[JBaby]

I really love the idea of using the middle name of a child to honor or acknowledge someone in the family. This was easy with DD as "Mae" is the middle name of DH's mother, grandmother and great grandmother and I love the name.

We are expecting another daughter soon and as much as I would like to honor my side of the family this time, I really dislike my mothers names. Sindy is her first name, Susan is middle name. Yuck on both counts.

I am not at all close to either of my grandmothers (barely know them) or any of my aunts so would not use their names either.

DH thinks it doesnt matter if we dont like the name since its only the middle and we should use one of my mum's names anyway. But I'm leaning towards just picking a name we actually like even if it doesn't mean anything....

WDYT? Did anyone use a family name they didn't like and regret it? Or did it never bother you again?

This post has been edited by JBaby: 24/02/2013, 11:53 PM

[BloomLuka]

Susan is lovely. Classic.
What are your grandmother's names? Even if you were not close, it is still acknowledging your side of the family. What about your name or your middle name as DD2's middle name? Or your maiden name?

This post has been edited by BloomLuka: 24/02/2013, 11:25 PM

[bailee]

Well I haven't chosen a name I don't like, but I do have one child whose middle name is after an aunt who was very dear to me and one child just has a middle name that I love, not after anyone special. So I think pick whatever you like.

[Sunnycat]

I really like Susan but I wouldn't use a name I didn't like.

[HGL]

Just a thought, have you considered 'Susannah' instead? It has a certain je ne sais quoi over Susan. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about and just tell people you picked the name because it was pretty/character in a book etc.

[au*lit]

I like Susan. If you don't like it, what about Suzanne or Susannah, or another variant?

I like the idea of using family names, but only if you like them.

My DS has a family name as his middle name. It's not a name I would have chosen but it's not awful. More importantly it meant a lot to my DH and ILs.

Most of the children in my extended family have middle names that are family names. I think it's nice to have that connection to generations past.

If we have another child it's likely the middle name will be a family name. The potential only issue I have is that MIL's name is quite long and if we had a daughter I wouldn't want two long given names together.

[gemgirl]

What about Susie?
Or something to do with them eg Sydney, Adelaide, June (if born in those places / month) Etc

[Pssst...]

We have used family names as middle names. DD2 has DH's mother's name. It's not the greatest name but she passed away before we were even married and it was important to him that we honor her and I was happy to do so.

DD1 has a feminine variation of my grandfather's name. Is this something you could consider? Or you could use your mother's or grandmother's maiden name? Or simply use your first/middle name?

[SqueakyBee]

What about Cynthia, which is kind of like an elongated version of Cindy? It's still kind of honouring her, but not using the exact same name.

[SplashingRainbow...]

I like gem girls idea - your mums favourite flower / precious stone / birthplace / birth month.

I certainly couldn't acknowledge one side of the family and not the other.