Would you still use it? What if you didn’t live in the same city, but still they are your best friends… I think I would still use it. Most of our top names are also names of our family members… Now, if a family member used the name I think I’d have to let it go… what do you think?
It would depend on how close I was with them and the name. If it’s a common name I would use it. But if it were an unusual name, I don’t think I would use it if anyone I know had it. Some of my nieces have middle names I really love, but I won’t use them now. I don’t live near my best friend and her daughter’s name is [name]Mackenzie[/name], I only see [name]Mack[/name] a couple times a year, and I love the name [name]Mack[/name] for a boy, but I can’t possibly ever use it!
It would not deter me from using a name I REALLY loved. Otherwise, it would depend on whether it was a family member or friend and how much the name meant to me.
I had long planned on [name]David[/name] for a first son (because I loved the name), but my twin sister used the name for her son first. I was disappointed, but not mad at all. I liked other boy names too, so I let it go. In fact, in hindsight, I am glad she did use it first. If my best friend had used the name, I don’t think it would have stopped me.
On the other hand, my mother was “[name]Mary[/name] [name]Jane[/name],” and my middle name is [name]Jane[/name], and I planned my whole life to give my daughter the middle name [name]Jane[/name] too. [name]Even[/name] if my sister had named her daughter [name]Jane[/name] (first or middle), it would not have fazed me one bit in using it for my daughter’s middle name. In fact, my brother-in-law & sister-in-law named their daughter [name]Emily[/name] [name]Jane[/name] before my daughter was born. [name]Even[/name] if they had named her [name]Jane[/name] [name]Emily[/name] or “[name]Jane[/name] [name]Jane[/name],” for that matter :-), it would not have stopped me from passing along the middle name [name]Jane[/name] to my daughter.
So, if you have your heart set on a particular name OR it is one of great family significance to you, I would not let my friend using the same name for her baby deter me from using it. On the other hand, if the name is just one of several that you like and are considering, then I would steer away from using the same name. I believe – if two friends have children with the same name – they can always develop a satisfactory nickname arrangement that can apply just between their families, if necessary. I think naming your child for a lifetime is too important to let that kind of thing alter a name you would otherwise choose.
Good responses so far!
Honestly I would discard a name if one of my best friends used it, regardless of how much I loved it, unless I had some really compelling reason to use it (dad’s name, DH’s name, etc.).
If the name in question is common, though, I think it’s fine to use it.
Good luck!
I’m counting on nobody liking my favorite names enough to use them.
I know that’s so sad, but I live in a region where every little girl is an [name]Isabella[/name] and all the boys are some variation of [name]Jaden[/name], and so I take weird comfort in the fact that nobody loves my top names as much as I do. Haha, that doesn’t mean the names aren’t awesome or that I deliberately picked unappealing names- I think they’re great, it’s just I know not everyone in [name]Texas[/name] agrees with me…
mutantanemone~ Your post made me smile!
It’s the same where I live, except every other girl is [name]Ella[/name] and every other boy is [name]Aiden[/name]. 
Well…if my close friends named their baby [name]Henry[/name], obviously they never listened to a word I said! I’ve called dibs on [name]Henry[/name] and they say “okay. you have [name]Henry[/name].” so if they used it, even after swearing they wouldn’t, I doubt I could continue the friendship…Not just because of [name]Henry[/name], but because of the spite.
Haha. Yes, but I was talking to my friend the other day and we both love the name [name]Adele[/name]. Not even in the top 1000. Eeek.
I would still use it! It’s MY favourite name, I can’t help that she loves it as well.