The <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-name-lists/category/meanings-of-names">meanings of names</a> in middle place have become important to more and more parents, as middle names are seen less as connective tissue and more as a way to invest extra meaning in your child's name. A middle name with strong personal meaning may be the name of a beloved friend or family member, a surname rescued from your family tree, or — in the case of the meaningful names here — a choice with an inspirational feel.
 
Of course, even the most common of middle names can be meaningful if they carry special significance. Be it Grace or Glimmer, Lee or Legacy, the most important thing is that it has a connection to you and your family.
 
Meaningful middle names for babies that do much more than bridge the first name and the last. For more, see our lists of <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/479/Middle-Names-for-Girls">middle names for girls</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/480/Middle-Names-for-Boys">middle names for boys</a> as well as our master list of more than 900 <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/673/middle-names?all=1">middle names</a> of every type.

Middle Names with Meaning

Fortune is a middle name choice designed to generate good luck and prosperity. 

Fortune

One of the classic hippie word names. In the 1970s, actors Barbara Hershey and David Carradine gave this name to their son...who later changed it to Tom. 

Free

Sociable middle name choice with a Quaker feel. 

Friend

Future

Glimmer is shimmery but a little too showy, as is Glitter, a character on a TV sitcom-- while Glimmer appears in The Hunger Games.

Glimmer

Glory sounds fresh and uplifting and a lot more modern than Gloria (which is definitely feeling the stirrings of a revival, though some might still view it as a terminal Old Lady name).  Glory, as in "Glory Be" and "Old Glory," has both a religious and a patriotic flavor.

Glory

Though it sounds like a modern invention, Champ actually has a long history as a first name. It hit the Top 1000 several times just before and after the turn of the 20th Century. Champ Bailey was an NFL cornerback for 15 seasons before retiring in 2014. His given name, though, is Roland.

Champ

These days, it's more likely you'd call your daughter the popular Belle or Bella.

Bell

Words are not always easy to translate into <a href="https://nameberry.com/">baby names</a>, but the implications of being straight and swift lend this one great potential as a name. It also has the popular o-sound ending, which brings it further into the realm of possibility. Rising rock star Aja Volkman pulled a gender switch when she named her daughter Arrow Eve.

Arrow

An implied spiritual meaning makes this a plausible new name. 

Answer

middle names with meaning — child holding parents' hands

Middle names with meaning, including River, Maverick, and Royal (Page 6)