I'm having a girl but the name I LOVE is too similar to her older cousin HELP!

So I am due with a baby girl in [name_u]July[/name_u] YAY. My husband and I have had the name [name_u]Addison[/name_u] picked out since we were in high school. [name_m]Just[/name_m] recently my sister in law had a baby girl and named her [name_u]Madison[/name_u]. Should I consider a new name because they are so similar. Kind of upset about the whole thing :frowning:

No. I have nephews named Bastion & [name_m]Boston[/name_m]. No one gets them confused, and hardly anyone comments on it. If anything, they think it’s cute! They might even grow up to be bffs!

If you love it you should use it. I think cousins having similar names isn’t a big deal. You shouldn’t feel like you have to drop the name you’ve wanted to use for so long just because someone else in your family happened to have a baby first.

[name_u]Madison[/name_u] is a common enough name and there are enough popular names that sound similar ([name_u]Addison[/name_u], [name_f]Madeline[/name_f], etc.) that your sister-in-law should expect her daughter to meet people with similar names. If you aren’t sure, maybe check with her first- she may be totally fine with it! But if you really want something different, what about [name_f]Addie[/name_f], [name_f]Adeline[/name_f] or [name_f]Ada[/name_f] which are more different?

Oh, I sympathize. My husband and I had our favorite girls’ name picked out for years before I got pregnant with our daughter and I was nervous with every baby girl born in our families that someone would use it first! As to your dilemma, in the end, your daughter’s name is entirely up to you, so if you don’t mind having a daughter [name_u]Addison[/name_u] and a niece [name_u]Madison[/name_u], then there’s nothing to outright stop you–but in my opinion, it’s worth weighing if it will cause ill-feelings in the family, or simply if it might be confusing to shared grandparents/other relatives/in family gatherings.

Personally, I would talk with your sister-in-law and see whether she minds. I know sisters who have daughters with rhyming names (think [name_f]Mia[/name_f] and [name_f]Leah[/name_f]) and they and their daughters think it’s fun. On the other hand, I personally would not love for my child and their cousin to have such close names.

I think if you’re prepared to not use the name, you should go ahead and ask your sister-in-law for permission (that way, if she says no, you haven’t lost anything, and if she says yes, it would be a kind gesture from you to show your concern with her feelings). However, if you decide you’re going to use it anyways, it would probably be best to give a polite head’s up/explanation in advance, but not frame it as a question. I also feel like the fact that you are currently pregnant with a girl (and maybe already were when baby [name_u]Madison[/name_u] was born?) gives you a lot more liberty to say, “what a coincidence, we’re naming our baby [name_u]Addison[/name_u]! It’s been our favorite name since high school!” rather than claiming the name for a hypothetical future daughter.

In terms of alternatives, I like the idea of [name_f]Adeline[/name_f] (still gets you the [name_f]Addie[/name_f] nickname) or [name_f]Adalyn[/name_f], or [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f]. There’s also [name_u]Adair[/name_u] (Uh-dair, so a little bit of a different “ad” sound), but has a little bit of the same feel as [name_u]Addison[/name_u] to me. I also love [name_f]Adele[/name_f] and [name_f]Adalia[/name_f].

Or perhaps it’s more the “-son” ending that you like, in which case there’s of course [name_f]Alison[/name_f], but I’ve also heard [name_u]Emerson[/name_u] used more on girls lately (and [name_f]Emmy[/name_f] is a cute nickname).

I sympathize entirely. One of the names on my list is [name_f]Isla[/name_f] but I have a new niece named [name_f]Lila[/name_f]. I have stroked the name off my list because the family is so close and I know they would get confused.
If you don’t think it would be a problem in your family though, I would go for it.

I know of cousins named [name_f]Ella[/name_f] and [name_f]Emma[/name_f], [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] and [name_f]Megan[/name_f], [name_u]Beau[/name_u] and [name_m]Bodhi[/name_m].
[name_u]Madison[/name_u] and [name_u]Addison[/name_u] are close but I don’t think it means you can’t use [name_u]Addison[/name_u]. As others have pointed out, both names are common enough that each girl will meat plenty of other girls with very similar names ([name_f]Maddy[/name_f], [name_f]Addy[/name_f], [name_u]Mattie[/name_u], [name_f]Adalyn[/name_f], [name_f]Madeline[/name_f], etc.) Who is to say they won’t end up with a best friend or neighbor with a similar name in a few years?

If you plan to give your sister in law a heads up I would say something like, “we just love [name_u]Madison[/name_u]'s name! Actually, we’ve been planning for years to use the name [name_u]Addison[/name_u]!” As long as you compliment her name choice and let her know [name_u]Addison[/name_u] was your idea for a while and you didn’t just get the idea from her, I don’t see how she can object!

Good luck!

Too close for my taste. I’d definitely do what the previous poster said and talk to your [name_m]SIL[/name_m] and [name_m]BIL[/name_m] first. It would be an awful shock to me if my siblings chose a rhyming name to my child for their new baby. That’s your niece, right? I’m sure it would confuse your mutual family.

[name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] and [name_u]Addison[/name_u] might be passable but your [name_u]Addison[/name_u] is just [name_u]Madison[/name_u] without the M. Why not try to find a name you love equally that lets her be an individual. I wouldn’t even go for an [name_f]Addy[/name_f] long form. Scrap it. Push [name_u]Addison[/name_u] to the middle if you need.

I would definitely use the name, since you’ve loved it for a long time.

Personally I don’t think it’s too close and in fact, if I had named my child say ‘[name_m]Oliver[/name_m]’ and my brother turned around and said he’d always wanted to use [name_m]Oliver[/name_m], I think I’d be fine with having two in the family, they’d probably just need to have little family nicknames to tell them apart. It would be a bit weird yes, but I’d prefer they got to use the name that they’d always dreamed of.

However, I do know a family where this kind of situation caused a major riff. So I think it’s best to check with your [name_m]SIL[/name_m] first, I think she’d appreciate the jester and is probably more likely to be on board with it if you ask rather than tell her you’re usinf [name_u]Addison[/name_u].

I think using the name you love and have had picked for years is fine. They might rhyme but they are not the same name. In my family there are cousins [name_u]Allie[/name_u] and [name_f]Hallie[/name_f]. I have never once considered this a problem. I even know sisters who are [name_f]Maddie[/name_f] and [name_u]Addison[/name_u]. For me it would be no big deal to have cousins with rhyming names.

This is a hard one! They are very similar names but I know what it’s like to have a favourite name for many years. If [name_u]Madison[/name_u] is always called that and your baby is called ‘[name_f]Addie[/name_f]’ most of the time then they can be different as well. Personally for me it’s a reason to put it in the middle spot and keep looking.