Hi Berries.
Is anyone on here familiar w/the Jewish rules of using honor names of deceased love ones? I know that you’re not supposed to use the actual name of a living person in the Jewish religion as an honor name, but what about a non living? Are you still just supposed to use the first initial to honor them, or is using the actual name okay?
Thank you!
People do different things. Many people try to use the exact or whole name if they can. If they can’t (or don’t want to) they may go with something similar, or even with just the same first letter.
If it’s a Yiddish name, sometimes people will switch it to the Hebrew equivalent if they don’t like the Yiddish one.
In my tradition (Ashkenazi) we can use honor names as long as the person is deceased! It’s not uncommon to get repeating names, usually a generation or two apart.
In Sephardic traditions, it’s much more common to name people after each other while they’re still alive. In many communities you can find a family with multiple people with the same name still living! Some communities even try to use honor names exclusively, but not all.
Thank you so much @flamingo and @dejectedpiglet! [name_f]My[/name_f] tradition is Ashkenazi, so that’s good to know. Then I agonize over the fact that I love [name_m]David[/name_m] & [name_m]Albert[/name_m] after my dad & grandpa for honor names, but my grandma’s names, [name_f]Annette[/name_f] & [name_f]Pauline[/name_f] are not my cup of tea. So, I could end up w/a kid w/David or [name_m]Albert[/name_m] as a mn & a girl w/an ‘A’ or ‘P’ mn to honor grandmas but not the same name. I guess that’s okay. 
I’m sure it’s not a problem. Alternatively, you could find out their Hebrew names (if they have them) and use them directly, while giving them a secular name of your choice and their letters to go by.
(Ie: [name_m]Say[/name_m] [name_f]Annette[/name_f]’s Hebrew name is Avigayil, you could name a daughter ‘Avigayil,’ and she legally/formally goes by [name_f]Adele[/name_f].)
Oh, that’s a creative idea too. I surely don’t know their Hebrew names, but I’m sure that information is somewhere. Thanks again. 
I’m ashkenazic, and the way it works in my family is we do first initials of a dead relative. To give an example my sister is named [name_f]Danielle[/name_f] for a [name_f]Devorah[/name_f]. I’m biased but I think it works well and everyone still has “their own” name (we usually go by Hebrew names though and there is a lot of overlap there, so take that with a pinch of salt).
Thanks, @magnoliaE!
[name_f]My[/name_f] family all does first initials too. [name_f]My[/name_f] sister & cousin are [name_u]Jamie[/name_u] & [name_m]Jeffrey[/name_m] after Grandpa [name_m]Joe[/name_m]. [name_u]Jamie[/name_u]'s mn is [name_f]Patricia[/name_f] after Great Grandma [name_f]Pearl[/name_f]. [name_f]My[/name_f] mn is [name_f]Renee[/name_f] after Great Grandma [name_f]Rose[/name_f]. [name_f]My[/name_f] fn is [name_f]Michelle[/name_f], because my mom is a huge Beatles fan & she justified MicheLLE being after Great Grandpa [name_u]Sol[/name_u]! 
But being a name obsessed nut job, I like to be prepared. [name_m]David[/name_m] & [name_m]Albert[/name_m] mostly flow great w/my boy list. And I can’t even think of any more good ‘D’ names anyway, so I’m so glad I’d be able to use [name_m]David[/name_m] if need be. :).
I guess this is what I get for being too excited for actually being “qualified” to answer a thread and answering before reading through the full thing 
. For what it’s worth, [name_m]David[/name_m] and [name_m]Albert[/name_m] are great names!
Thanks, @MagnoliaE! I’d likely use them as mns, but maybe [name_m]Albert[/name_m] as a first. [name_m]David[/name_m] was my dad’s name, but it’s also dh’s brother’s & nephew’s name.