March 10 Is Middle Name Pride Day
Today is Middle Name Pride Day. A rather obscure holiday, it’s a day to celebrate your middle name! When I was pregnant with each of our children, my husband and I would talk at length about names. We put almost as much discussion and thought into middle names as we did into first names, but their middle names are almost never used at all. I was particularly drawn toward celebrating this holiday for that very reason! So, here are a few ways that you could observe this fun day with your kids:
- Learn about what your middle names mean. You might be able to tell them what their first names mean, but perhaps not their middle names. Grab a baby name book off of your shelf or from the library, or find a website filled with names and meanings. While you might think it’s a simple thing to look up what a few names mean, this could easily last an hour or more, as you have fun inputting the names of everyone that you can think of! Ask your kids if they think that their names’ meanings describe them (as well as others that they know). Try to think of famous or influential people with the same name as your child’s middle name.
- Express yourself. Kids sometimes write poetry and create artwork based on their first names, and their middle names shouldn’t be left out! Try your hand at writing acrostic poetry: Write your middle name vertically down the left margin of a sheet of paper, and write a different word or phrase beginning with each letter. You’ll need to help little ones with this, but older kids can make their own acrostic poems. If painting or drawing is more your kids’ expressive style, write out their middle names in large block letters, then have them make a picture out of each letter, in order. For examples, S’s might look like snakes, A’s may look like mountains, O’s may resemble balloons.
- Play around with different names. Switch your child’s first and middle names for the day, so that Thomas Michael goes by Michael Thomas. Ask your kids what they’d want their names to be if they could pick. Be prepared for interesting responses! When my son was little, he wanted his name to be Michaelangelo… after the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, not the artist! Also, tell your child if you were between different names for him, as well as what the other names were. It gives my daughter pause to consider that she was almost a Sarah!
Taking part in funny holidays create childhood memories that your kids will look back on in years to come. Picture yourself sitting around the holiday table in 20 years while your adult children laugh about how your family observed the most random things. This is one of those off-the-wall holidays that they’ll remember celebrating and may even celebrate with their own kids someday!
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I love my middle name, it is one that a lot of other female family members have and I have always thought it was a cool thing that we all share.
I like the idea of asking your kids what they would have picked for a name lol I’m sure there would be some interesting answers! I have always thought about going by my middle name since my first name is so common.
Good suggestions for playing with middle name day.
Thanks for posting.
Not to be rude but who comes up with this stuff? I’ll bet everyday is a day for one thing or another!
I had no idea!!! There is a day for everything! I like the middle name game
Mine is Jean. Plain, but my mom was on her thrid girl, with 3 more to come, so I don’t blame her
Mine is Ray
Never heard of this one, but have always been proud of my middle name, even though my parents picked it just because they liked the sound of it!
I’ve never really loved my middle name (Joy) but that is probably because kids would tease me relentlessly and sing Joy to the World all the time! I appreciate it more as I get older.
I have two middle names – I am not sure what my parents were thinking and I’ve never liked either one. When I had my kids I insisted they would not have a middle name at all.
I love my middle name. It was my mom’s middle name and my grandmother’s first name and my great grandmother’s middle name. Having said that though I am convinced that parents give children a middle name so that the kids KNOW how much trouble they are in by how many names their parents yell!
I also love having my middle name of Ann which was my grandmother’s name. I have girl cousins with the same middle name of Ann..my grandmother was such a great woman that all of her children wanted to honor her in this way.
What a fun holiday, I missed. Oh well, I can celebrate with kids late.
Crystal,I can relate. My middles name is Anna. I was born my great grandmother’s birthday. Her name was Anna meaning graceful.
My daughter loves her middle name more than her first name!! LOL, both of our middle names are Janine which means Little Jane. My mom’s name is Jane.