The sisters all have the same middle name

[nicoleb519]

My dad's two sisters have the same middle name: Joy

I think it's pretty cool that they're connected by a name.

And I think it's ignorant to assume that people who use the same middle name for their kids are lazy or didn't care. I think we Berries are the weirdos for caring so much. lol

[lilysong]

In Chinese culture, all the children of one (extended) family from the same generation share one character. So, my husband, his brother and all his cousins have "Boh" as the first character in their given name. (That's the English pronunciation & spelling of course.) My baby and his cousins will all have "E" as the first character in their given name. Since they mostly live in English speaking countries, they all have English first names and Chinese middles (or 2nd middles in our case) and they mostly use their English name only. The common character is to denote which generation of the X (surname) clan they come from. I guess it's a tradition passed down from long ago to keep track of how everyone fits together.

[lilysong]

Also... sharing the same middle name is waaayyyy better than naming all 5 of your sons after you, as George Foreman did plus, one daughter was named Georgette. Yikes! That must be very confusing when they get any kind of official mail.

[happywriter]

I don't think of it as odd or boring- I wouldn't do it myself, but I think it could be a nice way of honoring a special relative or giving a sense of cohesion or unity. I've known a couple families where all the daughters had the same middle name as their mom, or all the children had their mom's maiden name as a middle, never really thought twice about it.

I also come from the standpoint that I really enjoy sites like nameberry because I personally see names as a way of having an individual identity, and I really look for character names that aren't super popular and have special meanings or connotations. That said, names can just as easily be a way to convey family unity and belonging- and I think family traditions like having a junior or all the siblings having particular initials or the same middle are fine ways to do that.

[maggiemary]

A friend at school has two sisters, and all three of them have the MN 'Jane', after their mom. I don't think it's an issue, it's just the MN, although if their FNs all started with the same initial letter then I might feel differently.

It's nothing compared to a family I know, who named both of their sons John, as they couldn't think of another boy's name they loved enough to use in the FN spot!!

John #2 has a MN beginning with J, so they are known as John and JJ, and yes I know it's crazy!

[valkyrie]

I've never known anyone in real life that actually did that. Granted, it's not as bad as giving all your children the same first name like George Foreman did, but it does seem a bit too honor heavy. Maybe they didn't like any other family names?

I can understand why someone would go down this path, but personally, it's just not for me. There's only so much honoring one can do. For example, Kay is a name that goes way back in my BF's family. It is the middle name of his mother and 2 of his nieces, (that I know of, it may be his grandmother's middle name, too, but not sure.) and that to me is more than plenty of honoring "Kay" to go around. Maybe disperse the honoring in a more diverse way. In another example, my middle name is my grandmother's maiden name, and my older brother's middle name is my father's middle name.

[carlyshea]

My three sisters all have mums maiden name as middle names. I'm from a previous relationship so got stuck with grandmas middle name

[bmm]

I think it's neat for all girls to take mom's name and all boys to take dad's. I would give them completely different first names though.

But I find the idea of having a Jr, a III and a IV as brothers ridiculously pompous. How conceited can that father be?