Family "traditions"

Don't know what to do about this one...my side of the family has a bit of a 'thing' going, my dad's middle name is William, after his dad whose name was Robert William (although everyone called him Bill..figure that out..), my older brother, so my parents "first born" son also has the middle name William. So I guess if we followed that tradition, then if this bub is a boy it would have William as a middle name...

Do you think family naming traditions such as these should be kept going? My grandpa passed away a few years ago, so my dad doesn't have either of his parents around anymore as grandma passed away not long after grandpa. On one side, I think it would be nice to honour this and keep it going, but then would we feel obliged to name one of our kids (or have a middle name) from DF's side of the family?? This bub will also be our parents first grandchild so it is kind of special.
We haven't really started thinking about names yet, so potentially any name we do choose might not suit "William" as a middle name and we might not even use it at all.

Would you be offended if your family had a tradition going, then one generation didn't continue it and it was lost? I don't really know what my parents would think, have just been thinking about it over the last couple of days..

Dh's family all have each others names.

Eg. Dh middle name is Peter which is his dads first name, his dads middle name is Donald which is his dads first name.

My ex's family, the first born DS was always named James.

For me and DH, i hate the idea of those kind of traditions....and i stopped his family one. Well, i thought i did. His nan told me after DD1 was born that somewhere along the line there was a Rose...and then when DD2 was born somewhere along the line theres an Emily....but as for our son...theres no Zacherys or Liams to be found :p

My side of the family doesnt have any tradtions at all.

To me, if the tradition was an important one then id have worked it in somehow....but i refused to carry it on simply because it wasnt a 'strict must do' kind of thing. At the end of the day they are my kids and DH and i choose names that were best for us and our children.

I would be heartbroken if my girls dont carry on ours, which my dad started.

He gave his 3 kids (myself and two half brothers) all the middle name Lee.

We have all continued taht - all of my brothers kids (5 all up) and my daughters have the same middle name.

Its nice, I really do hope my girls continue it..............

there are many in my DH's side who just EXPECT that our first born son will be name after his paternal grandfather or great grandfather because its just the done thing. and they EXPECT it to be first name, not middle....

but i am not known for doing what is EXPECTED of me. I am keeping quiet on the name and when he is born I will fill in the form, send it away and then make the announcement. DH is happy with this plan too.

Well we have a female line tradition where Mary is the middle name. To my knowledge it goes back at least five generations, my mother, and her mother, and her mother and so on...

....BUT in every single one of those generations, the mothers and daughters have had a falling out and gone to live with the grandmother...often the mother-daughter relationship was damaged for life.

So I decided that is one tradition I'm just not going to pass on. It stops right here with me. I will fight tooth and nail to keep the relationship with my DDs strong and loving. So I've given both my DD's different middle names, consciously.

I felt your pain and will share my story.

My husband is Mauritian and the family tradition is this... Aside from the name you choose for your child if it's a boy then both grandfathers and the father are honoured in his name, and if it's a girl same deal but grandmothers and mother.
SO
My little boy is Luca George Joseph Eric - what a bloody mouthful and boy did I resist...
BUT
then when I really thought about it I realised it was awesome for my son to hold each of his grandfathers and his fathers name as a part of his, and it will be his choice when he's older which (if any) he uses on a day to day basis.

My DP wants to Put his grandfathers name (Sydney) as a middle name.... Not too huge on it eh. But only if it's a boy.

My family never did any of the name passing down thing. Except my mum who gave my little brother Jed the middle name William. Which was my great grandfathers middle name. Only because Gampy was an amazing man and was super close to my mum and me.
And i want to name bub (if it's a girl) with the middle name Ivy, because that was my great grandmothers Middle name.
As far as i know thats the only name passing my family has ever done, on either side.

Ashley's family however, do it all the time. And i'm really not crash hot on naming my son "something" Sydney Cooper or my Daughter "something" Margeret Cooper.

I hate the names. Especially Margeret, really doesn't strike me as a little girls name.

But oh well, i get my way with the middle name Ivy, which i'm happy with.
And i've agreed to Sydney as a middle name, even though i don't like it. It's either that or Eric, Cornelius (which i love!! Haha) or Kevin. Which i'm not too crash hot on either.

I say do what you want names are hard enough without bring the rest of the family in on the discussion.

My middle name is Arwen, (Yep! from Lord of the Rings) We were thinking about keeping that going and picking a name from a book we like. We couldn't agree on a name or a book. So we decieded to go with my Pa's name. He passed away when Dad was a teenager. We didn't tell anyone we were going to do it. We just anounced the name. Dad still gets all teary when he says the full name.

I say go for what can be yelled from the back door and sounds authoritive. The middle names are only really bought out when kids are in trouble. Well that's what it was like at my place. If I got "Melissa Arwen" I knew i was in for it.

We have a tradition in my family... My Great Grandma, My Mum, Me & My daughter all have the same middle name. My daughter has already told me that she will use her middle name for her daughter if she has one when she is grown up (cute!)

All our children have a family members name as their middle name.

I have 2 middle names 1 after each grandmother and 1 brother has names after each grandfather, next one has a name parents liked.

DS has DH name as middle name, I did suggest doing the 2 grandparents names but to be honest dont like them all very much as names.

I hope next child will get a name from my family.

My best friends her eldest DS has her DH names as middle name, DD my bets friends mothers name and her 2nd DS has a name that is best friends brother and also her dh fathers name.

Middle names are very rarely used anyway so go with what you want not what you are told to use

I hear your agony...

My DH, his dad and his grandfather all had/have the middle name Edward. Nothing awful, infact I don't even mind it - however I HATE my FIL. I do not belive in handing names down and I never intended that any of my kids would have middle names.
Darcy doesn't (nor do I), and now we are expecting a boy.
If I was going to name my baby after anyone, it would be after someone I thought was a great man, like my dad or my husband. My Dad is dead against anyone passing down his names as he believes all children should be given their own identity not someone elses, so that's out. I would prefer to use Cam's first name instead, but he feels like it's letting down the 'tradition'.
I'm hoping I win....no middle name...and I will not back down, but maybe I'll wait until after he's here.....