See the results of this poll: Child To Have Unique/Personal Name or Family Name?
Respondents: 57 (This poll is closed)
- Unique/Personal Name : 55 (96%)
- Family Name: 2 (4%)
I picked unique name. I don’t mind family names in the middle though. My sons have their grandfathers’ first names as middle names. I just think first names should be individual most of the time, especially if the person you’re honoring is still living. [name_m]Just[/name_m] my opinion. I guess juniors bother me more than being named after a grandparent or aunt/uncle though.
I usually have one honor name in each combo. It is rarely the actual name of the person I’m honoring, rather something else important or meaningful having to do with the person. For this reason, I voted for the personal/unique name. I wouldn’t want my child to share their first name with a close relative, especially since I don’t see myself as much of a nicknamer so having a unique nickname option would be hard for me to come around to. I could never have a junior or anything after that for this reason.
Great job presenting the question in a neutral, not manipulating way /s
As if someone with an honour name couldn’t be their own person! Should have at least provided a pro-family-name argument too if you insist on stating it like that.
[name_m]Just[/name_m] answered this question in another thread about honor names.
I would prefer to give them a unique name, but appreciate honor names as long as they’re not like in [name_m]Harry[/name_m] [name_m]Potter[/name_m], where the children just got NO names of their own whatsoever.
You can give a child a separate name that is their own personal name while still honoring loved ones. This is my preference. For example [name_u]Gray[/name_u] [name_u]Emerson[/name_u] [name_u]Frost[/name_u]. [name_u]Gray[/name_u] honors my late mom, her middle name is [name_u]Gay[/name_u]. [name_u]Emerson[/name_u] honors my dad through [name_m]Emmerich[/name_m] which is related to [name_u]Emery[/name_u]. [name_u]Emerson[/name_u] means “the son of [name_u]Emery[/name_u]”. [name_u]Frost[/name_u] honors several loved ones that have winter birthdays. [name_u]Gray[/name_u] would have his own, special name yet be extra special because his name would honor very special people. All my combos are similar.
I prefer to choose a first name unique to the child, and use the middle spot for an honour name but I like to honour someone who is still living so they can enjoy and appreciate the honour.
I think it’s nice to honour family however I believe that everyone should have their own given name
I would pick a unique name. I’m not a fan of the tradition of giving the child the exact same first name as their dad or grandparent. It’s just too limiting for me. Though as other posters have stated, there are different ways of doing honouring (e.g. middle names, variant names, same initials etc).
It really depends. Sometimes it can be cool to continue a tradition, say, help the child feel connected. My husband is the third generation to have a certain name, and I know he really values that. But it would be odd to say it’s always or even generally preferable to choose an honor name over a unique name. Or vice versa.
Definitely agree! I do like the idea of carrying family names down as a middle name or even a variation of the name but definitely not as a first name. I’d want my kids to be their own person.
I’m the same! I don’t mind variations of the name like for exactly [name_f]Ellen[/name_f] could be [name_f]Elena[/name_f] etc but definitely not the same name.
I was trying to word the question the best I could so that people would understand what I meant.
I’m fairly neutral on this question as I don’t mind family names or variations of them as middle names but not first names.
I love names that are not so popular or part of the majority. My cousins and siblings all have pretty basic and very popular names such as [name_f]Holly[/name_f], [name_f]Grace[/name_f] & [name_m]Josh[/name_m].
I’d love my child having a slightly more unique name that is still in the top 100-200 but not the very popular names.
I don’t mind carrying names through families either as long as it’s a middle name or a variation of the name.
That’s exactly the way that I would honour people. I love using a name that is fairly similar without being exact but people still understand the connection.
That’s exactly the way that I would do it.
Exactly my thought. I couldn’t agree more. I still don’t mind a variation of a name to be an honour name as long as it was maybe the middle name.
There’s many different ways it can be done. In my opinion I would maybe do a variation of the name. For example my nana is called [name_f]Mary[/name_f]/[name_f]Marie[/name_f] but I would honour that name with [name_f]Maria[/name_f].
A lot of the men in my family are names after their dad. I don’t feel that it’s as popular now a days as it was many years ago but it still is done.
I like using variations of names rather than the exact name itself.
I think it’s a great idea to honor a family member… in the middle name. [name_f]Every[/name_f] human being is unique, and should have a unique name. For me, it’s ridiculous to name a son after his father, like [name_m]Robert[/name_m] Downey [name_m]Jr[/name_m]., but it’s just MY opinion.