We are so excited to be having our third child. We love our children’s names and get many compliments, pressure is on for our third. I heard a great name that my [name]SIL[/name] said her cousin liked, (my husbands cousin). Mentioned the name to my husband and he LOVES it. I have thrown out tons of names and this is the only one he has stuck on. His cousin is young and newly married, no plans to have kids soon. He thinks its not an issue to use this name. I hate to cause drama, but I love it too and it does work well with our other two. I have tried finding similar sounding names but none flow as well. Also personally I think her last name doesn’t work at all with this name. Can someone claim a name when they are not pregnant? Should I ask her if it is ok to use it or play dumb?
The name is lennox and we like it for a boy or a girl. Anyone heard a name similar?
Thanks!
If the name was [name]Madison[/name] or [name]Sophia[/name], I’d say it would be reasonable to play dumb but [name]Lennox[/name]…no, she will absolutely be upset if it is truly her favorite name and you steal it. Yes, I absolutely think that in families, very unique names that you would not otherwise think of on your own can be claimed. I’d be angry if you did that to me.
Especially if you try to play dumb:)
We see this cousin once or twice a year and she lives four hours away.
And maybe she liked this name before she got married last fall. Her new last name doesn’t flow with lennox.
Your best bet is to talk to her. Who knows she might give you her blessing, or be completly over the name, or have other ideas you might like. Tell her that your considering the name, and does she mind?
If it were me I’d just ask her. If you are actually concerned about whether or not she’s ok with it, this seems like your best option. You may be right and she says she’s moved on from it. If, however, you love the name and plan to use it no matter whether your cousin is ok with it or not I’d just do it and be prepared for the drama after.
It really boils down to whether you like the name more than your cousin. Whether you talk to her about it or not, if you use it against her wishes it will probably ruin the relationship, at least for a while. Other family members may take sides as well.
If I were you, I’d ask. And if she is really offended by the idea of you using it, don’t. There are millions of other names to choose from, and this one does not appear to have special significance beyond you liking it a lot.
This is my husbands cousin whom I do not know well or see often, only at big family get togethers. My husband has no issue using it or even talking to his cousin first. I don’t want family to take sides. It is his family so I feel he should mention it. I don’t have her number but we are friends on Facebook.
I’d say you’ve probably answered your own question. Is it “baby name napping”? Yeah…distant but still technically napping. Does the baby name “crime” bother you enough to try to avoid it? I’m guessing the answer to that is no.
Other names similar to [name]Lennox[/name]:
[name]Lachlan[/name]
[name]Logan[/name]
[name]Ainsley[/name]
[name]Knox[/name]
[name]Rowan[/name]
[name]Lola[/name]
[name]Alexis[/name] ([name]Lexi[/name])
[name]Lux[/name]
If you see her like once a year I say use it.
If she used one of your kids names for hers would that bother you?
This is why you never tell anyone your favourite names! Personally, I don’t think people should be able to lay claim to names. Like someone who’s not even pregnant saying, “Now, don’t call your baby [name]Jessica[/name], I’ve got dibs!” just isn’t fair on the pregnant person. They might have liked [name]Jessica[/name] before the other person said anything and I think it’d still be okay for them to choose [name]Jessica[/name].
What you should do depend on how much you love the name [name]Lennox[/name]. If you ask her permission, I’m sure she’d prefer you don’t use it. So, if you really want the name, then don’t say anything.
Personally, I think any names that people throw out there are fair game. First pregnant, best dresses. The pregnant bird catches the worm. I think you can see where I’m going with this…
This is why you never tell anyone your favourite names! Personally, I don’t think people should be able to lay claim to names. Like someone who’s not even pregnant saying, “Now, don’t call your baby [name]Jessica[/name], I’ve got dibs!” just isn’t fair on the pregnant person. They might have liked [name]Jessica[/name] before the other person said anything and I think it’d still be okay for them to choose [name]Jessica[/name].
What you should do depends on how much you love the name [name]Lennox[/name]. If you ask her permission, I’m sure she’d prefer you don’t use it. So, if you really want the name, then don’t say anything.
Personally, I think any names that people throw out there are fair game. First pregnant, best dressed. The pregnant bird catches the worm. I think you can see where I’m going with this…
Let’s put it this way. If you were single and heard your cousin liked this guy who was cute, funny, a real winner, would you flirt with the guy? If yes, use [name]Lennox[/name]. If not, don’t. It’s up to you to decide what’s crossing a line and what’s acceptable behavior in this case.
What about [name]Lennon[/name]?
Well, she is going to find out where you got the name from and if she cares, you might cause yourself a big conflict in your husband’s side of the family. [name]Just[/name] be prepared and understand that ahead of time…especially since you thought it was an important enough issue to write about on Nameberry. It seems like you’ve made up your mind so I don’t even know why you are requesting opinions. [name]Just[/name] don’t be one of those people who, after it’s all said and done, complains about the fact that she got annoyed or doesn’t like you anymore.
Yes, it is possible to claim a name if you’re not pregnant. I’ve been on the other side of this, and tried to make sure my names weren’t napped by my SILs by mentioning them on purpose so they won’t use it, this may have been another reason this cousin has let her favorite name be know (especially to her [name]SIL[/name]), you don’t usually go around talking about baby names unless you’re a name nerd, so it sounds like she was claiming it. She’s expressed interest, it sounds like she will want to use the name. She obviously had it first since that’s where you got the idea. These kinds of things are VERY touchy subjects, so I’d ask her and be prepared not to use it if she says she plans on using it. I don’t think it’s fair at all to say if you’re not pregnant you can;t claim names, people can’t always control their fertility and it’s unfair to your female friends/family who may take longer to conceive.
First discuss it with her and it will clear the air.
Second I would like to see a daughter with a prettier name than [name]Lennox[/name] would you consider [name]Lenore[/name] or [name]Eleanor[/name] or [name]Nell[/name] or [name]Lena[/name] or [name]Alanna[/name]?
I wouldn’t do it. [name]Even[/name] if you two don’t see each other often, other members of the family might. If you bring a [name]Lennox[/name] into the family first, hers will kind of seem–secondary. NOT that a baby is celebrated only by their name or that it wouldn’t be a joyous occasion! It’s just if I were her, I would feel a little robbed.
I’m sure you can break it down enough so that it’s justifiable to use the name, but it’s kind of a “[name]Just[/name] because you can, doesn’t mean that you should” thing. Personally, I would want the green light from her first.
[name]Just[/name] don’t play dumb. That happened to me. I told everyone until I was blue in the face that I wanted to use a particular baby name, to the point they told me to shut up because I was getting annoying. Then my [name]SIL[/name] got pregnant and used that name and no one ever even acknowledged that I ever once wanted to use that name (I dreamed about it since I was a little girl). It was extremely hurtful and our relationship has changed even though I never brought it up again. This is why my top names are kept under lock and key these days!!! You don’t know how much [name]Lennox[/name] means to her until you ask, and it doesn’t matter how infrequently you see her, you had better ask first!!!