Honor names not from names

I’m wondering if anyone has ideas on sources of inspiration on how to honor someone without using their name. I would love to honor Cris.ty J.o Ca.rbon, but I’m struggling to find names related to those names that I like at all.

What are creative ways to honor people without using their names?

You could use things like their favourite/birth flower, the name of the place they were born at, their initials, the meaning behind their name, their favourite gemstone or animal, their occupation (so Taylor if they were a tailor, etc.

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The month they were born in. :blush:

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I’ve been thinking about the initials, that’s a good one.

I do need to look into name meanings more.

And I like the idea of the month they were born in!

I think of things that they like, or remind me of them. For instance [name_f]Daisy[/name_f] and [name_f]Peony[/name_f] remind me of my grandmother, so I’d use them to honour her.

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Something related to a memory.

  • For example, my younger brother and I watched an occasional movie that usually became quite the memory. One of those movies was Kung Fu Panda. I tried to find a name that reminded me of that movie and the night we watched the movie together.

Their favorites (animal, flower, season, weather, etc)

  • [name_f]My[/name_f] younger brother loves wolves and Taz. I could possibly use [name_u]Wolf[/name_u], [name_m]Wolfe[/name_m] or Taz to honor him
  • For someone who loves snow, a name that means snow. For someone who loves autumn, possibly [name_f]Jora[/name_f] → autumn rain

Something related to their birth month or an important month in your history (flower, gemstone, name of the month, etc.)

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The honor I have for my father is Ronan— not his exact name (Ryan) nor a typical variant, but both are Irish, start with the same letter, and sound similar.

Like PP’s mentioned, you could use birth month as well. I think it could also work with their favorite season / the season they were born in as well.

Some more ideas:

  • Favorite color
  • A name based off of a significant place in their life (where they were born, favorite place, etc)
  • Favorite plant
  • Favorite weather
  • Favorite book
  • A significant memory in their life or about your time spent together
  • Birthstone
  • A name that shares the same meaning as their name
  • A name relating to their favorite book
  • A passion / hobby they had. For instance, someone who enjoys collecting seashells could be honored with a name like Sora (meaning “conch shell”)
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I hadn’t thought of favorite weather before, that’s a really good one, thanks to those who mentioned it!

@shells15 I like the idea of their favorite season (and [name_f]Jora[/name_f] has a very sweet meaning, thanks for sharing)

@halinka Thanks for pointing out that close names can also work well!

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I would suggest:
Using a name that starts with the same letter.
Using a variant (e.g. [name_f]Christiana[/name_f] or Joanna) or a name with the same/similar meaning.
Using the person’s maiden name (if applicable).
Using the name of a parent or grandparent of the person (provided that they had a good relationship).
If the person is still alive, you could ask for their input and perhaps even allow them to choose the child’s first name or middle name (if you’re comfortable with that).

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