double names: wdyt?

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-29-2003
double names: wdyt?
13
Fri, 03-03-2006 - 2:49pm
Ok, I have to admit, I am from the south and have an affinity for both the use of family names and double names. I am trying to talk my husband into naming our next llittle girl: Anna Catherine and calling her Anna Catherine. My question is this: would Catherine have to be her middle name or is there a way to make Anna Catherine her first name legally? Do people ever hyphenate and then use another mn? Example: Anna-Catherine York + last name. I've always thought 4 names was too many in our culture (after all, I'm not royalty!) What does this mean for initials? Would her initials be ACP or ACYP (stupid!) or AYP? Last name is Precourt. General discussion encouraged.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-02-2006
Fri, 03-03-2006 - 3:02pm
sorry to say this but i think anna catherine is just way to long of a name. Maybe something like anna marie york p. anna catherine just doesn't sound right to me but it's not my kid and i'm no way able to tell you what to do...just suggest.
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-29-2003
Fri, 03-03-2006 - 3:14pm
Let's just assume for the sake of discussion that Anna Catherine is the name we've chosen. It is based on family and holds special importance for us. It is possible that my husband will call her "Anna Kate" but I will always call her "Anna Catherine." I am interested in general discussion about how double names are handled in terms of taking the place of middle name and how they affect initials.
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-29-2005
Fri, 03-03-2006 - 7:23pm

I think you could either put both in the first name slot (I wouldn't hyphenate them, if nothing else because they are long enough together and look better without a hyphen added in), or simply make Catherine the mn but use both together the majority (or entirety) of the time.

For what it's worth, Anna Catherine sounds perfectly natural to me, and Anna Kate is an adorable shortened form (even if it's only used by your dh).

Go for it. :)

~Kelli


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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-23-2004
Fri, 03-03-2006 - 7:31pm

I knew a girl in high school named Leigh-Ann Wilson. Not sure on her middle name. I would say the initials would be L?W. So if you went with Anna-Catherine York Precourt then her initials would be AYP, IMO.

Terra.
Mommy to Ethan Robert and Logan Ryley

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-28-2005
Fri, 03-03-2006 - 7:31pm

Anna Catherine Precourt is great if you ask me. I am not a fan of the hyphenated or having 2 middle names myself, but see nothing wrong with calling her Anna Catherine and I just adore Anna Kate!

Theresa

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-14-2005
Fri, 03-03-2006 - 9:35pm

I'm a southern girl with an affinity for double names also. I love Anna Catherine!



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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-23-2005
Sat, 03-04-2006 - 1:54am

When I got married I took my maiden name as a second middle name. So I legally have one first name, two middle names (which are not hyphenated), and one last name. (I got my BA before I was married and my MA afterwards and I wanted to have some continuity in the name on the degrees.) In formal situations I go by my given first name, my maiden-turned-middle name, and then my married last name, which makes my initials KMM. But I never use these initials; in those situations I use all three names written out. However, when I initial forms I always use my first name initial, my given middle name initial, and then my last name initial (which, incidentally, gives me the same initials as before I was married so it's just easier to write), which makes my initials KJM. If I am filling out formal paperwork, for a loan or an application or something, I use all four names. My credit card has my first name, my two middle initials, and then my last name. SO, all this to say that if you want to give your daughter two first names she could probably choose whatever initials she wants to use when she needs to! Personally, I wouldn't hyphenate a first name.

I've never had a problem with having two middle names so I don't know why you'd have a problem with two firsts, aside from it maybe being too long to fit on a Scantron bubble form (I had a friend in high school who joked that her name was really Elizabet because Elizabeth never fit on any of the testing forms).

I think Anna Catherine flows nicely. Did you definitely want to fit York in there? If not, there's no problem naming her (first) Anna (middle) Catherine (last) _________ and calling her Anna Catherine. My family often calls me by my first and given middle name together. But if York is a special family name you wanted to carry through, then you certainly have grounds to feel proud to use it as a middle name.

Honestly, a double first name reminds me of Catholic nuns. Not that there's anything wrong with Catholic nuns, that's just my association...Mary Catherine, Mary Louise, and such.

Nice choice with Anna Catherine, though. You could even call her Anna Cate for short, which I think is really cute! (Edited to say: Oops, didn't realize you were already thinking on that one!)

Kara




Edited 3/4/2006 2:05 am ET by tomandkara

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Than

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-04-2006
Sat, 03-04-2006 - 11:43am

I've done daycare for 12 years and have seen this come up a few times with my kids. One little girl has the first name Mary, mn Beth and they call her Mary Beth. Another has the double first name Megan Anne and mn Elaine. They call her Megan Anne, Megan, Meg and Meggie, never all three. I asked them what they do for initials, they said they haven't thought about it (she's 4) so cudos to you for thinking this through ahead of time! It seems to me that Megan Anne Elaine is a lot of name of such a little girl!

Try yelling your name choice out the back door like it's dinner time, and see how it feels. Maybe you have friends or family with a double first name and separate mn - you could poll them to see how they felt about it when growing up. That's what my mother did when she was deciding if she'd name my brother Robert Jr. or not. The folks with first hand experience can give you the best feedback.

Good luck in naming your baby, someday she will appreciate all of the thought and consideration you put into giving her the perfect name.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-03-2006
Sat, 03-04-2006 - 12:35pm

people do multiple names differntly.
some hyphenate (like Mary-Kate Olsen)
some use fn one-mn ln initials.
some use fn mn mn ln initials (my nephew does this, his parents let him decide how he wanted his official name to be he likes the 2 mn initials...looks distinguished to me)
and also, some hyphenate multiple mn like, Jonathan Lucas-Daniel Smith

hth & gl2u




Edited 3/4/2006 12:44 pm ET by flutterdance
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-29-2003
Sat, 03-04-2006 - 2:38pm
Good ideas, girls! Thanks for your input! I think it's funny that Kara mentioned nuns. That's exactly why I'm "talking my husband into" using the double name. He went to Catholic school for 12 years and makes that same connection. I'm working on it! Thanks, again!

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