Why so many people have the middle name, Louise

In the article published on The Tab, titled Is it just me or does literally every girl have the middle name Louise?, the writer, Roisin Lanigan, says, “There is one constant in life and it’s that every girl you know has the middle name, Louise.”

“The middle name Louise transcends all differences which divide us as women.”

Lanigan isn't the only one to make the observation either. 

While this is an exaggeration, Louise was once a popular choice for a middle name in Australia.

Mamamia explains that in the 1980s Louise was the third most popular middle name for girls born in Australia.

Why were parents so keen on Louise?

Back then parents were apparently less concerned with honouring past family members and instead prioritised giving their children a beautiful name.

To do this, rhythm is important. Popular girls names in the mentioned decade had two or three syllables.

An article published on the blog Upswing Baby Names explains how names "play nice" together: syllables. 

“For example, compare a 2-4-2 pattern (Lena Felicity Adele) to a 2-2-4 pattern (Lena Adele Felicity).”

Similarly, an article on Nameberry stresses the importance of unequal numbers of syllables (2-3-2, 2-4-2, definitely not 2-2-2).. 

However, contrary to these rules, a popular (subconscious) pattern in the 80s and 90s was to have a two-syllable first name with the first syllable accented, followed by two-syllable middle name with the last syllable accented, i.e Louise.

So there you have it.

How many people do you know with Louise as a middle name?

This article was originally published on Practical Parenting.