Lou – we have a family of flower names, too, and we always laugh about what to name a boy! About the only boys names we can come up with are Basil and Spud (a common nickname in Australasia)! Luckily we have only had girls so far

Will watch the next Baby Oliver name with interest.

maria- You explained it beautifully! That is exactly what my mother did when she married my dad! She didn’t (at least as far as I know) legally drop her middle name, but on her driver’s license, checks, credit cards, forums and other things requiring a signature, etc., she uses her maiden name or the inital for her maiden as her middle name/middle initial.

sarita and seraphina, it’s not an official name change, usually, but for me and everyone i know, they use their maiden names as middle names and married names as their last. so, on my drivers license, i put my name, maiden and then married. i did the same on my credit cards, frequent flyer account, bank, etc. i still have my middle name, of course, it’s just not used on any official documentation. it’s not a big deal.

My baby girl is called Poppy!
I love all of the Oliver’s girl’s names, very pretty and girlie.

I don’t have a problem with the middle names… if they were first names, sure, but middle names are so rarely heard and hardly ever used, so let them give them something quirky if it signifies something personal and special to them.

And those who mentioned dropping middle names at marriage are correct.

Originally, it was typical for women to, when they married, have their maiden name become their middle name and their married name become their surname.

I read that the first time when I was a teenager… it was in Dear Abby or Ann Landers… forget which.

Obviously most women no longer do that, and that’s fine.

I think it’s up to every woman what she wants to do with her name when she gets married.

Those girls are so adorable, and I absolutely love the name Poppy. If I ever have a daughter, I want to name her Poppy. Let’s hope my future boyfriend/husband agrees with that!

not many people have commented on it,but jools is looking wonderful,being pregnant really suits her!

hope the family gets all they wish for,and i too am intrigued by what new baby’s name will be with regard to following the flower theme (esp. if it IS a boy?!)
are there any boys flower themed names? cant think!

Re; people complaining about their choice of middle mnames for the girls, considering its the most outragous thing about their family,i think that says a lot about them,and is indeed a positive thing.

i think their middle names are lovely,

i’m from the uk and never use my middle names,the fact i have two would make it quite the mouthful!have never heard of dropping middle manes and using maiden as middle name until now,its a great idea if your name matches! (mine being ‘froment’ means its a no-go for me,cant wait to drop it when i marry!) all the best to jamie,jools and their family. x

Poppy’s full name is Poppy Honey Rosie Oliver. So lovely, eh? Honey is actually used as a first name too in the UK (think honey in my tea, not honey sweetie). Remember Hugh Grant’s sister “Honey” in Notting Hill.? There are also a few celeb-ish types that have called their daughter Honey (Gail Porter).

As others have commented Daisy’s middle name “Boo” is Jool’s nickname apparently. Cute for a small child, but not sure how she will feel about it later on… oh well…

Jools is short for Juliette. We also use Jools as a short form of Julian (anyone watch Later with Jools Holland?).

They are such a lovely family! Will be interesting to see if they have another girl will they continue the flower name theme?

I am in Brooklyn and most moms I know either keep their last names or just add their husbands on – first name middle name maiden name husband’s name.

Wow–I’m surprised about the middle name furor! I’m from the “South” region of America and just about everyone I know exchanges their given middle name with their maiden name when they marry. For example, if Susan Ann Smith married a man with the last name Brady, she would change her name to Susan Smith Brady. Unless she hyphenates, where she’d be Susan Ann Smith-Brady. It’s up to the woman, but the vast majority of women I know do the middle name swap (middle name for maiden name.)