What’s the best way to honor someone without using the exact name? Do you use initials, look at the meaning of the name, or use a rhyming name? What are some other creative ideas for honoring someone?
I use a similar name
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Birthstones / birth months
Generally anything that reminds you of them - eg a song you both listened to or their favourite colour, anything that gives off their vibe if that makes sense. It could even be a name they loved.
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Personally I’d use a variant of their name, because I prefer really obvious honours. I’m okay with others doing more creative ways though.
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Using a similar-sounding name is the most common option, but there are many!
You could honour someone by using a name they love. For example, if your grandma Mary loves the name Juliet, giving your daughter the middle name Juliet!
You could name your child after their favourite flower, their favourite animal, their occupation (Hunter, Mason, Taylor, etc), or where they were born. Or maybe just something that’s significant to you: like say your parents read Greek mythology to you before bed growing up, giving your child an ancient Greek name as a nod to that sweet memory with them!
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There are so many great options! The honor names on my list are rhyming names, name variants, same initials, similar sounding names, a nickname for someone’s full name, the month I met the person, birth months, names with similar meanings, and names that remind me of special memories with people.
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I use variants of their name (like [name_m]Santiago[/name_m] for a [name_u]Jaime[/name_u], both are Spanish variants of James), names that have same or similar meanings (Honor for a Gloria), a word name of something connected to them (I use names with fire or red meanings for my mom, her fav color is red, her birthstone is red, her hair is red, and you can quite literally describe her personality as fiery), I’ve used month names, or even just something as simple as the name just reminds me of that person, for one reason or another, or I’ll find more international variants of it, specifically for me Spanish variants cause I’m Hispanic (so for my mom [name_f]Aime[/name_f], I use [name_f]Amada[/name_f], the Spanish version of it). I typically prefer honors to be at least a bit obvious, but really if the name makes me think of the person, that’s enough of an honor
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The honor I have for my father is Ronan— not his exact name, nor a typical variant, but both are Irish, start with the same letter, and sound similar.
Some other 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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Here’s a little of what I do and an article related to the topic. Have a look.
[quote=“shells15, post:4, topic:376028”]
Although I had originally I thought I would give my future kids (1 boy, 1 girl) the only 2 name combos I had chosen, I was wrong. I reevaluated them later & realized I didn’t choose them for any particular meaning, but for how they “sounded”. They held no value for me on the whole. It was then I decided to figure out what I wanted in a name & write down some guidelines. The following is what I came up with at that time, with a couple tacked on as time went on. Most points are flexible, but a couple I hold fast to. Here’s my list, in no particular order:
- Most names we give to our kids will honor someone or something of importance to us (nature, literature, event, etc.), but they may or may not be the honored person’s exact name
*Article: See 9 Creative Ways… by @Abby[/quote]
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I think birth month is really nice. I have a lot of loved ones born in May, and I think that’s such a darling middle name!
Honor names as middle names are more my jam, so that I can pick a first name that I just really love and choose from any name out there.
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These are all really good ideas from everyone! Thanks for the article!
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If I really love the name or I am not in contact with the person/don’t think I will be in contact with them by the time I am having kids, I use the name
E.g. [name_f]Zalia[/name_f] is a name I plan to use which honours one of my best friends from swimming a few years ago, who I sadly lost touch with (I also love the name)
I like honouring multiple people in one go so it isn’t either of their names yet hits two bird with one stone, e.g. [name_f]Elena[/name_f] to honour [name_f]Helen[/name_f], [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] and [name_f]Ellie[/name_f]
Other options include names they love/d, something significant to them, or anything with their vibe
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I have lots of honour names that just remind me of someone, or is of something they like. For example, [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f], [name_f]Peony[/name_f] & [name_u]Willow[/name_u] are on my list because my great aunt grows prize-winning dahlias, peonies remind my mum of my grandmother, and my dad loves willow trees. [name_f]My[/name_f] examples are all botanical, but you could also think of a song they like, a hobby, or really anything that makes you think of them that could work as a name.
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It’s very personal, of course.
To honor my twin brother I’ve used the name of a place that’s very significant to the both of us.
I have other honor names on my list: variants of the same name, names with the same meaning, but also names with meanings that remind me of something about them.
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Thanks for the mention @Shells.
Our son has two very conventional honor names - his paternal grandfather’s name + my maternal grandfather’s name … which happens to be my husband’s name, too. I was never completely satisfied with it, and thought of about a dozen better middles in the weeks after we brought him home from the hospital. (If I had it to do over again, I would’ve changed it, but I was young-ish + overwhelmed + my husband really didn’t get it.)
For our daughter, I spent weeks and WEEKS mulling over our options, with pencil and paper. She ended up with a first name + one middle inspired by my mom, a bonus middle - Wren - from my sister’s childhood nickname - Bird - and a nickname that has so much meaning it’s tough to even begin to explain. We call her Clio. I completely overthought it + I’m so glad that I spent the time figuring it all out! I wrote more about it here.
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@Abby Thanks for writing it. I keep it around because there are a few people I want to honor, but I can’t do direct honors for them. I appreciate all the help you’ve given me, albeit indirectly! Thank you! 
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I either do; same name but in the mn spot, a varient of the name, and now birthstones because I just realized that [name_f]Aquamarine[/name_f] is my nana, my mom, my aunts, and my sister’s birthstone 
two birds with one stone.
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I like the idea of using variants! Ann(e) and Mary/Marie are family names for us, so we have [name_f]Annette[/name_f] and [name_f]Marilyn[/name_f] as honours 
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Thank you! I have a lot of great ideas from this post.
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