[name_m]How[/name_m] do you come up with honor names without using the proper name? I mean, if you want to honor your father and his name is [name_m]John[/name_m] but you don’t want to call your son [name_m]John[/name_m]. Where is the limit for honor names?
In my case, I want to honor both my dad and my brother, and both have [name_m]John[/name_m] and [name_m]Alexander[/name_m] in their names, so I have [name_u]Evan[/name_u] (a variation of [name_m]John[/name_m]) [name_m]Alexander[/name_m] on my list. But I’ve seen people using differents “arguments” to create names. People using names with the same meaning, or using the name of the city where the person they want to honor was born, or got married.
Sometimes I think we try so hard to honor someone but at the same time we try to give children their own name that the name we chose and they name we want to honor don’t have conection enough.
What do you think about honor names? [name_f]Do[/name_f] you have any “honor name” on your list? Did you use honor names with your kids? I’d like to hear all you stories!
For me I like to honor my heritage more than a certain person. The only person I would like to honor is my father because I am an only child and he never had a son. I’ve always been very close with him also. My father’s name is [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] which I had as a middle name on my boy’s list for a very long time. However, now that me and my boyfriend live together and I am sure we are going to get married in a couple years it’s off the table because his last name is [name_m]Thompson[/name_m].
For awhile I tried playing around with combos with two middles to try and separate [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] from [name_m]Thompson[/name_m] but I just couldn’t get over it. [name_m]Thompson[/name_m] literally means son of [name_m]Thomas[/name_m]. Which is kind of cool but not really honoring my dad. I then looked at my family tree and could not find anything I remotely liked (he’s 100% [name_m]German[/name_m]) at first. My grandfather’s name was [name_m]Eberhard[/name_m] [name_m]Franz[/name_m] and my great grandfather was [name_m]Otto[/name_m] [name_m]Julius[/name_m]. However, my father’s middle name is also [name_m]Otto[/name_m]. I didn’t love it at first but [name_m]Otto[/name_m] is actually pretty trendy right now and it works. In the right combo I do love it. I also think it’s nice that I’m carrying down a name from so many generations. It secretly indirectly honors my mothers maiden name Oddo. Oddo is the Italian variant of [name_m]Otto[/name_m] but I did choose [name_m]Otto[/name_m] for that reason. That’s how it just came about.
I think it’s nice to honor if that person is someone you REALLY want to honor but personally I also have to like the name. If you can find a variation or a name that has the same meaning that’s great but being into names I would regret the decision to use a name I didn’t really love just to honor someone. My boyfriends name is [name_m]Joseph[/name_m] [name_m]Carl[/name_m]. His father’s name is [name_m]Joseph[/name_m] and his grandfather’s name is [name_m]Carl[/name_m]. I am not a fan of either of these names so I will not use them.
I don’t have any honor names on my signature currently but I did considered
Ibrim, Kutlu & Mutlu as honor names.
Ibrim is a form of [name_m]Ibrahim[/name_m] which honors my youngest uncle who died as a baby.
Kutlu means blessed and prophet it honors both of my uncles - Mutlu & [name_m]Ibrahim[/name_m] - since it sounds close to Mutlu but it also means prophet which covers the name [name_m]Ibrahim[/name_m].
Mutlu honors my elder uncle whose name means happy, my paternal grandmother’s name also means happy so the name honors two people again.
I would love to honor my relatives but I don’t know how to honor all of them heh
Several names on my list are honor names, although they certainly aren’t on there for that reason (at least not all of them…maybe 2 were intentional. The rest were pure coincidence.) I theoretically like the idea of honor names. I mean, if someone or something has impacted your life to the extent that you would like to impart that on your very own child’s name, that’s pretty amazing. However, it’s messier in practice. In our case, we know our families would be very judgemental about honor names…especially if it doesn’t honor their side of the family or if the name was the name of someone they didn’t like, even though the child wasn’t named after that particular person per say. [name_u]Early[/name_u] on, my husband and I decided that we’d try to stick to the names of deceased relatives, if we use “honor” names at all. Theoretically, someone who makes a fuss over you using the name of your beloved deceased grandmother makes themselves look like an old fool in the process, so win-win for us lol. The latest conundrum we’ve run into is that some of the honor names lean more towards one side of the family than the other…idk. The drama really just turns me off of honor names
As far as the whole “use honor names but give them their own names”, I think that’s part of the beauty of having options. You could use an honor name for the middle name and give them their own first name. You could go along the lines of what you were thinking, by using a form of a loved one’s name (this is what we might be doing…DH’s late grandfather was named [name_m]Henry[/name_m], but we can’t use [name_m]Henry[/name_m] without potentially causing sadness for some relatives…however, my latest name crush, [name_m]Enzo[/name_m], is a form of [name_m]Henry[/name_m]…great solution!). You could use something related the a loved one…the name of their favorite song, the country they came from, the name of the vacation spot you went to every summer together, and so on. I will say, though, that I think it would get quite tedious to have to explain why the particular name is an honor name, if you choose something obscure. At least with naming little [name_u]James[/name_u] after grandpa [name_u]James[/name_u], it’s obvious.
Honestly, I don’t stress about it much. It’s more important to give your child a name you love and that you think will serve him or her well throughout his or her life, than it is to give the child a name that packs as much “honor” in as possible.
There is a name that has been passed down in my family through several generations. I don’t have any children yet but if I do have a child in future I would consider using that name or a variant as their middle name. I like the idea of continuing a family tradition.
If I were to name my child after someone, I would use their actual name or a variant (e.g. using [name_f]Juliet[/name_f] or [name_f]Juliana[/name_f] to honour a [name_u]Julie[/name_u]). Personally I don’t think I would feel honoured if someone named their daughter something completely different from my name and told me she was named after me.
My first name is Danielle, after my father Daniel. Apparently I was supposed to be a Jr. (even though I would have been the third son) because they were told I’d be a boy. Oops! So that’s how they handled that
We’ve decided to pass down honor names as middle names, and for us they’ve been exact names. I have my mother’s middle name as my middle, which we also gave as a middle to our daughter ([name_f]Lorraine[/name_f]). My husband has the same middle name as his dad, which was his dad’s mother’s maiden name ([name_m]Nelson[/name_m]). If this baby is a boy, we will pass [name_m]Nelson[/name_m] down as a middle, as well. Because the name ares not terribly common …or terrible in general… it was an easy decision.
That being said, if we have a girl, we don’t want to use [name_f]Lorraine[/name_f] again. So instead of sticking to just an honor or family name, even though both of our mother’s are named [name_f]Mary[/name_f] and it would be easy, we’ve decided to go a different route. We were pretty set on “[name_f]Eleni[/name_f]” as the middle as a nod to both of my grandmother’s ([name_f]Helen[/name_f], and [name_f]Ilene[/name_f]) however the first name we fell in love with was [name_f]Eve[/name_f] and [name_f]Eve[/name_f] [name_f]Eleni[/name_f] sounded like Evil Eni. We couldn’t get over it and felt torn about how to make the middle name meaningful without settling… Eventually (with the help of berries on here!) we decided on [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f] as a middle and took a spin on the meaning - my husband proposed to me with a single primrose flower (there’s a long, beautiful story and meaning behind it which I won’t get into) and the [name_f]Rose[/name_f] is [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f] is loosely tied to that connection. I wondered if using [name_f]Primrose[/name_f], though we didn’t like the name, would mean more instead of forcing the connection but ultimately I think whatever the parent feels the name means is the most important. It doesn’t have to make sense to others
Anyway, that’s my long story! [name_f]Honor[/name_f] names are totally open to interpretation of the person/people who pick(s) the name but if it takes 20 minutes and a lot of over-explaining to get people to understand the connection of the name, then I’d say just tell people it means something to you and they don’t have to get it - it’s not for them.
I have quite a few honor names on my list! some are variations or name that take parts of other names, as I don’t want to use the same name as a living relative.
[name_u]Hayden[/name_u]/[name_m]Haden[/name_m] is a family name that has been passed down through 5 or 6 generations at least.
[name_f]Rayna[/name_f] is after my mom, [name_u]Ray[/name_u].
[name_f]Olena[/name_f] is a variation of [name_f]Helen[/name_f], who was DH’s grandmother that recently passed away.
[name_f]Jaclyn[/name_f] was my DH’s friend who died in a car crash.
[name_f]Jessa[/name_f] from my uncle [name_u]Jesse[/name_u].
[name_f]Elisabeth[/name_f] was two of my grandmother’s full names and one of DH’s
[name_f]Irene[/name_f] was DH’s grandmother.
[name_f]Marie[/name_f] is my sister’s middle name and a family name in DH’s family of at least 4 generations.
[name_f]Louise[/name_f]/Lougene, Lougene was my great-grandmother. I’m undecided on using her name as is, or taking the “[name_u]Lou[/name_u]” and using [name_f]Louise[/name_f].
[name_m]William[/name_m] is DH’s middle name.
[name_m]Arthur[/name_m] was my great uncle.
[name_u]Elliot[/name_u] takes the “ell” from [name_m]Ellsworth[/name_m], my FIL’s middle name.
so with all of that, I agree that is shouldn’t take that much to explain an honor name. Otherwise I would just say its a name with a lot of meaning or has a story. it’s also easier to say that to people in general conversation and not have to explain it every time.
I dont mean to offend anyone, but I really dislike honor names
Or to be more specific people who insist on using honor names even when they dislike the name just so “the family doesnt get upset”
I only have one honor name on my signature which is [name_f]Olivia[/name_f]/[name_m]Oliver[/name_m]/[name_f]Olive[/name_f], and it is to honor my best friend who is like a sister to me and has supported me through a lot
[name_m]Harry[/name_m] can also be considered an honor name, for my childhood friend [name_m]Harry[/name_m] who I’ve known for over 10 years
I wouldnt use any of those names if I didnt really like them though
I think that honour names are wonderful and they can come in many different forms - meanings, origins, letter sequences, personal significance etc. My only problem with them stems from the fact that so many people specifically want to use a person’s name in honour of them, but instead of just picking [name_f]Tina[/name_f], after auntie [name_f]Tina[/name_f], will pass over the name entirely and attempt to justify the use of a completely unrelated choice like [name_f]Theodora[/name_f] or [name_f]Temperance[/name_f]. I don’t agree with that. If you want to honour someone through their name, that’s great! But if you don’t like the original name and have to bend, twist, or break it, making it completley unrecognisable, then it’s no longer an honour name, in my opinion.
I have just two honour names on my list.One male and one female - both saint names, in honour of my catholic grandmother, and athiest (but saintly named) mother…
I stick to family surnames. I have two or three names that honor specific people ([name_f]Helen[/name_f], for example), but for the most part all of the family names on my list are surnames. Family surnames as first/middle names are an old tradition in the American South, where my family’s been for ages, and it’s one I’m happy to continue. Also, I like the idea of using family surnames because they’re vague, if that makes sense? For example, I could use my mom’s maiden name and no one on her side would squabble because I did or didn’t name a child after them. It honors the entire family, for better or for worse.
I personally feel that directly honouring someone by using their actual name is the best and clearest way to go.
My daughter has my grandmother’s first name, and.my mother’s middle name as her middle names. I played around with other options, and with variations (like [name_f]Adeline[/name_f] or [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f] instead of [name_f]Ada[/name_f], and [name_f]Iris[/name_f], my mum’s favourite flower, instead of [name_f]Kathryn[/name_f] to get a better flow to the name), but in the end, I wanted my daughter to share these names with these two very important people. Using their given names, without altering them, was the best route to go, I felt. I know my daughter’s name could flow a little better, or could have more unique middles, but her name makes me smile when I say it, and is so special to me.
[name_f]Every[/name_f] name on our definite list has an honour or family name in it. We are fortunate to like a lot of our family names, however we don’t have the “exact” name all the time.
For example, on one hand, we have all 4 parents names in combinations exactly as they are because the names themselves represent a great amount of connection for us. On another hand, we chose [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f] as a middle name to honour two aunts - both [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f]. The connection is important, but we wanted a version of the name we liked more.
I think picking random facts like a city where you met is a bit of a stretch. To me, honouring someone means using their name or a variant of it.
I guess my son’s name is a honor name. He is [name_u]Max[/name_u] [name_u]Lee[/name_u]. My middle name is [name_u]Lee[/name_u] and his father’s MN is [name_u]Max[/name_u]. We came up with this name because we couldn’t come up with anything else. My SO 's taste in names is very old fashioned and he was set on naming our son after someone. He wanted [name_m]Erwin[/name_m] [name_u]James[/name_u] after my grandfather and his father. He also liked [name_m]Alvin[/name_m], my grandpas MN.
I am the one who came up with [name_u]Max[/name_u] [name_u]Lee[/name_u]. I figured if he was going to be named after someone why not his parents!
I’m not anywhere near having kids, so I don’t know how this works in practice, but most of my combos have some kind of honor in them somewhere. I suppose it depends on whether or not you consider it an honor name? If you think that giving your child the name of a city or flower is sufficient enough to honor a person then I think it counts because the intent was there. If your kid knows that their name is [name_f]Rose[/name_f] because your grandmother’s favorite flower was a [name_f]Rose[/name_f], then they are still going to feel connected to their great grandmother even though they don’t have the same name. For instance, my name is [name_f]Kaitlin[/name_f] because [name_f]Kaitlin[/name_f] is a variation of [name_f]Kathleen[/name_f], my mom’s middle. They almost named me [name_f]Kathleen[/name_f], but decided that they didn’t like it as a first. [name_f]Kaitlin[/name_f] is relatively close to [name_f]Kathleen[/name_f], so it’s not as much of a stretch, but I really like that I’m named after my mom. (In fact, that’s what makes me feel better about the fact that there are a million [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f]/[name_f]Kaitlyn[/name_f]/Katelyns my age) However, if my name was [name_u]Sunny[/name_u] because my mom loves sunflowers, I’d still feel like I’m named after/in honor of her. My middle name is [name_f]Ann[/name_f], which is a super common middle, but I was given it to honor my two Aunt Anns, which is why I don’t feel bad when I see people complain about [name_f]Ann[/name_f] being a ‘filler middle.’
I also think it depends on what the person being honored thinks. I wanted to come up with a combo that honored my grandmother, but she absolutely hates her name (she was named after her aunt, incidentally) so instead of using her first name in a girl’s combo, I used [name_m]Knight[/name_m], her maiden name, as a middle. I think it just depends on the situation.
I have family surnames ([name_m]Knight[/name_m]), names of relatives that died before I was born but are important to my family ([name_f]Ella[/name_f], [name_f]Nell[/name_f]), two family member’s names smushed together ([name_f]Kathlyn[/name_f]=[name_f]Kathleen[/name_f] + [name_u]Lynn[/name_u]), variations ([name_f]Elaine[/name_f] for [name_u]Lane[/name_u], [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] for [name_f]Kathryn[/name_f]), names with the same meaning ([name_f]Grace[/name_f] for [name_f]Ann[/name_f]), relative’s favorite flowers ([name_f]Azalea[/name_f] and [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f]), and unaltered names with the same spelling ([name_f]Fay[/name_f], [name_f]Kelsea[/name_f], [name_m]Thomas[/name_m], [name_m]Timothy[/name_m]). So I’m all for any type of honoring.
Alright, how’s this for a stretch:
[name_u]March[/name_u] comes from [name_u]Mars[/name_u]-the [name_m]Roman[/name_m] god of war. My father’s name means “war” and my mother was born in [name_u]March[/name_u] (the second part is actually legitimate imo, but there’s a fine line when it comes to meaning)
I really want to use honour names, but I’m quite specifically trying to only use them in the middle name spot because I do want my child to have ‘their own’ name. Also because my S/O doesn’t really like honour names, and I’m not a huge fan of name repetition in close generations. I would consider using the name of deceased older relatives, but again they would likely end up in the middle spot.
I have an honour name as my middle, which is [name_f]Louise[/name_f] for my Grandpa [name_m]Lewis[/name_m], if I had been a boy they would have named me [name_m]Lewis[/name_m] [name_m]Collin[/name_m], after both grandfathers ([name_m]Collin[/name_m] was alive when I was born, [name_m]Lewis[/name_m] was not). As it happens my parents didn’t like the name [name_f]Louise[/name_f] enough to make it my first name, so I got a name they ‘just’ loved.
For my children my main plan is to use middle names as middle names (I think that makes sense?) - basically my mother was [name_f]Naomi[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f], I would like to name my daughter ‘XXX [name_f]Jane[/name_f]’ etc. Also I have the added benefit of Hebrew names - so my children can have an extra relative honour name thrown in for the Hebrew name where it won’t get used often but they’ll know it’s there; main choice currently is [name_u]Yehudit[/name_u]/[name_f]Judith[/name_f] after my Grandmother.
I like going a bit out of the way to get honour names, rather than just straight up using the name - but I don’t think I’d ever do the ‘favourite flower’ or ‘city where they met’ things. Partially because it’s a bit too much of a stretch for me, and also because I thought about it and none of those options give me very usable names! I do like names with the same meaning, but for me, I think more closely linked ones in the middle spot is the answer.
I was supposed to be called [name_f]Leah[/name_f], and my sisters name is [name_f]Rachel[/name_f], so I made up a combo name….Raleah.
And my brothers 2nd name is my gramps, and I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_f]Clara[/name_f], so I go with Clairah
I like using tot. uniquely different names, and nature/place/word names, I’m not really into naming after ppl, but rather making a really different cool sounding first name with a combo of a few ppl, and going with [name_u]Echo[/name_u], [name_u]Love[/name_u], Bless, Naz, [name_f]Dae[/name_f], [name_f]Skyy[/name_f], [name_f]Starr[/name_f], [name_u]Texas[/name_u], [name_m]Louis[/name_m], [name_f]Gracia[/name_f]… etc…for 2nd names.
I’ve struggled with this topic as well. We used an honor name for my son when we gave him my grandfather’s first name as his middle name. The other honor name I would want to use is [name_f]Lucretia[/name_f], after my mother who passed away. The struggle I have with using that name is that my mom was named after her mother (my grandmother) who is still alive and is the source of much family drama, in-turn causing me to look for another name to honor my mom. The solution I’ve come up with in this situation is to use a flower name as a middle name for a future daughter because by trade my mom was a florist. So far hubby has agreed to [name_f]Marigold[/name_f] but I would also consider using [name_f]Violet[/name_f] or [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f].
