Baby Name Guide: The Middle Name Dilemma

Ask any parent and they'll probably tell you that naming a child is difficult at best, especially when you have two parents with different tastes trying to come up with the perfect name. Then add the middle name dilemma, and the complications multiply.

If you look at the different decades, say within the last 40 years, you will see an inevitable trend in middle names. Through my research I've discovered a few of the most popular "filler" middle names. I call them "filler" because they are names that sound good with most first names and tend to be very popular in that particular time period. For example, a popular middle name of the 1970's was Lynn. It does flow very nicely with most names and when push came to shove (almost literally for some couples!) it was a great fallback name. Other extremely popular middle names are: Grace, Lee/Leigh, Mae, Nicole, Renee, and the most popular from almost any decade, Marie. For boys, the popular names are not as easily identified as many fathers' first names become the son's middle name. However, here are some of the more common ones: Robert, Lee, James, William and the most popular from any decade, Joseph.

Here are my suggestions for the middle name. First, if you want to honor a parent, grandparent, relative, or friend, use the name as your child's middle name. It is a great way to use family name and will keep family gatherings from becoming too awkward. (Think of Joe, Joey, Joseph, little Joe, et cetera.)

Another idea is to find something unusual. I have always felt that the middle name is a great way for parents to show their interests. Rather than giving a child a laborious first name, save it for the middle. For example, I personally love Gaelic names and wanted to bestow one on my daughter. However, Americans have a much harder time pronouncing Gaelic names due to spelling and phonetic differences. So we gave her a more commonly heard and easy to spell first name and a very unusual Gaelic middle name.