I don't think it's a trend, just something a few people happened to do.

My daughter technically has four names, but her middle name is hyphenated. Marie-Jean. If she'd been a boy she still would've had four names since we were going to use John Paul as a middle name.

It isn't just Hollywood--my brother's kids all have three names.

I don't think they are trying to be different or difficult. Sometime there are just too many names you like or want to use. I am expecting a son in May and he will have two middle name after both his grandfathers. we're not planning any more kids and I want them both included.

my son has 4 names and he was born before the celeb kids listed

our children will have three names - first name/my last name/husband's last name. I suppose some people would think we were giving them just a first name and two last names, but we see it as using my last name and the child's middle name.

meant- AS the child's middle name

My sister has 4 names (she loves it).

I plan on possibly giving my daughter four names - there are just too many names I love. Like lynp we only plan on having two kids so if I want to use all the names I love then she'll have to have four names.

It's not new, nor is it limited to celebrities. I've known many people with 4 names.

My father has 3 names, so does my mother, which is why I was given only one. My parents felt that middle names were useless although they always told me that I could give myself one later in life. Never did...

Although, FTR, my last name is hyphenated

I've never considered giving future children four names. Isn't it hard enough to match first and middle names so they sound good together and with the last name and don't spell something stupid with the initials??

I was just thinking about that yesterday. I really like it and I'm planning on doing that when I have children.

I know of at least one child with two middle names. So it's not new.

But I would discourage parents from doing this - the world is not set up for people with more than one middle name. I've had two middle names since I got married (First, Birth Middle, Maiden as Middle, HisLast) and it is a pain in the neck. Computer systems aren't set up to take two initials so I have to choose between the two or I get some weird combination name, and it's horrible. It was important enough to me that I put up with the hassle, but a kid might not see it that way.

My baby has 2 names and 2 surnames... and it's nothing crazy, it's just normal has 4 names...

For the celebs, it just gives them more space to use up the stupid names they can possibly think of

i think it's a trend. i have a friend who just named her kid Michaela Brooklyn Anne Lastname

celebs may have started it but people are catching on

i don't get it though...she wants more kids so if you like the name Brooklyn so much, why not just wait til you have another to use it...

It's been around way too long to be a trend.

Also, having two middle names is no more difficult for a computer system than a last name being two words. They just ask that you choose one letter.

just hollywood, and then when the kid is old enough they either change their name or want to go by just one name.

this is not just a celeb thing...in other countries it is the norm for children to have 4,5 or even 6 names my friend in Portugal just named his daughter Clara Abreu Loureiro Virote MXXXX. Not even long by Portuguese standards!

meandtheo, you are very correct. It is tradition in my husband's culture for kids to have 4 or 5 names, so our son has 4!

Greggie said: "Also, having two middle names is no more difficult for a computer system than a last name being two words. They just ask that you choose one letter."

Yes, but two separate middle names are different than a two-word last name. I'm not First M. Last, I'm First M.M. Last. Bristol's son isn't Tripp E. Johnston, he's Tripp E.M. Johnston. But computer systems won't take two initials so they end up using a version of my name (or anyone's) that isn't correct.

My sister has never had a problem with having 4 names. On her birth certificate in the "middle name" section it just says: Joy Valleece -- no hyphen or anything just two names listed. As far as having to pick a middle name for the computer system she just puts in Chelcee J Lastname if it only has space for one name.

I jokingly told her to hyphenate her last name when she gets married - she thought it was hilarious but said no.

I plan on hyphenating my name when we get married. Our kids will probably only have his last name but that isn't 100% set either so my daughter very well could end up with 5 names. Although we are leaning toward dropping her first name and just using the two middle names as her first and middle name.

I realize they're different than two middle names. One is middle names and one last names. The system itself handles both similarly, though.

I've never known anyone with four names who has troubles with computer systems.

This is definitely an issue which varies between cultures, but I believe that giving the baby two surnames (both mother's and father's) is only natural if the parents both keep their names and/or are not married. I insisted on giving our child two surnames, and although my husband did not like it, he agreed. I would feel strange if the child would only bear his name, as far as I have not changed my maiden name. We originally discussed giving our child two first names, but we decided against it because in the country where we live, it is very unusual. In my country of origin however, almost all young children have four names, two first names and (their parents') two last names. The big issue is of course what will happen to the next generation - will they have four surnames, or will they have to choose between some of their many names (at the risk of hurting parents and grandparents on each side). Not an easy question.

I have 4 names! First name, middle name, two last names, I like it, and I don't think it's a new trend, maybe in Hollywood...

I think it's beyond lame when people get their dad's last name but not their mom's. So everybody should have /at least/ three names. A fourth name.. well, sometimes it actually sounds good. Sometimes not. Like when parents decide to just randomly throw a "Maria" in there. (Thanks mom and dad )

@Greggie: Yes, and I'm saying that choosing one initial is not acceptable to me. And if parents are so in love with multiple names that they give their baby two middle names, then I would think it wouldn't be acceptable to them either.

Or maybe you live in a magical place where computer systems actually accept that not everyone is Jane Elizabeth Doe. Can I move there?

Yeah, beware of those initials. Soon stars will start coming up with acronym nicknames. :roll:

As a four-named "baby" (27 year old baby!) I'm going to say not a trend!

Oh and as far as the whole computer system debate, I have never cared for one second that I had to just use one initial rather than both...I guess I have always just had bigger things to worry about.

valancy, my point is that I often have to choose one for my last name as well. I consider it a fact of life, not a problem.

my 33-year-old husband has four names (two middle names), as does our son, who is a junior. my hubby is named after his maternal grandfather so he has that entire name and the last name of his dad. it does present a problem when monogramming things for my son, if i do a diamond monogram. i have to choose which middle initial to monogram. other than that, no problems. their passports have all their names and my hubby's credit cards have two initials instead of one. haven't encountered too many incoveniences

If it's the mother's name as a second middle name no I don't think its a trend because people have been doing that for a while.

There's a lot ways it's been happening for a long time, cultural and otherwise. For instance, baptismal names. They're often added to the actual first and middle names, creating a second middle name. (Not always, just often.)

My oldest son and my husband have no middle name. Since my husband didn't, we wanted to make my son a true junior and didn't give him one either. It's interesting to get people to leave that spot blank, but not a challenge or anything that would make me recommend against people using no middle name.

I don't think it's a trend. It's something very old, at least here in Argentina is very common for everybody to have 4 names (2 names and each parent surname)

Once upon a time, very few people had even one middle name. It's only in the 20th century that most parents - at least in the US - started giving every child a first and a middle. As our planet gets more crowded, it seems natural that our names will get longer.

It's also true that our families are getting smaller. If you want to honor his mom AND your mom and still choose a name that you like, well ... you'll end up with Emma Mary Dolores. In early generations, I think we'd have assumed there would probably be two daughters. But start your family at 35, and that's not so certain. In the interest of fairness, I know plenty of parents who opt for two middle names.

My son has three names, but my daughter has four. I do think the total number of syllables is a consideration, too. My son's name has six, total - even with three names, my daughter only wears five syllables. And yes, we were trying to honor several important people - which is how Clio ended up with an extra name in the mix.

A traditional Chinese name has 3 characters... surname, generational name and given name. My kids have an "American" first name, and their middle names include their Chinese generational & given names. So they have 4 names... like my husband and like me. It's very common if you're Chinese.

What would generational name be? Sorry if it's a stupid question, but English is not my first language.