how bad is a double fn?

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-05-2003
how bad is a double fn?
7
Mon, 06-05-2006 - 6:38pm

Does anyone out there have a double first name? If so, how big of a pain is it when it comes to filling out paperwork etc... Also, do you use both or just half your first name? If you gave your kids a double fn, do you call them by both and how hard is it to get others to do the same?

DH and I can't agree on anything and we're really, really struggling to come up with a compromise. I was thinking about using Sarah Eleanor. I love Eleanor but DH doesn't and vice-versa with Sarah. If I thought we could get people to call her by both, I think we'd be okay with a double name, even though it's long. I just hate the thought of Eleanor getting dropped when she's little because people think it's too much effort. BTW I haven't had trouble w/ anyone calling our boys Samuel and Benjamin, but those are just single names, so... Okay just rambling now, WDYT?

TIA!
Katherine

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-18-2003
Mon, 06-05-2006 - 6:50pm

Marah Jade is a double first name. People drop Jade off a lot. I wish in retrospect I had written her legal name with a hyphen to queue people to pair the two together. Most people call her Marah Jade because I have a cow when they don't. The biggest pain though is when I say it people hear Mary Jane which I am sure she will love me for when she is older. When we have #2 they will have a double name as well.

I grew up with a Sarah Jane who prefered just Sarah and most people never knew she had two first names. If the paperwork doesn't bother you then I would go for it. Sarah Eleanor is a mouthful though, 6 syllables?, I personally would simplify it if you want both used. Practice saying it and see if it is too much.

Aimee

Aimee Mom to Marah Jade (5) and Quinlan (22 months)
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-10-2006
Mon, 06-05-2006 - 6:51pm

I can't comment from personal experience, unfortunately, but I thought I'd give my two cents on Sarah Eleanor. Firstly, I think both names are beautiful, however I do think it is a bit long for everyday use, being that it's five syllables. I think a double fn works better when both are fairly short, like Mary Jane, Leigh Ann, etc. I think you will find people use just Sarah after awhile. The only real-life example I have is from work. There is a woman whose full name is Deanna Marie, and I she mostly goes by Deanna.

P.S. glad you mentioned about your two boys...a couple of the names I have considered are names I like only in long-form. It's good to know you can influence people to use them in full!

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-18-2006
Mon, 06-05-2006 - 7:52pm

I think that if your daughter likes her name then she will use them both it depends on how she feels about it really. As she grows up call her by both and she might get used to it. Sarah Eleanor is quite a long name but then again so is Sarah Jessica Parker's name. She gets called Sarah Jessica which I think is a lovely name. I've never heard anyone refering to her as just Sarah or Jessica by themselves.

I think Sarah Eleanor is a lovely name and if you really like the combination then go for it!!

Good luck decideing!!

Avatar for julie252
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-05-2003
Tue, 06-06-2006 - 10:16am

I think you will have the ultimate say in how she's called while she's a small child. You will just have to correct people a couple times, then they should get the hang of it. WHen she grows older, though, it's up to her. She may decide to go by one or the other later on. But I think that's ok, too.

Sarah Eleanor is a bit long, but 5-syllables is not too bad. IS your last name long? My mom is a Mary Ann (one name...two words) and her mail is always messed up. She gets Maryann, Mary, Mary A., etc. But her name is a two word single name. Other than the minor headaches, it's not too bad to have a double fn. And if your DD decides it's too much of a hassle when she grows up, either of her names are lovely alone.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-03-2005
Tue, 06-06-2006 - 1:59pm

my new baby girl has a double first name it's Ava-Lynne so I really don't know how big of a pain it will be for her-it hasn't been yet tho

when it comes to paper work I put Ava-Lynne for her fn-cuz legally it is and then her mn which is Danielle

my dad once told me that whatever you call your child that is what everyone else will call him/her too i.e. Sarah Eleanor and Ava-Lynne

are you going to hyphenate her name? will she have a mn as well?

michele

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Registered: 06-02-2006
Tue, 06-06-2006 - 4:26pm
I know a Betty Anne, Betty Lou and both have always just been called Betty, I think its common for people to drop the 2nd name.
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Rebecca

 

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Registered: 05-29-2003
Tue, 06-06-2006 - 9:59pm
I like double names, but usually the second of the names is simply the mn and the person is called by both. One of my dearest friends named her second daughter Sarah Katherine and they were able to control it pretty well until she went to 1st grade and declared herself just "Sarah." It's not so much the world dropping Eleanor that I'd worry about...it's your little girl who will have opinions and by the time she is 6 or 7, she will exercise them! Sarah Eleanor is lovely, by the way.