as her son's  (my grandfather)
    middle name.  
    
    It is Muir.  Her name was Catherine Muir--my grandfather's was 
    John Muir Adam, and now mine is Susannah Muir Adam.
    
    I would love to name my daughter Elisabeth Muir Adam (sometime in the
    distant future!)  
    
    I am honored to have a family name with my own individual name (I don't 
    believe in Jr.'s--I feel a same first name is entirely too confusing and 
    doesn't help the child's individuality.)
    
    It's a way for a woman to carry on a family name--and it is always a 
    conversation piece.
    
    SMA