All my life I hated my middle name. And then a year ago I changed my name — first, middle, last, the whole shebang — and that was that. But growing up, I NEVER told anyone my middle name. Never. (It was Sue. Bleh.)

And then I had kids, which felt like a huge gift in the naming do-over department. I could give them awesome names that rocked! If I loved the names I gave my kids, hopefully they would too. So far, the feedback is that I did okay, even in the middle name arena. In fact, I was so surprised by the middle names we parents are handing our kids. They’re so…middle-y. Which leads me to wonder whether we need them at all. Are they just a syllable filler between the first name and the last name? Are they a way to let the kid know he has REALLY transgressed (”John Michael Smith, you come here this minute and explain the peanut butter on your sister!”)?

Do we need middle names?

Top three middle names for boys and girls, according to Babble.com:

1. Marie.

2. Rose.

3. Elizabeth

1. James.

2. Michael.

3. John.

Ho. Hum. Yawn. I mean, these are totally good solid names. Totally. And except for Elizabeth, they don’t have a lot of letters, which makes them easy to fit on forms like standardized tests, birth certificates and marriage licenses. They are easy to pronounce. Hard to lose. You know where you stand with these names. Who you are. They sound good in between first names and last names.

But they are boooring. I want sexy names. Unusual names. Names that maybe can stand on their own if my kid decides his first name doesn’t rock as much as I think it will.

Check these baby naming trends for 2012. Middle names that aren’t a connector! Yay!

And while you are at it, spill. What middle names did you give your kids? I’ll go first: of my four kids, one has a safe middle name (Lynn) and the other three have standalone middle names (Orion, Leilani, Walden). How did you come up with middle names for your kids?

Photo: nkzs, Stock Xchang

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