Double names--hyphen or no hypen?

Hi, I'm new! If we have a girl, I really like Mary Kate or Anna Kate. My only reservation is that it might confuse people. I've seen people hyphenate double first names. Do they do this on the birth certificate or just in day to day life? What is your opinion on hyphenating double first names? My first inclination is that I don't like the way it looks.

I think it depends on a number of factors, though in general, I agree that the name would look nicer without a hyphen. For example, will you also be giving your daughter a middle name (separate from the double first name)? If so, then you might want to hyphenate to distinguish the first names from the middle name, depending on what the middle name is. If you are using a surname as middle name, this might not be so necessary, for example. In France, children are regularly given hyphenated first names (Jean-Claud, Marie-Claire, etc), so if you are a Francophile, you might not think of a hyphen as so strange. Good luck.

I don't think it's confusing if you call her Mary Kate or Anna Kate and write that name down as her first name, etc. You don't need a hyphen and I agree with you that I don't like the way it looks.

I've also known girls/women named MaryBeth, DaniBeth and DaniSue. They just put the two names together without a hyphen and capitalize the second name to show it's separate. Just a thought!

I personally love double names that aren't hypenated. I know people named Sara Jane, Mary Vance, and Ann Marie, and none of them use hyphens.

Best wishes to you! :-)

I have hyphenated middle and last names. Hyphens on official documents make it clear which names are in which place. In every day life it's not really necessary to use a hyphen. Some computer programs will not accept hyphens or spaces within a single name so double names get smooshed together into one name which looks funny to me. I am considering a double first name for a future daughter and have not decided about whether to use a hyphen either. In the middle I'd definitely use one.

all my girls wil have dubble names i like the hyphens
Emma-Beth
Abby-Kate

im thinking of more i dont think its confusing i think its cute specally for to 1 sylibal names

I personally like hyphenated names. I have a friend named Amber-Louise. I really like Macy-Rose and Emilie-Mae as my two fave hyphenated names. Obviouslt it would depend on the situation with each individual name but I really like Mary-Kate hyphenated.

I prefer double names without the hyphen. A hyphenated name sometimes seems just a little like you couldn't decide between your two favorite names and just put them together. Are your Mary or Anna Kate going to be Kate or Katherine? I love your combos.

I think double names without the hyphen look classier but this is probably because where I live in Scotland it's quite typically a lower class thing to give your children 'yooneek' hyphenated first names, almost always ending in -lee! A local anomaly I think. No offence intended to all the happily hyphenated out there!