I don’t have children, but I do not feel pressured to name my child/children after anyone in my family. If I ever have a girl I would LIKE to use my great-grandm’s middle name (the name she went by) as my daughter’s middle name. I just worry my other grandma’s will get jealous. Then again, my grandma’s may not be around when I have kids, so I may have nothing to worry about. LOL
Yes. Haha
I’m only 16 & I feel the pressure. My mom’s middle name is now VERY popular for girls. (not gonna say it directly, but it’s in the top five popular girls names in the U.S. for 2012) When expecting relatives ask for name suggestions, she ALWAYS suggests her middle name, and only half jokingly, despite the fact that her Goddaughter/niece is already named after her.
So, yes, I feel pressure, even though I don’t plan on reproducing for at least a decade 
We have never felt pressured by family to use a family name. We chose to give our eldest daughter my Grandma’s name, she died 3 years before my daughter was born so there was no issue of having 2 [name]Elizabeth[/name]'s in the family. Although my Grandma went exclusively by [name]Betty[/name] her entire life so it likely wouldn’t have been an issue anyway. At the time we named her I hadn’t begun to research our family tree yet but I have since found that she was the 32nd [name]Elizabeth[/name] on my mothers side of the family!
Uhg yes. We just officially decided on a name, and I’ve been stressing for weeks because I get daily texts, emails, and phone calls suggesting family names. Personally, I find my family’s obsession with themselves kind of weird - they are big into genealogy, family reunions, and are very tribal and fetish-ish when it comes to family. To the point that they idolize certain (passed and older) relatives. Now if I had chosen a name from this side of the family, my other parent was going to be pissed if I didn’t pick something from that side (specifically her name).
When we found out we were expecting, our number one name rule was to NOT name the baby after anyone - because inevitably someone was going to get bent out of shape. So we picked a name we just liked - turns out the mn is a family name on my dh’s side (never met the person), and is generally despised by my [name]MIL[/name]. And my mother is gloating bc I didn’t pick a name from dad’s side, but I happened to pick a name she liked for me that my dad vetoed when picking my name. And of course, dad is a little put out there’s not a family name in there and he just generally dislikes the name. Sooooo… you know what? They can just all suck it, haha.
Naming after family seems to be the norm on both sides, with my mother’s family following a specific pattern of naming and nearly everyone in my dad’s family having the same 5 names! While I have felt pressure to use my mother’s name for a future daughter (to continue the pattern) she has also told me that she considered other non-family names before settling on mine which fits her family’s naming tradition. My mother’s name is lovely but there are definitely other names that I like more. [name]Lucky[/name] I have awhile before this becomes a serious topic of discussion.
My middle name, [name]Lynn[/name], is also my mother’s middle name and her mother’s as well… it has always been expected that my first daughter will have the middle name of [name]Lynn[/name] to carry on the tradition. However, I think it’s terribly common and have never been fond of it!
Luckily I won’t have to face this for a few more years. Our plan when the time comes is to not announce the name until after the baby is born. This way pesky relatives won’t be able to do anything because it will be final 
I didn’t have any pressure to do so from my family, but it was an expectation that we name out first son after dh and his dad. I had to sort of push to get my way with that one. I love using family names but we put them in the middle:)
For our kids they have 2 middle names…a first name that we love and think fits them, a “strech” family name in the middle (using a connection to a family name but not exact-that way we can pick what we love:) Using rearranged letters, same meanings, birth month, surname, occupation name, etc.) and the 2nd family name is after family.
I dont’ have kids yet nor am I pregnant but since my cousin’s kept with the family tradition of family themed mn’s (all of my cousins’ and second cousins) I am definitely expected to do so as well. But, lucky for me I love this tradition and I’m not limited to a name that already exists in the family, just one from a very particular culture. ([name]Kinda[/name] like all mn have to be Swedish or old-school Irish).
Maybe you can find something that you like that honors the spirit of your family without having to use actual names you don’t absolutely adore.
That depends though, doesn’t it!? not everyone is close with their family - I wouldn’t want my mum and dad anywhere NEAR my children, and if you don’t get along with your siblings, then you might not want them to be Godparents. I just don’t think you can judge everyone on your own family relationships.
No kids, not TTC, and no pressure. No one in my family is really named after anyone. My parents didn’t name us after anyone either. Same with my husband’s side of the family.
We definitely aren’t going to name our kids after anyone. I like, unique/original names.
I’m just a teen, so pressure on baby names hasn’t come up yet. But my mother has mentioned multiple times that it is traditional for Greeks to name their kids after their parents or grandparents. My mother’s name is [name]Daphne[/name] which is nms at all (she doesn’t have a middle name). I’ve told her that and she’s okay with it, she doesn’t love her name either. But she’s really pushing for [name]James[/name], which is my dad’s name. Not that its a bad name, but its sooo popular. I heard three kids on the beach named [name]James[/name] the other day. When I mentioned I liked the combo [name]Gregory[/name] [name]James[/name] she said that she likes [name]James[/name] [name]Gregory[/name] better (which I guess flows better anyway, but I don’t like it as much). My grandparent’s names are [name]Stella[/name] (which sounds so old to me), [name]William[/name] (which is my brother’s name), [name]Mary[/name] (and my mother hates her so I won’t use it or anything, I’m not close with her at all), and [name]Paul[/name] (which would’ve been my name if I was a boy). I like [name]Paul[/name] so we’ll see. I guess I’ll have to cross the bridge when I get their but I have a feeling I won’t be telling anyone the babies name until its born.
I don’t see us getting too much pressure. My brother is named after both my grandfathers, and my cousin is named after my dad and uncle, so there goes that whole side of the family unless we want to reuse a name on a boy. My husband likes the idea of using his mother’s name ([name]Helen[/name]) somewhere, but as for any grandparents on his side, they were all Chinese from [name]Asia[/name], and I doubt they had Western names at all.
I’d love to use my maternal grandma’s name ([name]Estella[/name]) because I love it, but there’s no pressure to do so. My mom seems to have embraced more modern and exotic names that she didn’t think were options when my brother and I were born. She’s suggested a whole bunch of interesting choices like [name]Lucrezia[/name], [name]Jemima[/name], and [name]Katya[/name] (which would be fine if my [name]SIL[/name] didn’t already go by [name]Kat[/name]). I think we’ll have more trouble toning her down than fighting against using a family name whenever I do get pregnant.
Not TTC or pregnant, but there is no pressure about naming after a family member. I am not sure about my paternal side, since I do not know all the great-grandchildren names, but it happens on my maternal family. Because they wanted to, no one brought it up otherwise. But there are times when distant relatives name there children the same name as my immediate family. Ex. If I had a Dashiel [name]James[/name] and [name]Ashley[/name] [name]Nicole[/name]–there is a family member who named there son: Dashiel [name]Ashley[/name].
Ex. (No where near my families names. Lol, wonder where these name popped up from.) I know it’s not needed, but wanted to show…
[name]How[/name] it worked in my family
My grandfather: [name]Irvin[/name] [name]Wilford[/name]
1st son named after him: [name]Irvin[/name] [name]Daniel[/name] > his daughter: [name]Alexis[/name] [name]Daniel[/name]le & his son: [name]Charles[/name] [name]Irvin[/name]
3rd son, 2nd named after him: [name]Wilford[/name] [name]Dale[/name] > his son: [name]Wilford[/name] [name]Oscar[/name]
My grandmother: [name]Samantha[/name] [name]Eleanor[/name]
first great-granddaughter: [name]Patrice[/name] [name]Nelly[/name]
if I have a daughter: [name]Amaryllis[/name] [name]Sam[/name]ara
My mother: [name]Adele[/name] [name]Denise[/name]
3rd granddaughter: [name]Alice[/name] [name]Denise[/name] (also same initial and first name variant of great-great-grandmothers name.)
My name: [name]CoCo[/name] [name]Lucy[/name]
my 6th niece name: [name]Maud[/name] [name]Lucy[/name]
Some other family members takes the initials of different family member. Although, some are a coincidence. But it works.
If I were pregnant, my mom’s family might suggest a few family names but they wouldn’t push the subject. My dad’s family wouldn’t care either way, but they sure would put on a show if I did honor them. Coincidentally, most of the family names on my list are from my maternal grandmother’s side of the family. I’ve always felt more connected to her family even though I never got to meet many of them. There are several attention-seeking personalities on my dad’s side, and I know for a fact that if I were to name a child after anyone on my dad’s side my grandmother would give a full theatrical performance. [name]Helen[/name], my favorite girl’s name, would be in honor of her mother. Regardless of whether or not my great-grandmother is still around when I do have my first daughter (assuming my husband agrees to [name]Helen[/name]), I’m expecting the full waterworks on the hospital floor from my grandmother. Seriously, I love my grandmother but she is crazy.
But yeah, I’m more of a maiden name/old family name person than a naming after an individual person. [name]Helen[/name] is the great exception. All the other family names I want/plan to use are because I love the names and because passing down family heritage in a name is important to me - not because my family wants me to use the names. I’m hoping that my husband’s family will be laid back about it too. I actually can’t wait to dig into his family tree for new choices to add to the list.