Is this too weird?

We live in [name]California[/name] and most of my family lives in [name]Washington[/name]. My husband really likes the name [name]Alexander[/name], nn [name]Xander[/name]. I do like the name and I think both would sound ok with our last name. BUT my cousin’s son has that name (nn [name]Alex[/name]). We aren’t up that way to visit except 1-2x a year but I do keep in contact with my grandparents and occasionally Facebook with my cousin. If we stick with this name, my grandparents would have two grandchildren named [name]Alexander[/name], albeit with different last names and nicknames. Is that too weird??

Edit - my cousin’s son name might only be Alex. I’m not positive but I’ve never heard anybody call him Akexander.

I don’t think it’s wierd. I have a 1st cousin with the same name. We are also close in age, only about 7 months apart. Growing up, I went by a nickname and she didn’t. Now, she goes by a nickname and I don’t. We haven’t had any problems with it. I don’t think our grandparents have had any problems with it, either.

Come to think of it, I am not 100% positive my cousin used [name]Alexander[/name] as I only have ever heard him referred to as [name]Alex[/name]. I guess that goes to show how close my cousin and I are!!

I’ve found it doesn’t really matter much. Some gifts might get confused at family gatherings, but in the long-term it isn’t a big deal. (I have a cousin named [name]Kate[/name], and I go by [name]Katie[/name]…)

Not weird and considering the distance I don’t think it’s a big deal, especially since you going to call him [name]Xander[/name] and not [name]Alex[/name]. I much prefer [name]Xander[/name] as a stand alone name than as a nn.

I don’t think its a big deal at all. My family has re-used quite a few names and it has never been a problem. In this case it would be even less of an issue since each boy will have a different nn. Go for it!

I don’t think it’s a big deal, especially since they use different nicknames. My third cousins - who are first cousins to each other - are both named [name]Jackson[/name] after our great-grandfather. This has never caused any major problems.

Its probably not weird if your not that close. My family has a lot of repeating names, mostly from my cousins and aunts and uncles marrying people with the same first names as their siblings. We get together quite a bit, and sometimes its confusing when your not sure which [name]Adam[/name] or [name]David[/name] they’re talking about, but we manage. Now its kind of seen as a sign of good luck to us.

My sister’s name is [name]Arabella[/name] and my 2nd cousin’s name is [name]Arabel[/name]. We call my sister [name]Bella[/name] and they call their daughter [name]Ara[/name] so it balances out a lot. Also my cousin’s name is [name]Juliet[/name] and her cousin ( on her mom’s side) is also named [name]Juliet[/name] and they call her [name]Julie[/name] and we call my cousin [name]Juliet[/name] so it works.

  • [name]Evelyn[/name] [name]Skye[/name] age 14

I don’t think it’s a bit deal at all, especially if they each go by [name]Alex[/name] and [name]Xander[/name], which sound like completely different names anyway. We named our first son [name]Ian[/name], even though I also have a cousin [name]Ian[/name], and we have a couple of friends named [name]Ian[/name] too. I didn’t care; I liked the name so I used it!