I really like the name [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f] at the moment! I have liked [name_f]Adeline[/name_f]/[name_f]Adaline[/name_f] for quite a while however I met a gorgeous little girl named [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f] a little while ago and have been loving the name ever since.
But there is one problem.
My sister’s name is [name_f]Adele[/name_f].
My first often goes by [name_u]Del[/name_u], [name_f]Delly[/name_f] or simply [name_f]Adele[/name_f]. I would use the nicknames [name_f]Addy[/name_f] or [name_f]Della[/name_f]. But I feel as though it’s a bit too close.
I love the name [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] as well but the fact that it’s one of my sisters middle name had put me off using it. However, because not a lot of people know that it’s her middle name, I don’t think that it would be terrible to use it. However, I am concerned that having a sister who’s first name is [name_f]Adele[/name_f] and having a daughter named [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f] would be too close. Not to mention the fact that I actually have two other sisters on top of the two I have messaged. I do worry that people may think I have honoured two out of four of my sisters. I think my sisters would be perfectly fine with it but I’m not sure that it’s worth having to explain to everyone that I wasn’t trying to honour them.
So guys, is this a deal breaker? [name_f]Do[/name_f] any of you have experience with this and what did you do about it? What response did you get? Did it bother you?
That’s a hard one ! I’m with the previous poster, to me it is probably a bit too close if you have no intentions of honouring your sisters.
One name may be fine though? So if you like [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f], you can simply say you like the name and there is no link to your sister [name_f]Adele[/name_f].
I don’t think it’s too close or if it is, depending on your family dynamics, it shouldn’t be a problem. I have sisters (and several bros) and if I said “We have named our daughter [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f] not after [name_f]Adele[/name_f] but probably should be as she’s better than all of you”, my family would laugh and then forget about it. I’d use [name_f]Ada[/name_f], [name_f]Daisy[/name_f] or Lady over [name_u]Del[/name_u]/[name_f]Della[/name_f] just to be sure!
I love [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f]. I think people might assume you named her after your sister but it’s easy to say no, not really. We just loved the name. And most people she meets throughout her life will have no idea she has an aunt with a similar name… it’s really such a small population that would conclude that that it seems silly not to use a name you love because they’ll misinterpret it.
[name_f]Adelaide[/name_f] is very sweet. I actually don’t think it’s too close to [name_f]Adele[/name_f]. It helps that though they look similar, the stressed syllable is different on each of them. [name_f]Della[/name_f] is a sweet nickname!
I think using [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f] when you have a sister named [name_f]Adele[/name_f] is fine. It’d be too close if they’re sisters definitely, but when it comes to extended family in a different household, I think as long as it’s not the same exact name it’s fine. (And some people would even be okay with repeating the same name within extended family.)
You can explain to your family that you didn’t name her after your sister and you just like the name [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f]. If they’re reasonable people they’ll get it and be totally fine with it. Most people aren’t so self-centred or pompous as to think you must’ve or should’ve named your daughter after a family member and will get that people sometimes just like similar names.
Most of the people in your/your daughter’s life aren’t going to know your sister or know that her name is [name_f]Adele[/name_f]. I don’t think anyone I know who isn’t family, a family friend or someone we both grew up with would be able to remember my sister’s name if asked (if they even knew it in the first place).
The main thing I think is, if you don’t want to have to explain it/have that conversation with your family or feel awkward about doing it, you might want to pick a different name. That being said, you’ll only have to do that once or maybe a few times with family friends. Her name will be [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f] her whole life and after the first few weeks or months it’s not really going to come up anymore.