My wife and I went back and forth with our first son on the name [name_m]Cillian[/name_m], eventually settling on [name_m]Alasdair[/name_m] instead, which we are very happy with. Now we are back at it with our second son and [name_m]Cillian[/name_m] is the top (only for my wife) contender. The problem is that our last name is [name_u]Murphy[/name_u].
So, thoughts on giving your kid the exact name of a relatively well-known actor, who seems, if anything, to be on the rise in popularity?
My wife thinks that the actor is not so well known as for it to be a big deal (she also likes to point out that there are plenty of people with the same name as celebrities but she mostly points to celebrity full names I would consider more common). I’m concerned that the association will always be there, and college admissions directors and HR managers receiving resumes will always do a double-take and chuckle to themselves. Besides, we don’t know if the actor will be a lot more famous in the future. Alternative spellings are a non-starter as well with my wife.
Ultimately, we do both like the name a lot, I just have reservations because of the association. Alternatively, [name_u]Murphy[/name_u] is the most common surname in [name_f]Ireland[/name_f] and [name_m]Cillian[/name_m] is in the top 20-30 given names there, so I’m sure there’s a number of people with the name there as well.
FWIW, I have no clue who [name_m]Cillian[/name_m] [name_u]Murphy[/name_u] is and if I saw the name I’d just think “hm, this kid must be Irish!” I prefer [name_m]Cillian[/name_m] over [name_m]Alasdair[/name_m].
I wouldn’t purposely name my kid the same name as a well-known celebrity, but if I had a common last name then I wouldn’t worry too much about it. There are always going to be people named [name_f]Emma[/name_f] [name_m]Watson[/name_m], [name_f]Kristen[/name_f] [name_m]Stewart[/name_m], [name_f]Jennifer[/name_f] Lopez, [name_f]Amy[/name_f] [name_m]Adams[/name_m], [name_m]Will[/name_m] [name_m]Smith[/name_m], [name_u]Ryan[/name_u] [name_m]Reynolds[/name_m], etc. Common surnames are just always going to have this kind of thing happening. Now, if your last name was [name_u]West[/name_u] and you were considering [name_m]Kanye[/name_m] I’d probably advise otherwise.
What a great name! I don’t think that the actor is or will be on the level that would solicit smirks. That’s reserved for a baby [name_m]Kanye[/name_m] [name_u]West[/name_u], [name_f]Britney[/name_f] Spears, or [name_m]Justin[/name_m] Bieber. You love it, your wife loves it, I say stop doubting it!
FWIW I know a [name_u]Michael[/name_u] [name_u]Douglas[/name_u], which I think is similar to your situation here, ie. two very common names and a not so super-celebrity. It’s fine [name_f]IMO[/name_f].