5 Tips for Choosing a Middle Name for Your Baby

Just when you think you've won the baby naming battle you realize you have to choose a middle name for your baby. The middle name means something different to everyone. To some families it's a very important baby naming tradition, to other families it's a throw away spot for whatever works. Here are some tips on choosing a middle name for your baby:

• Be a little bit wild.
  The middle name is your chance to spread your wings a bit. Your baby won’t have to share their middle name very often, if ever. So if this is where you want to express your inner hippie chick or that name you heard on the due date forum but aren’t quite sure how to pronounce – go for it.

• Think of your family.
  Do you have a family name that you feel obligated to use, but don’t love? The middle name might just be the perfect place to look for a spot to park that family name.

• One is not the loneliest number.
  Don’t go overboard and choose every baby name you ever wanted but don’t have enough kids to use in this spot. You should be able to choose one solid name, perhaps two if you have a family tradition. But think of the nightmare it will present when filling out official paperwork with limited spaces.

• Don’t skip it.
  You might be tempted to simply go with the perfect first name that you’ve chosen for your baby. You could do that but the middle name serves a purpose. If your child grows up hating their first name, their middle name is a place that they can turn to for a moniker being the most often used reason to choose a middle name.

• Initially…
  Not so fond of baby names and not looking forward to the stress of choosing another baby name? Think of an initial. Then let your baby go with the flow and chosen at a predetermined date.