One of your greatest joys as a parent is choosing your child’s name. It’s one of the first decisions that you will make for your baby, taking that first leap into your journey as a parent.
It’s absolutely normal to feel overwhelmed when you are trying to choose the perfect name. (It’s also entirely normal to be decisive and not all that overwhelmed!)
Why Does It Feel So Important To Choose The Right Middle Name?
Names are an important part of our identity. It is the title by which others know us, and last names tell our belonging to a certain group of people. Names also have various meanings and histories, and we may love certain names based on their meanings alone.
Before our oldest son was born, my husband and I wrestled over whether to name him after his dad (he is a 4th) or give him new first and middle names.
Being “John William,” my husband’s name means God is gracious and valiant protector, respectively.
I loved the meaning of his name for an eldest child, not to mention that it would carry on an endearing family tradition.
(It’s worth mentioning that my in-laws did not pressure us. They were genuinely content if we did not make our son a 5th, which I so appreciated. But as it turns out, I wanted to do it anyway. I also loved that a 5th generation name uses the Roman numeral V.)
Put the names together, and it loosely translates to “valiant protector.”
More than that, we decided to call our son by his middle name – both to distinguish him from dad and granddad and also because it was my dad’s middle name!
Story told, it is important to give your son a name that is meaningful and lovable to you. ‘
Meaning of Name ‘Ryder’:
If you’re here, then you’ve chosen the first name Ryder for your son. Ryder is an Old English name meaning “messenger” or “mounted warrior.”
It is thought that Ryder was originally an occupational surname which evolved over time into a favored first name for boys. Ryder has been steadily growing in popularity over the years.
Famous and familiar Ryders include Ryder Lynn from Glee, Star Wars author Ryder Windham, and if you have young children, Ryder from the Paw Patrol!
Now you just need a good middle name that fits perfectly between Ryder and your last name.
From A to Z, there are actually more complementary middle names than we often assume. But how do you narrow the list? Where do you begin? Don’t worry , we have out together a list of good middle names that go with first name Ryder.
Sources Of Inspiration For A Middle Name You Will Love
Sometimes unbeknownst to us, inspiration for names is all around! Family and friends, nature, cities, monuments, street names, songs, books…all of these can serve as sources of inspiration for a great middle name. Let’s cover some main considerations:
Do you have a family member or friend who has had a positive impact on your life? Is there a family member that you would like to honor?
Thinking through names of family members, friends, and mentors is a great start for finding middle name inspiration.
Many times, thinking through old family names is also where we come up with more classic or vintage names.
For example, my friend named her son Charles in honor of her grandfather. Charles has become “Charlie,” a nickname that everyone loves to call him.
Is there a geographical place that you would like to hold in your memory forever?
Sometimes a place can make such an impact that you want to find a way to tie it into your family’s DNA.
Other times, you just like a cool name that stems from a special location!
My oldest son loves reading books about outer space, and there are many wonderful boy names inspired by the great beyond – Astro, Jett, Leo, Orion, and Saros to name a few. If you like to travel, maybe a city name for Lucas would be a great fit. Austin, Aspen, Diego, Boston, Kent, Dallas, Jackson, Rome, and Zaire are just a few ideas.
Do you want a name that could be a double name? Or a first name and middle name that mean something together?
If you love double names, then choosing a one-syllable middle name for Lucas could create the double name of your dreams. Lucas Cade, Lucas Jude, or Lucas Dane are a few ideas.
Or maybe you’d even consider Lucas as a middle name with a different first name to create your ideal double. One of my friends loved the name Wilder, but John was a family name that she wanted to pass down. So she decided to name her son John Wilder but call him “Wilder.” (John Lucas or Lucas Wilder are both great names!)
Is there a character from a novel or television show whose name you love?
I’ll never forget falling in love with the name Noah when I watched The Notebook as a teenager. If you want a literary middle name, there’s a gigantic list to choose from (a favorite of book nerds everywhere – my precious neighbor named her son Henry David for the famed author Henry David Thoreau). There’s Asher, Augustus, Byron, Dante, Dorian, Finn, Heathcliffe, Henry, Holden, Jude, Milo, Oliver, Roland, Tristan, Victor, and that’s just the beginning.
Would you like for your son to be able to use his initials?
Many authors and artists opt to use their initials rather than create a new stage name. Think of famed authors C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, or L.M. Montgomery.
And it’s not just for the classics or the historians. J.K. Rowling (whose full name is Joanne Kathleen) decided to use her initials when writing the beloved Harry Potter series. It was decided that “J.K.” was a better fit than “Joanne” for a book about spells, magic, and the courage of a young wizard.
If you would like for your son’s name to be adaptable, consider what initials he will have based on the middle name you choose for Ryder.
There’s also the option of your son just using the initial of his first name. (For example, since we decided to call our son by his middle name, we often use “J. William” when writing his name on paperwork and school-related documents.) There’s F. Scott Fitzgerald and others who have done the same!
Would you like for your son’s first name and middle name to have a collective meaning?
In other words, do you want the meaning of his first name and the meaning of his middle name to translate together? If Ryder means messenger or warrior, which middle name would make a good partner? For example, the name Samuel means “God has heard.” Together, the name Ryder Samuel loosely translates as “messenger that God has heard.”
What Do Syllable Balance And Cadence Have To Do With Middle Names?
The name Ryder is beloved and original enough to pair well with many different middle names. And Ryder doesn’t typically have nicknames!
As you consider your sources of inspiration, as mentioned above, there are some guidelines that may help with finding a name that flows and sounds great together.
Naming is its own art, viewed differently by each person, and yet there are some general principles that serve as guiding lights for creating a memorable name.
Think of the rules in photography and design (more natural light is better; the rule of thirds; color coordination and undertones).
Names are similar, with certain inflections, alliterations, and syllable counts sounding better than others.
Syllables:
First, let’s talk about syllable balance.
This is the idea that not all syllables in each name are the same; instead we create a mixed pattern in order to balance the syllable count.
My name has a 3-2-1 syllable count. (Sadly, I don’t have a cool or original name. There were eight other girls in my graduating class with the same name – and I grew up in a small town! But my name does flow and run well together.)
Syllable balance can look like a mix of different syllables, but our ears are the ultimate judge!
For example, if you take a full name with one syllable in each, such as James Cade Grey. It’s not like that’s a bad name. (After all, most of us remember that James Earl Jones is the voice of Mufasa in The Lion King.)
It’s just that it can feel too short and too simple (however, I would wager that really cool names get a pass here). But turn the name into James Caden Grey, and it sounds a little better.
Since Ryder is a two-syllable name, it’s a little easier from the start. But even Ryder Cade Grey feels choppy. In this case, it might be better to do a two or three-syllable middle name like Ryder Camden Grey.
Candence:
Second, we have a little element called cadence. Musicians everywhere will know what I’m referring to, but cadence simply refers to rhythmic flow with words (or sounds).
If cadence is off, our ears have a knack for picking up on it. We use syllable balance to create cadence, but we also consider other facets to help us find the best middle name.
One can usually determine cadence simply by practicing the name aloud to see how it sounds. If it feels like a mouthful, it probably doesn’t have cadence. If it feels contrite or shy of a syllable, it probably lacks cadence.
Put simply: the name should flow. When it doesn’t, the middle name is the first place we go (we can’t do much about the last name and we’re usually really committed to the first name).
Let’s consider an example of “bad” cadence to help. The name Ryder Wilder Jenner has too many “-er” endings; it throws off the cadence!
Ryder Riley Chadwell also doesn’t flow. In this case, it could be two things: Ryder and Riley begin with the “Ri-” sound, so it’s repetitive, and all three names contain two syllables.
Remember that our best bet is to use varying syllables and to choose names that complement each other auditorily.
Best Middle Names For Ryder
Now that we’ve considered the elements that lead to the best middle name options for your Ryder, let’s peruse the list of 105 good middle names for Ryder:
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