Browse by origin

Middle Names by Origin

The middle name is where heritage lives. 24 origin lists for honoring a language, a homeland, or one branch of a blended family tree.

Because middle names are spoken rarely, they carry names that might feel like a stretch up front: a Welsh spelling, a Japanese name in an English-speaking town, a great-grandmother's Polish name kept exactly as she spelled it. Many families use the pattern everyday first name + heritage middle name to give a child both an easy daily identity and a documented root. Each list below includes pronunciation notes and the anglicized variants where they exist.

Celtic & British Isles

• Irish
• Scottish
• Welsh
• English

Romance languages

• French
• Italian
• Spanish
• Portuguese

Northern & Central Europe

• German
• Dutch
• Scandinavian
• Polish
• Russian

Mediterranean & Middle East

• Greek
• Hebrew
• Arabic
• Persian

Asia & Pacific

• Indian
• Japanese
• Korean
• Chinese
• Vietnamese
• Hawaiian

Africa

• African

Blending two heritages?

Two common solutions: give two middle names, one from each side; or use one side for the first name and the other for the middle. Our honoring family guide covers translation, variants, and keeping both grandmothers happy.