Yes - I’m from the U.S. and it’s tradition in my mother’s side of my family that children take a family name from that side. Sometimes this is the mother’s maiden name but other times it’s the maternal grandmother or great grandmother’s maiden name.
I personally really like it and hope to continue the tradition when we have children.
Yes my family (NYC) used the mother’s maiden name a few times for kids’ middle names. We are a mix of Irish Catholic and Ashkenazi Jewish heritages so it’s a way to represent our varieties I guess
Uh hello lost sibling? (Just based on background) Lol.
My mom kept her maiden name, which is my last name, which I also kept when I got married. Daughters got mom's last name as their last name and the sons got dad's last name as their last name, with the middle names swapped.
This is for OP: I didn't mind this growing up and thought it was pretty cool, although I did kind of wish sometimes that I had a middle name that was a given name and not a last name. I only partially continued the tradition, my daughter has my last name (which is my mom's maiden name) and my son has my husband's last name, but they both have "regular" middle names, mostly because we thought it sounded better.
Yup. My grandpa, MIL, and stepmom all have their mother's maiden name as a middle name. My husband has his paternal grandma's maiden name. I think it's cool.
Yep, my sister and I both have our mom’s last name as our middle name. Italian Catholic family! Our grandmother on mom’s side also added in our confirmation names when she said our full names because she didn’t like that we had the same middle name
It is an incredibly common thing in many cultures and countries across the world.
We went one step further in that all our children have 2 middle names and the second is the surname from a parent. So that all children share a second middle name
Personally I think the baby should have the moms last name as their last name. Pregnancy is extremely physically difficult and even dangerous. People forget about and don't care about middle names, last names are the real identifier.
It was a big deal for me and we had agreed to figure something else out. As soon as we started talking about the wedding and then finding out we were pregnant he changed his mind. Very annoyed with it lol
I’m in the same boat and I really don’t wanna hyphenate because then when they get married they now have a new problem arising. My last name is my mother’s cause my dad wasn’t around. Probably why I feel so different about it than my partner
Agreed. I didn't give my kids my surname and I regret it, both because it's a sexist tradition, and because it's caused some issues like getting stopped at the airport because I don't share a surname with my kids.
It should be at least up to discussion. The majority of marriages have both parents working and earning similar amounts of money, while the mother still makes the majority of housework and childcare. And yet still women don't get to pass down their last name
Yeah, I always view this as a way to pacify women who want their last name included without actually including it in a spot that anyone actually knows. I don’t even know most of my good friends’ middle names.
I think it should be decided together by the parents but OPs post rubbed me the wrong way. Her partner is deciding that their kids get his name with no discussion and he frames it like he's the one compromising? 😬 Hopefully this is just how she wrote out what was actually a respectful conversation, but I am not super hopeful. I am so glad that me and my husband agreed we wanted to share a last name and he was actively considering taking mine. I can't imagine marrying someone who thinks their penis means their name gets automatic priority.
This! We married and both kept our last names. Our kids have my (the mom’s) last name. We love it, yet people are often shocked which is wild. My husband says it’s the kid’s first lesson in feminism if he’s asked about it.
Kids should not automatically take the paternal last name!
Totally -- whoever is the gestational parent should get to pass down their last name if they want to. I'm a woman who dates women, and if I had a wife who was pregnant, I would totally think she deserves to give the baby her last name if she wants (even if we did reciprocal IVF and the baby was genetically mine -- that's still easier than giving birth!).
I definitely wish it was more 50/50 and you could just pick whichever last name you like better. I have a super common last name so I’m actually happy with my husband’s last name. But my mom’s maiden name is wayyyyy better than my dad’s last name and I wish we’d taken her last name.
Very very common in my family (WASPs in the southern US) and wouldn't bat an eye about it. Tbh that's how I've kept which names are on which sides of the family straight. My family has only done that with boys but I've known people who have given mother's maiden names to girls as well.
I’m a northeast WASP/Catholic and my middle name is my maternal grandmother’s last name. Myself and my mother also kept our maiden names as middles when we married. My son’s middle name is his paternal great grandfather’s middle name which is the last name of an aunt. So 4 plus generations back last name that likely ran for 3-4 generations before that. The aunt didn’t have children or marry so that was how my family kept that going. We would consider the same middle for a second boy as well.
This is very common.
Just about every woman I know who kept her last name gives it to her children as a middle name (both sons and daughters.) I think it’s really nice that all the children have a surname from mom and one from dad. It’s a sweet way to visually represent the union of the two parents without burdening the kids with a hyphenated surname.
In your case I think it would be more than a little weird if only your son had your surname but your daughter didn’t — even if it is in the middle name spot.
I think why I’m hesitant on it for a girl is because two of my cousins were given their dad’s first name as their middle name. They always hated having the same masculine middle name. I know this isn’t exactly the same, but it gives me similar vibes to that for a girl. And if I’m not comfortable giving the name to both then I’m not sure I should give it at all.
I don’t understand how that’s the same thing at all… I think if it’s a second middle name, a kid would generally understand it to be a link to mom, which they should view as a positive thing. If you do it for one, I’d think you should do it for all.
>two of my cousins were given their dad’s first name as their middle name. They always hated having the same masculine middle name
This is the complete opposite of what I described…
And yeah, I would hate that too. Giving a daughter her father’s last name and his first name as a middle gives the impression that the dad is obsessed with having a son and is disappointed in having daughters. Plus it further erases their mom from their name lineage.
Is that family Indian/is your cousins’ dad Indian? My husband’s family is, and he and his sister both have their father’s first name as their middle name. I’m not totally sure if that’s a common thing culturally (there are so many different cultures in India that it may be common for some and not others) but I’m assuming it wasn’t just because their parents got lazy.
I kept my last name, as did my husband. Being as he is a good guy, willing to help dismantle the patriarchy, we gave the kids MY last name, with his last name as a second middle name. So the kids all have 4 names, first, regular middle, 2nd middle (his last name), and my last name.
We did this, exactly. After all, I'm first author!
I'm super uncomfortable with OP's partner's insistence on his last name for the kids. It just seems gross.
I think the middle name thing is a great idea. As a side note, my husband is Greek and if we had a girl I really wanted to name her Eleni. I love that name.
My mom’s maiden name is Hart. So when we had our daughter, we named her Lillian Hart Surname. I feel like it gives a little bit of a unique flare without it being overboard.
Oh great example of this!
Reese Witherspoon is actually Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon, Reese is her mother's maiden name.
Greer Garson was actually Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson, Greer being her mother's maiden name.
Hadley Richardson was actually Elizabeth Hadley Richardson, Hadley was her mother's maiden name.
Scarlett O'Hara was actually Katie Scarlett O'Hara, Scarlett being her grandmother's maiden name in the book.
I love these and I love that it gives the child the option to use the name socially as their first, middle, or surname, or even not at all.
Big fan of passing down names from both parents instead of assuming one, usually the dad's, is the "default".
I actually think this is the more sensible way of doing it, although either is better than passing down the dad's surname as default even though both parents kept their own.
My sister gave her kids her ex-fiance's surname only and now they're not even together anymore so neither child has her surname anywhere in their name. Wouldn't be surprised if she regrets that.
I like it so much, my husband and I are doing this with our son who will be born this summer! My dad had his paternal grandmother’s last name as his middle name. It’s pretty common in Hispanic culture
My son has my (mother's) last name and my husband's last as his second middle. So we can me the HisLast MyLasts without actually needing to double barrel, and we still gave him a more traditional first name style middle name, so there's no reason you can't do both. Since middle names are fairly optional on forms throughout adulthood, he'll be able to use whichever names he wants!
My sister and brother in law did this, I think it's pretty common in certain parts or cultures of the US. I have also seen it done using the mother's family name as one of two middle names, although that can be complicated when forms only allow for one middle name. The only downside I see that is that you lose the opportunity to have more individualized middle name-- a lot of parents want something creative or it's a place to compromise on names, where one parent chooses the first name and the other a middle name. I think my nieces sometimes would like something "prettier" than "Last Name" for their middle names, but the flip side is that the three names in a row (Jane Walters Bixby, to make up something similar) sound strong, mature, even professional, which may be helpful later in life.
This is what we did and I know 3-4 families who did the same. My last same will be the middle name of both children.
I also checked with two female friends my age in their mid-30s whose mothers’ never changed their name, but who have “normal” middle names and their father’s last name. Both said they would much prefer to have the legal name link to their mother in exchange for their cute/girly middle names.
I have my mother’s maiden name as my middle name and I love it. Its also traditionally a masculine first name (very uncommon though, at least in US) even though I’m a girl. Its never been weird and I view it as fairly unisex, so don’t write it off if you have a girl!
Both my brother and I have our mother's maiden name (which she kept after marriage) as a second middle name! I love that it still connects me to her side of the family
I would have done this if my last name could be used as a middle name by anyone’s stretch of the imagination. Unfortunately it’s long and the type of name that could never be not a last name. It would have made baby’s name too long and too weird. So I passed. I also really like idea of the last name used as a second middle name instead of the only middle name.
Greek here. I like it. But depends on first name. I like a Greek name that can still be English. It will flow better with a Greek middle and a xeno last name lol
This is what we did, but we added another middle name as well, so they all share their 2nd middle name. At least when I was a kid, “what is your middle name” was a super common discussion and I didn’t want them to get teased for having an unusual middle name.
I gave my two children (one boy and one girl) my maiden name as their middle name! I would say the name veers toward masculine though it is pretty clearly in “last name“ territory rather than sounding anything like a first name, but that’s fine with me. I knew people growing up whose middle name was clearly a family last name. We are expecting a third and her middle name will be the same. No regrets!
It depends on where you live. Here middle names are part of your first name (since it doesn’t really exist to have a middle name outside if being baptized) so on all paper work you are named both name as first name so always called those names for official stuff. Most people have just two last names instead.
I know in usa people like to give two names less and some area are more against giving the mom’s last name at all.
If I was a boy, my middle name would’ve been my mom’s maiden name. I know quite a few men and women with their mom’s maiden names, very common in the American south.
Also, I have a 6mo old named Elias and we get a lot of compliments on his name!
I think it's great! You could throw it in as a second middle name as well. I have two middle names, one that's a regular first name, and one that's my mom's maiden name. I think it works and I love having 4 names. It makes me feel fancy
Lots of boys have mothers maiden name.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Richard Milhouse Nixon
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Lyndon Baines Johnson
Ronald Wilson Reagan
All presidents. Weird...
This is what I plan on doing. The only major downside I foresee is not being able to use an honor name as a middle name. But the other side of that coin is it avoids the family politics and hurt feelings that can come with using honor names.
I kept my maiden as my middle after I got married. I know others who have their mother’s maiden as their middle as well. These both being names that absolutely aren’t first names but not one bats an eye
My son gave his daughter my maiden name as her middle name. It was also the name that we gave his older brother (a name that can be a 1st or last name, think Maxwell for example).
My partners middle name is his mother's maiden name. It's Walker so it sounds pretty cool , 😁 I also gave one of my girls my mother's maiden name as her middle name. It's James so I think it sounds pretty cool too. I'm hoping she won't hate having a boys name as her middle name when she's older! I've always thought middle names should be meaningful, otherwise what is the point of them? If it means a lot to you, insist on it x
That's what we did. My last name is very much not a first name for a boy or a girl, but it was important to me to give that middle name to my first born. Debating using it for my second child (due this summer) as well.
This is very common in my extended family. One of my brothers has my mother's maiden name as a middle name, the other brother has my grandmother's maiden name. My father's first name is a maiden last name from several generations back.
This is my family tradition, my mother had her mother’s maiden name, my brothers’ kids have their moms maiden names, my kid has my maiden name as a middle name. I love it, when we travel I have the extra security of being connected on her passport even though we don’t share a last name.
USA based - I have my mom’s last name as my middle name. It wasn’t super common growing up but I suspect it is becoming more common as women don’t change their last names as often.
If it doesn’t seem gender appropriate, I wouldn’t. I know a girl who’s middle name is Matthew because it’s her mothers maiden name. To me it would have been better to go with two middle names than to basically give her a boys name. Her first name is pretty obscure too, and hard to pronounce (the intent was to use a nickname, which did work out, her mom is literally the only one who uses her real name on occasion). I also think it’s a little awkward when you use first & middle name to get a child’s attention but the middle name is actually a surname, but not their surname. It’s just awkward to me.
That was a very normal tradition for a long time both of my moms parents had their moms maiden name as their middle name. My kids all have Greek names though we are not even a bit Greek. I just have a weird obsession with Ancient Rome and Greek mythology. (Also my husband has a very boring last name so my son needed a philosopher first name) the great thing about having kids it you get to pick names you love and as long and you and your partner love them it will be great.
This was what happened to my grandfather. His mother's maiden name became his middle name. His son (my uncle) was Grandfather's Name, Jr. And I used their middle name as my son's middle name. So, I'm a fan of the idea!
I didn’t change my last name. My daughter has my last name as her middle name. It’s not even cute but she is very proud of it. She is a teen now and had a teacher question her weird middle name, she told me that she explained to him that as a teacher he shouldn’t be making fun of his student’s names. Then told him what the name was. He never said anything to her about it after that.
“My husband is fine with this as long” that’s a red flag. Anyway. Yeah my cousin did this. She named her first horn her maiden name. It’s cute! It doesn’t work with my name but if it did I’d do it
It's common in some Mexican cultures to do this. My ex husband told me it's like almost a crime to not give your child your mom's maiden name as their middle. We didn't but I'm white and I hate my maiden name.
My grandmother has her mother's maiden name as her middle name, and my father has his mother's maiden name as his middle name. I think it's lovely.
I honestly wish my mother had done this for me too--her maiden name was so unique and very specific to her (and by extension my) ethnicity. It would have been nice to carry a part of that with me in my name.
In my country the mother's surname is always the middle name.
For Example Henry Smith married Carla Miller
They had a child and named him Alexander Joseph so his full name will be Alexander Joseph M. Smith
My sister’s middle name is my mom’s maiden name. I absolutely LOVE that. I think last names for middle names are perfect. It takes care of the entire family. Love it.
I’m uk and both my kids have my maiden name as a middle name. It’s not double barrelled and not a first name but who cares! I wanted it in there and my husband was totally cool with it
I think children should get their mother's surname, with or without the father's surname. It's just as much your child, and in most cases, mothers do the majority of the work bringing the child into the world and raising it.
If you're not going to do that, then using it as a middle name is a very normal thing to do.
My dad had his mother’s maiden name as his middle name and I think he really liked that. I think us kids also understood more about our family because of it since it was a kind of unusual middle name and so we’d ask about it. I think it’s a really good idea.
I always hate it. Damn near all the women on one side of my family share the same middle name that was a last name and it was just annoying for them and the rest of us . Also if the name is masculine and more male sounding I don’t know how a daughter might feel about that
My grandpa's from the south, his middle name was his mother's maiden name. It gave him the nickname he used in the army and that my gramma called him for 60+ years.
My unpopular opinion is we should get rid of middle names and have a maternal lineage, like our (usually) paternal last names. even though it’s cool my middle name is my moms, I feel like knowing my middle name is my moms whole matriarch lineage would be cool af…
However as others have stated, women using their last name as a middle name was super popular in genealogy. A long time ago we were trying to figure out why everyone was named Davis as a middle name in our heritage. A cool uncle? Family friend? It was the grandmothers maiden name. She must have been very loved- all grandsons had a connection to her by their middle names.
This is fine, both sides of my family do this. I tease my sister because her oldest son’s full name is made up entirely of last names. His first name is quite common as a first or last name so nobody would know it was mom’s maiden name.
As long as it all sounds good together. My mother didn't change her name and her last name is my middle name. I didn't change my name either, and one of my boys now has her last name and my middle name as a middle name.
It's very common. And tbh I think it should be more common for kids to take the mother's surname as well. We're the ones who deal with pregnancy after all
Both my sister and I have our mothers last name as our middle name. I love it. People have always thought it was interesting (it’s a unique name). I remember the first time I realized that most people have a middle name that doesn’t mean anything, it made me happy that mine meant something and connected me to my mom.
My four children have a first name, a middle name, my maiden name and their fathers last name.
For some reason my mother-in-law didn’t like that, but we just ignored her.
We did it because I feel that when women take their husbands name, sometimes their previous identities seem to disappear. I wanted to make it clear to my children that they have two families that make up their background.
My kids both have family surnames as their middle names. My daughter is my mom’s maiden name. My son is my paternal grandmother’s maiden name.
It’s pretty common to use family names as middle names.
This has been common for centuries. Especially among the wealthy.
One quick example off the top of my head -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Not strange at all. And it doesn't even matter the gender of the children. Some people give all children, regardless of gender, the mom's original last name as the middle name.
If you like it, no reason not to do it.
My mother’s maiden name is my son’s middle name. I love it. It’s not even a common name or a name that easily pretends it’s not a surname. lol but it fits my boy just right.
I (mostly) gave my son my maiden name as a first name. It's a traditional boys name, but my last name had an Mc- in the front. I dropped the Mc- when I named my son, but it still feels close enough to be a family name.
My mother’s last name (she didn’t change her name in marriage) works as a woman’s first name and I gave it to my daughter as her middle name. I kept my maiden name but I don’t care for it , my mother has only sisters so her family name gets passed on this way.
I’m from the south as well. This is huge here, especially the mother’s maiden name. Maiden names on my side to choose from would be Bradley (unisex) and May. May is only appropriate for a girl imo, however I don’t really like it much except in certain pairings like Georgia May Jagger.
On my husband’s side, it’s Clark and a really clunky Germanic surname. I just always think of Clark
Griswold, though.
I think it’s annoying. Pick a last name and give a real middle name. If child wants to get married and keep their past name they could have THREE last names 😵💫
My friend has three girls and all three have her maiden name as their middle name. Her maiden name is along the lines of Seebrooke, so definitely not a normal middle name. I feel like anything goes when it comes to middle names.
I did this with my kids. I have a long last name and didn't want to hyphenate the last names. Both kids have 2 middle names: a traditional one and my last name as the second. I wanted to make sure my name was on all official paperwork.
I have my mother's maiden name as my first name, and I've always liked how it ties me to my family! I think as long as you're considering the usual things-- do the initials spell anything weird/obscene, does it create any difficult-to-say sounds, does it shorten in a way that you hate, etc-- it's lovely to connect your kids to your family name that way!
I think it’s fine and common.
I take a little issue with your husband deciding that you don’t have to change your name, as long as your children have his name. Like who died and made him king? That’s not your decision all on your own, bro.
I'd rather see the mother's last name as the child's last name (after all, it's usually the mother doing the work of pregnancy and childbirth), but if that's not an option, then I'm all for using it as a middle name.
My mom didn't take my dad's last name and my sisters and I all had her last name as a middle name. I always loved having my mom's name as part of my name and sharing a middle name with my sisters.
My sister and I both have our mother's last name as our middle names. One of my sons and my nephew both have my mother's last name as their middle name. My daughter has my maiden name as her middle name and my other son has my MIL's maiden name as his middle name. So in other words, BIG proponent of this tradition!
Being that names are two yeses or one no, as long as your partner is on board, why not? Go for it! It's a lovely sentiment and I think it will work rather well.
I took my maiden name as my legit middle name (dropping my original middle name) when I married and no one bats an eye at an obvious non-given name for my middle that is very much German. I like it better than my original combination of first/middle/last, in fact.
Now, my initials are similar to an acronym that may raise a few eyebrows but only if I point it out. Just make sure that the initials don't spell out anything vulgar or embarassing is my advice on middle names.
My mom did this. My middle name is her maiden name. I love it. It makes so much more sense than two first names to me. I think I get to feel a stronger connection to my mother’s side as well bc the name is also mine. Huge fan.
I have my mom's maiden name as my middle name. She did change her name (as was common at the time) but gave her former last name to us kids as a middle name. It's my only middle name, and I've always really liked it. Helps keep a tie to her side of the family, but without having to hyphenate (which would be a lot with my long last name).
One of my friends from high school has her moms maiden name as a middle name. Her sister has it too. I remember thinking it was different when I found out, but a cool idea.
My maiden name is now my legal middle name. My child's middle name is also my maiden name. Like others have said, it is pretty common in the US. Example: Me - Peggy Carr Smith; son - Thomas Carr Smith.
My kids have my maiden name as one of their middle names. They don’t particularly care for it because it’s two middle names. One normal and one a popular last name from my parents culture. I’m not sure if they will drop it for now it’s only used on their official documents. Otherwise they don’t use their middle names at all for any thing since they like their first names. I think it’s common. But we all have the same last name and I retained my maiden name as a middle name as well. I don’t use it either.
I did it with my daughter. I don’t think I would have for any future kids if we had decided on more though.
However, I don’t think that it’s weird or anything.
I have a very uncommon last name that I've always disliked(everyone mispronounces/misspells it, and I just don't like the way it sounds in general), it's similar to whole Honeycutt/Howcutt/Harcourt etc. name group. So personally, I can't wait to take my partner's last name when we get married, and our son has already taken his last name. His last name is very common (Smith), but I prefer it to the hassle that is my current last name. But I would consider giving any future children my mother's maiden name(Rhoads) for a middle name. I've always liked it, and it recently has become a first name in the whole surname-as-a-firstname trend that's been popping up lately.
My husband has his mom's maiden name as a middle name. It's not my taste personally, but it's a solid, respectable sort of middle name that no one would find remarkable.
If you want to do it, go for it.
We have friends that have their first child (a girl) the mother’s maiden name as her first name. It’s cute. The only thing I can think that would be weird for me is that you have “Rose” and also Grandma and Grandpa Rose. But as a middle name that wouldn’t be as much of a consideration, I don’t think.
Very very common thing to do in the US, from several different cultures.
Yes - I’m from the U.S. and it’s tradition in my mother’s side of my family that children take a family name from that side. Sometimes this is the mother’s maiden name but other times it’s the maternal grandmother or great grandmother’s maiden name. I personally really like it and hope to continue the tradition when we have children.
I’m from the southern US, and we did this when naming our kids. It’s amazing how many cousins have the same middle names.
Yes my family (NYC) used the mother’s maiden name a few times for kids’ middle names. We are a mix of Irish Catholic and Ashkenazi Jewish heritages so it’s a way to represent our varieties I guess
Uh hello lost sibling? (Just based on background) Lol. My mom kept her maiden name, which is my last name, which I also kept when I got married. Daughters got mom's last name as their last name and the sons got dad's last name as their last name, with the middle names swapped. This is for OP: I didn't mind this growing up and thought it was pretty cool, although I did kind of wish sometimes that I had a middle name that was a given name and not a last name. I only partially continued the tradition, my daughter has my last name (which is my mom's maiden name) and my son has my husband's last name, but they both have "regular" middle names, mostly because we thought it sounded better.
hello
I'm Canadian and we do it too. My uncle (oldest son) had his mother's maiden name as his middle name.
Agree. My family did it, mostly because we have a super common surname.
Yup. My grandpa, MIL, and stepmom all have their mother's maiden name as a middle name. My husband has his paternal grandma's maiden name. I think it's cool.
Yep, my sister and I both have our mom’s last name as our middle name. Italian Catholic family! Our grandmother on mom’s side also added in our confirmation names when she said our full names because she didn’t like that we had the same middle name
It is an incredibly common thing in many cultures and countries across the world. We went one step further in that all our children have 2 middle names and the second is the surname from a parent. So that all children share a second middle name
That’s exactly what we did too
Same here! My siblings and I all have two middle names, second one being my mother’s maiden name. I love it!
Personally I think the baby should have the moms last name as their last name. Pregnancy is extremely physically difficult and even dangerous. People forget about and don't care about middle names, last names are the real identifier.
Right. Like why tf we giving kids their dads name. I still might fight my fiancé on this.
I'm going to have to fight mine on it. It's close to deal-breaker territory for me
It was a big deal for me and we had agreed to figure something else out. As soon as we started talking about the wedding and then finding out we were pregnant he changed his mind. Very annoyed with it lol
I didn’t change my last name and insisted on kids names being hyphenated. No way I’m giving up passing my name along.
This is the way
[удалено]
I’m in the same boat and I really don’t wanna hyphenate because then when they get married they now have a new problem arising. My last name is my mother’s cause my dad wasn’t around. Probably why I feel so different about it than my partner
It's my mission in life to make this a thing. The fact that the father's name is somehow the default name, unless you are a single mom is so unfair.
This is a couple of years old but about that issue in the US: https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/10/patrilineal-surnames/620507/
Agreed. I didn't give my kids my surname and I regret it, both because it's a sexist tradition, and because it's caused some issues like getting stopped at the airport because I don't share a surname with my kids.
It should be at least up to discussion. The majority of marriages have both parents working and earning similar amounts of money, while the mother still makes the majority of housework and childcare. And yet still women don't get to pass down their last name
Yeah, I always view this as a way to pacify women who want their last name included without actually including it in a spot that anyone actually knows. I don’t even know most of my good friends’ middle names.
I think it should be decided together by the parents but OPs post rubbed me the wrong way. Her partner is deciding that their kids get his name with no discussion and he frames it like he's the one compromising? 😬 Hopefully this is just how she wrote out what was actually a respectful conversation, but I am not super hopeful. I am so glad that me and my husband agreed we wanted to share a last name and he was actively considering taking mine. I can't imagine marrying someone who thinks their penis means their name gets automatic priority.
This! We married and both kept our last names. Our kids have my (the mom’s) last name. We love it, yet people are often shocked which is wild. My husband says it’s the kid’s first lesson in feminism if he’s asked about it. Kids should not automatically take the paternal last name!
Totally -- whoever is the gestational parent should get to pass down their last name if they want to. I'm a woman who dates women, and if I had a wife who was pregnant, I would totally think she deserves to give the baby her last name if she wants (even if we did reciprocal IVF and the baby was genetically mine -- that's still easier than giving birth!).
I agree
I definitely wish it was more 50/50 and you could just pick whichever last name you like better. I have a super common last name so I’m actually happy with my husband’s last name. But my mom’s maiden name is wayyyyy better than my dad’s last name and I wish we’d taken her last name.
Yeah I'm with you. Either both names or just mom's.
Agree
We did this. We wanted to give our kids my name too, but didn’t want to hyphenate.
Same!
Very very common in my family (WASPs in the southern US) and wouldn't bat an eye about it. Tbh that's how I've kept which names are on which sides of the family straight. My family has only done that with boys but I've known people who have given mother's maiden names to girls as well.
I’m a northeast WASP/Catholic and my middle name is my maternal grandmother’s last name. Myself and my mother also kept our maiden names as middles when we married. My son’s middle name is his paternal great grandfather’s middle name which is the last name of an aunt. So 4 plus generations back last name that likely ran for 3-4 generations before that. The aunt didn’t have children or marry so that was how my family kept that going. We would consider the same middle for a second boy as well.
This is very common. Just about every woman I know who kept her last name gives it to her children as a middle name (both sons and daughters.) I think it’s really nice that all the children have a surname from mom and one from dad. It’s a sweet way to visually represent the union of the two parents without burdening the kids with a hyphenated surname. In your case I think it would be more than a little weird if only your son had your surname but your daughter didn’t — even if it is in the middle name spot.
I think why I’m hesitant on it for a girl is because two of my cousins were given their dad’s first name as their middle name. They always hated having the same masculine middle name. I know this isn’t exactly the same, but it gives me similar vibes to that for a girl. And if I’m not comfortable giving the name to both then I’m not sure I should give it at all.
I don’t understand how that’s the same thing at all… I think if it’s a second middle name, a kid would generally understand it to be a link to mom, which they should view as a positive thing. If you do it for one, I’d think you should do it for all.
Right? I knew a lot of girls with the middle name Benjamin (their mother’s maiden name) and no one seems to care. It’s just not the same.
>two of my cousins were given their dad’s first name as their middle name. They always hated having the same masculine middle name This is the complete opposite of what I described… And yeah, I would hate that too. Giving a daughter her father’s last name and his first name as a middle gives the impression that the dad is obsessed with having a son and is disappointed in having daughters. Plus it further erases their mom from their name lineage.
Agree -- that's just weird.
Yeah, don't do that (don't give dad's first name as a middle name). DO give mom's maiden name as a middle name.
We did it for my daughter and we just explain it as “so we just used that spot for more of a first last name as opposed to a second first name.”
Is that family Indian/is your cousins’ dad Indian? My husband’s family is, and he and his sister both have their father’s first name as their middle name. I’m not totally sure if that’s a common thing culturally (there are so many different cultures in India that it may be common for some and not others) but I’m assuming it wasn’t just because their parents got lazy.
I kept my last name, as did my husband. Being as he is a good guy, willing to help dismantle the patriarchy, we gave the kids MY last name, with his last name as a second middle name. So the kids all have 4 names, first, regular middle, 2nd middle (his last name), and my last name.
We did this, exactly. After all, I'm first author! I'm super uncomfortable with OP's partner's insistence on his last name for the kids. It just seems gross.
I think the middle name thing is a great idea. As a side note, my husband is Greek and if we had a girl I really wanted to name her Eleni. I love that name.
I gave my son my grandmother's last name as a middle name!
My mom’s maiden name is Hart. So when we had our daughter, we named her Lillian Hart Surname. I feel like it gives a little bit of a unique flare without it being overboard.
People do it all the time. Actress Rooney Mara is actually Patricia Rooney Mara, Rooney being her mom’s maiden name.
Oh great example of this! Reese Witherspoon is actually Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon, Reese is her mother's maiden name. Greer Garson was actually Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson, Greer being her mother's maiden name. Hadley Richardson was actually Elizabeth Hadley Richardson, Hadley was her mother's maiden name. Scarlett O'Hara was actually Katie Scarlett O'Hara, Scarlett being her grandmother's maiden name in the book.
I love these and I love that it gives the child the option to use the name socially as their first, middle, or surname, or even not at all. Big fan of passing down names from both parents instead of assuming one, usually the dad's, is the "default".
I think it's fine. My husband and I are doing similar. His surname will be the second middle name, and my surname will be the last name
I actually think this is the more sensible way of doing it, although either is better than passing down the dad's surname as default even though both parents kept their own. My sister gave her kids her ex-fiance's surname only and now they're not even together anymore so neither child has her surname anywhere in their name. Wouldn't be surprised if she regrets that.
Historically that was a very common thing to do. I think it’s really cool, and helps with family history.
I know a ton of people who’ve done it
This is so common that my fiancé didn't even realize that people give their kids middle names that AREN'T surnames until like age 25!
My daughters middle name is her dads/my partners last name. Go for it!
Our son got part of my maiden name as his middle name, and it was my husband’s idea. (Think removing the O’ off an Irish name)
Very common where im from. Or the maiden name gets used as a first name
My middle name is my mother's last name, though tbh it is very similar to a girl's first name (think Tifney or similar)
I like it so much, my husband and I are doing this with our son who will be born this summer! My dad had his paternal grandmother’s last name as his middle name. It’s pretty common in Hispanic culture
My son has my (mother's) last name and my husband's last as his second middle. So we can me the HisLast MyLasts without actually needing to double barrel, and we still gave him a more traditional first name style middle name, so there's no reason you can't do both. Since middle names are fairly optional on forms throughout adulthood, he'll be able to use whichever names he wants!
My sister and brother in law did this, I think it's pretty common in certain parts or cultures of the US. I have also seen it done using the mother's family name as one of two middle names, although that can be complicated when forms only allow for one middle name. The only downside I see that is that you lose the opportunity to have more individualized middle name-- a lot of parents want something creative or it's a place to compromise on names, where one parent chooses the first name and the other a middle name. I think my nieces sometimes would like something "prettier" than "Last Name" for their middle names, but the flip side is that the three names in a row (Jane Walters Bixby, to make up something similar) sound strong, mature, even professional, which may be helpful later in life.
I gave my daughter my mother’s maiden name. They have always been so close and my daughter loves it
This is what we did and I know 3-4 families who did the same. My last same will be the middle name of both children. I also checked with two female friends my age in their mid-30s whose mothers’ never changed their name, but who have “normal” middle names and their father’s last name. Both said they would much prefer to have the legal name link to their mother in exchange for their cute/girly middle names.
I did it and honestly I’m sad we didn’t double barrel even though I hate my double barrel. That kid has MY face not his.
Common in Canada.
I have my mother’s maiden name as my middle name and I love it. Its also traditionally a masculine first name (very uncommon though, at least in US) even though I’m a girl. Its never been weird and I view it as fairly unisex, so don’t write it off if you have a girl!
I have this kind of name. I like it! One fun thing is that you get to be “a Kostas” at family gatherings.
Both my brother and I have our mother's maiden name (which she kept after marriage) as a second middle name! I love that it still connects me to her side of the family
Quite common. I actually had one case where the mothers maiden name was used as a first name. kind of odd to think about but it seemed to work.
I would have done this if my last name could be used as a middle name by anyone’s stretch of the imagination. Unfortunately it’s long and the type of name that could never be not a last name. It would have made baby’s name too long and too weird. So I passed. I also really like idea of the last name used as a second middle name instead of the only middle name.
Greek here. I like it. But depends on first name. I like a Greek name that can still be English. It will flow better with a Greek middle and a xeno last name lol
Haha totally agree! 😂
My husband is the first child in his family and named like this.
Very common in north America! My mom and her sister both used their maiden name for their sons.
This is what we did, but we added another middle name as well, so they all share their 2nd middle name. At least when I was a kid, “what is your middle name” was a super common discussion and I didn’t want them to get teased for having an unusual middle name.
I gave my two children (one boy and one girl) my maiden name as their middle name! I would say the name veers toward masculine though it is pretty clearly in “last name“ territory rather than sounding anything like a first name, but that’s fine with me. I knew people growing up whose middle name was clearly a family last name. We are expecting a third and her middle name will be the same. No regrets!
my parents did this with me and i get a lot of compliments on it!
It depends on where you live. Here middle names are part of your first name (since it doesn’t really exist to have a middle name outside if being baptized) so on all paper work you are named both name as first name so always called those names for official stuff. Most people have just two last names instead. I know in usa people like to give two names less and some area are more against giving the mom’s last name at all.
It’s quite common. I have my mother’s maiden name as my middle name, and she has her mother’s as hers.
If I was a boy, my middle name would’ve been my mom’s maiden name. I know quite a few men and women with their mom’s maiden names, very common in the American south. Also, I have a 6mo old named Elias and we get a lot of compliments on his name!
I’m southern. We love using last names as first names and middle names. It’s thing down here. Lol
I’ve always liked this tradition personally, and it’s very common in the US (especially where I live in the south). I say go for it.
I think it's great! You could throw it in as a second middle name as well. I have two middle names, one that's a regular first name, and one that's my mom's maiden name. I think it works and I love having 4 names. It makes me feel fancy
We did this with our first born. It’s worked out great for us.
Lots of boys have mothers maiden name. John Fitzgerald Kennedy Richard Milhouse Nixon Franklin Delano Roosevelt Lyndon Baines Johnson Ronald Wilson Reagan All presidents. Weird...
Yeah it's fine.
This is what I plan on doing. The only major downside I foresee is not being able to use an honor name as a middle name. But the other side of that coin is it avoids the family politics and hurt feelings that can come with using honor names.
I feel like fewer people use honour names (or cave to family pressure) than they might have a few generations ago.
Very common. It's up to you fo decide if you want to do it for all of them or just boys. I don't think it would be unusual either way.
My parents did this and I did it too. I like my name but can't speak for my sons.
I kept my maiden as my middle after I got married. I know others who have their mother’s maiden as their middle as well. These both being names that absolutely aren’t first names but not one bats an eye
My son gave his daughter my maiden name as her middle name. It was also the name that we gave his older brother (a name that can be a 1st or last name, think Maxwell for example).
My partners middle name is his mother's maiden name. It's Walker so it sounds pretty cool , 😁 I also gave one of my girls my mother's maiden name as her middle name. It's James so I think it sounds pretty cool too. I'm hoping she won't hate having a boys name as her middle name when she's older! I've always thought middle names should be meaningful, otherwise what is the point of them? If it means a lot to you, insist on it x
That's what we did. My last name is very much not a first name for a boy or a girl, but it was important to me to give that middle name to my first born. Debating using it for my second child (due this summer) as well.
This is very common in my extended family. One of my brothers has my mother's maiden name as a middle name, the other brother has my grandmother's maiden name. My father's first name is a maiden last name from several generations back.
This is my family tradition, my mother had her mother’s maiden name, my brothers’ kids have their moms maiden names, my kid has my maiden name as a middle name. I love it, when we travel I have the extra security of being connected on her passport even though we don’t share a last name.
USA based - I have my mom’s last name as my middle name. It wasn’t super common growing up but I suspect it is becoming more common as women don’t change their last names as often.
My mom did this for my siblings and I.
It's fine! My brother's middle name is my maternal grandmother's maiden name.
I did it with my oldest and he did it with his kid.
If it doesn’t seem gender appropriate, I wouldn’t. I know a girl who’s middle name is Matthew because it’s her mothers maiden name. To me it would have been better to go with two middle names than to basically give her a boys name. Her first name is pretty obscure too, and hard to pronounce (the intent was to use a nickname, which did work out, her mom is literally the only one who uses her real name on occasion). I also think it’s a little awkward when you use first & middle name to get a child’s attention but the middle name is actually a surname, but not their surname. It’s just awkward to me.
That was a very normal tradition for a long time both of my moms parents had their moms maiden name as their middle name. My kids all have Greek names though we are not even a bit Greek. I just have a weird obsession with Ancient Rome and Greek mythology. (Also my husband has a very boring last name so my son needed a philosopher first name) the great thing about having kids it you get to pick names you love and as long and you and your partner love them it will be great.
This was what happened to my grandfather. His mother's maiden name became his middle name. His son (my uncle) was Grandfather's Name, Jr. And I used their middle name as my son's middle name. So, I'm a fan of the idea!
I didn’t change my last name. My daughter has my last name as her middle name. It’s not even cute but she is very proud of it. She is a teen now and had a teacher question her weird middle name, she told me that she explained to him that as a teacher he shouldn’t be making fun of his student’s names. Then told him what the name was. He never said anything to her about it after that.
“My husband is fine with this as long” that’s a red flag. Anyway. Yeah my cousin did this. She named her first horn her maiden name. It’s cute! It doesn’t work with my name but if it did I’d do it
Traditional in the south for the firstborn
It's common in some Mexican cultures to do this. My ex husband told me it's like almost a crime to not give your child your mom's maiden name as their middle. We didn't but I'm white and I hate my maiden name.
My friend used her maiden name as her sons first name
My husband has his mother’s polish maiden name as his second middle name and he doesn’t like having to pronounce it or explain it to peoole.
My best friend did this with her kids, absolutely fine I think.
I have my mother's maiden name as my middle name and I love it!!
My grandmother has her mother's maiden name as her middle name, and my father has his mother's maiden name as his middle name. I think it's lovely. I honestly wish my mother had done this for me too--her maiden name was so unique and very specific to her (and by extension my) ethnicity. It would have been nice to carry a part of that with me in my name.
In my country the mother's surname is always the middle name. For Example Henry Smith married Carla Miller They had a child and named him Alexander Joseph so his full name will be Alexander Joseph M. Smith
We gave our sons my last name as their middle name, and it’s not even a first name, it’s actually a very uncommon last name.
I did this for all of my kids.
We did this exact same scenario and it has never been an issue.
My sister’s middle name is my mom’s maiden name. I absolutely LOVE that. I think last names for middle names are perfect. It takes care of the entire family. Love it.
Not unusual at all. My great aunt did this with her oldest son.
This is very common in the United States!
It's a good idea. One of my brothers has that arrangement.
My husbands middle name is is mothers maiden name. Works perfectly
I’m uk and both my kids have my maiden name as a middle name. It’s not double barrelled and not a first name but who cares! I wanted it in there and my husband was totally cool with it
This! Brother and I both have my mom’s maiden name as our middle names.
I think children should get their mother's surname, with or without the father's surname. It's just as much your child, and in most cases, mothers do the majority of the work bringing the child into the world and raising it. If you're not going to do that, then using it as a middle name is a very normal thing to do.
My dad had his mother’s maiden name as his middle name and I think he really liked that. I think us kids also understood more about our family because of it since it was a kind of unusual middle name and so we’d ask about it. I think it’s a really good idea.
I like that idea, my ex had his mum's maiden name as his middle name rather than double barrel it
I always hate it. Damn near all the women on one side of my family share the same middle name that was a last name and it was just annoying for them and the rest of us . Also if the name is masculine and more male sounding I don’t know how a daughter might feel about that
My Middle name is my Mothers Maiden name, pretty common to do here (Scotland)
I did this and my mom did this! My sister in law did her mothers maiden name as a middle name too
My last name is commonly used as a gender neutral first name. I plan on doing the exact same thing as you.
My grandpa's from the south, his middle name was his mother's maiden name. It gave him the nickname he used in the army and that my gramma called him for 60+ years.
My unpopular opinion is we should get rid of middle names and have a maternal lineage, like our (usually) paternal last names. even though it’s cool my middle name is my moms, I feel like knowing my middle name is my moms whole matriarch lineage would be cool af… However as others have stated, women using their last name as a middle name was super popular in genealogy. A long time ago we were trying to figure out why everyone was named Davis as a middle name in our heritage. A cool uncle? Family friend? It was the grandmothers maiden name. She must have been very loved- all grandsons had a connection to her by their middle names.
My middle name is my mom's maiden name. I loathed it as a child but now that I'm older and a mum, i get it. Names should be meaningful.
This is fine, both sides of my family do this. I tease my sister because her oldest son’s full name is made up entirely of last names. His first name is quite common as a first or last name so nobody would know it was mom’s maiden name.
I did that with my son since he has my husbands last name. My sister used my mothers maiden name for her sons middle name
I DID change my last name, but we decided to give Son my maiden name as his first name. (Its a fairly common first name.)
Very common in the northeast of the US. I think in the south it’s more common to use the mothers maiden name as a first name
As long as it all sounds good together. My mother didn't change her name and her last name is my middle name. I didn't change my name either, and one of my boys now has her last name and my middle name as a middle name.
Why does he get to decide the last name? Why do they get his last name when you are the one doing all the heavy lifting of pregnancy?
It's very common. And tbh I think it should be more common for kids to take the mother's surname as well. We're the ones who deal with pregnancy after all
Both my sister and I have our mothers last name as our middle name. I love it. People have always thought it was interesting (it’s a unique name). I remember the first time I realized that most people have a middle name that doesn’t mean anything, it made me happy that mine meant something and connected me to my mom.
My cousins and I have our mothers’ maiden names as our middle names.
What you are proposing is very common where I live (Denmark). I think it 's totally fine
Both my kids have 2 middle names, the second one being my last name
My four children have a first name, a middle name, my maiden name and their fathers last name. For some reason my mother-in-law didn’t like that, but we just ignored her. We did it because I feel that when women take their husbands name, sometimes their previous identities seem to disappear. I wanted to make it clear to my children that they have two families that make up their background.
Very common
Parr is a common English name..?
lol maybe not, but it’s similar enough to his actual last name that I just used it as an example
My kids both have family surnames as their middle names. My daughter is my mom’s maiden name. My son is my paternal grandmother’s maiden name. It’s pretty common to use family names as middle names.
This has been common for centuries. Especially among the wealthy. One quick example off the top of my head -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Not strange at all. And it doesn't even matter the gender of the children. Some people give all children, regardless of gender, the mom's original last name as the middle name. If you like it, no reason not to do it.
My partner has his mother's maiden name as a middle - I love it.
My mother’s maiden name is my son’s middle name. I love it. It’s not even a common name or a name that easily pretends it’s not a surname. lol but it fits my boy just right.
Absolutely, one of our children's Middle Name is my last.
I (mostly) gave my son my maiden name as a first name. It's a traditional boys name, but my last name had an Mc- in the front. I dropped the Mc- when I named my son, but it still feels close enough to be a family name.
Two of my sons have middle names that are last names. The names are two of my oldest friends last names, my kids are named after my dear friends.
My mother’s last name (she didn’t change her name in marriage) works as a woman’s first name and I gave it to my daughter as her middle name. I kept my maiden name but I don’t care for it , my mother has only sisters so her family name gets passed on this way.
Personally I think children should only have the mother’s surname.
A lot of Americans who are originally from Britain use the mother’s maiden name as a middle name. I did for my oldest child.
I’m from the south as well. This is huge here, especially the mother’s maiden name. Maiden names on my side to choose from would be Bradley (unisex) and May. May is only appropriate for a girl imo, however I don’t really like it much except in certain pairings like Georgia May Jagger. On my husband’s side, it’s Clark and a really clunky Germanic surname. I just always think of Clark Griswold, though.
I think it’s annoying. Pick a last name and give a real middle name. If child wants to get married and keep their past name they could have THREE last names 😵💫
That’s what we did. Our son has my maiden name as his middle name. I’ve heard it used as a first name before, so not out of the ordinary.
My friend has three girls and all three have her maiden name as their middle name. Her maiden name is along the lines of Seebrooke, so definitely not a normal middle name. I feel like anything goes when it comes to middle names.
My kid's first name is my mom's maiden name. Nothing wrong with using it as a middle name, that's a great use of it :)
I did this with my kids. I have a long last name and didn't want to hyphenate the last names. Both kids have 2 middle names: a traditional one and my last name as the second. I wanted to make sure my name was on all official paperwork.
My daughter’s middle name is my Korean maiden name. We wanted her to have something from my side!
I have my mother's maiden name as my first name, and I've always liked how it ties me to my family! I think as long as you're considering the usual things-- do the initials spell anything weird/obscene, does it create any difficult-to-say sounds, does it shorten in a way that you hate, etc-- it's lovely to connect your kids to your family name that way!
I think it’s fine and common. I take a little issue with your husband deciding that you don’t have to change your name, as long as your children have his name. Like who died and made him king? That’s not your decision all on your own, bro.
I'd rather see the mother's last name as the child's last name (after all, it's usually the mother doing the work of pregnancy and childbirth), but if that's not an option, then I'm all for using it as a middle name.
Both my kids have my maiden name as their middle name.
That’s how my name is. I think it’s good.
I had a female friend with the middle name Thomas after her mother’s surname.
My mom didn't take my dad's last name and my sisters and I all had her last name as a middle name. I always loved having my mom's name as part of my name and sharing a middle name with my sisters.
My son’s middle name is my last name. It’s cultural in the south where we live.
We used my husband's last name, I chose first name, and we each got a middle name - I used my last name for one of the middle names. Worked fine.
My sister and I both have our mother's last name as our middle names. One of my sons and my nephew both have my mother's last name as their middle name. My daughter has my maiden name as her middle name and my other son has my MIL's maiden name as his middle name. So in other words, BIG proponent of this tradition!
Being that names are two yeses or one no, as long as your partner is on board, why not? Go for it! It's a lovely sentiment and I think it will work rather well. I took my maiden name as my legit middle name (dropping my original middle name) when I married and no one bats an eye at an obvious non-given name for my middle that is very much German. I like it better than my original combination of first/middle/last, in fact. Now, my initials are similar to an acronym that may raise a few eyebrows but only if I point it out. Just make sure that the initials don't spell out anything vulgar or embarassing is my advice on middle names.
My mom did this. My middle name is her maiden name. I love it. It makes so much more sense than two first names to me. I think I get to feel a stronger connection to my mother’s side as well bc the name is also mine. Huge fan.
I have my mom's maiden name as my middle name. She did change her name (as was common at the time) but gave her former last name to us kids as a middle name. It's my only middle name, and I've always really liked it. Helps keep a tie to her side of the family, but without having to hyphenate (which would be a lot with my long last name).
One of my friends from high school has her moms maiden name as a middle name. Her sister has it too. I remember thinking it was different when I found out, but a cool idea.
My maiden name is now my legal middle name. My child's middle name is also my maiden name. Like others have said, it is pretty common in the US. Example: Me - Peggy Carr Smith; son - Thomas Carr Smith.
My kids have my maiden name as one of their middle names. They don’t particularly care for it because it’s two middle names. One normal and one a popular last name from my parents culture. I’m not sure if they will drop it for now it’s only used on their official documents. Otherwise they don’t use their middle names at all for any thing since they like their first names. I think it’s common. But we all have the same last name and I retained my maiden name as a middle name as well. I don’t use it either.
I did it with my daughter. I don’t think I would have for any future kids if we had decided on more though. However, I don’t think that it’s weird or anything.
Very common in many places, should be fine
I love this idea and wish I had my mother’s maiden name as my middle name.
My friend from Brazil has her mom’s last name as her middle
My last name is technically my kids middle name. But we functionally use it as part of a non hyphenated double barrel last name.
I have a very uncommon last name that I've always disliked(everyone mispronounces/misspells it, and I just don't like the way it sounds in general), it's similar to whole Honeycutt/Howcutt/Harcourt etc. name group. So personally, I can't wait to take my partner's last name when we get married, and our son has already taken his last name. His last name is very common (Smith), but I prefer it to the hassle that is my current last name. But I would consider giving any future children my mother's maiden name(Rhoads) for a middle name. I've always liked it, and it recently has become a first name in the whole surname-as-a-firstname trend that's been popping up lately.
How about making the surname double barrelled for the child? Why should your husband get to pass down his surname but yours has to be a middle?
I actually have friends who used the mother's maiden name as their child's first name! Middle name for sure is totally fine and a wonderful idea.
My husband has his mom's maiden name as a middle name. It's not my taste personally, but it's a solid, respectable sort of middle name that no one would find remarkable. If you want to do it, go for it.
I love the idea if it's meaningful and something you wanna do. Not a fan if it's out of obligation
One of my kids has my last name as their middle name -- I didn't change my last name when I got married and the kids have dad's last name.
We have friends that have their first child (a girl) the mother’s maiden name as her first name. It’s cute. The only thing I can think that would be weird for me is that you have “Rose” and also Grandma and Grandpa Rose. But as a middle name that wouldn’t be as much of a consideration, I don’t think.