As we all know, naming sons after their fathers and grandfathers has been commonly practiced for…ever. I was wondering what folks thought about naming a son after their mother (I say why not?!). Here’s our specific situation:
If we have a boy, we would like to name him after his grandfather, John. Not only do we want to honor this special person in our life, but Jack was on both of our favorites list. I personally prefer that my child’s middle name have a meaning or significance rather than just something we like since it won’t be used often anyways (that’s just my take, not judging anyone else’s choices).
Since a boy would have two names from my husband’s side (his grandfather’s name and the surname), I would love to use a family name from my side as well. My first name, which I actually don’t go by, is Lauren. We are considering Laurence as a middle name for John. Not only does it include a name that I have that my parents chose for me, but I also just happen to really like it.
Thoughts in general on honoring moms with a son’s name? I think it’s a great fit, but curious if others do as well or have any insights. Any users out there named after a parent of the opposite sex?
Thanks!
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john laurence is a lovely name !! & if fathers can name their sons after themselves, there is no reason why mothers can’t name their sons after themselves. it seems like a great way to incorporate both sides of the family !!
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John Laurence “Jack” is such a cute name! I love the idea of a son’s name honoring his mother.
I, for example, quite like the middle name René for a boy, honoring my mother’s middle name Renée.
Absolutely beautiful name you’ve created for your son- love it!
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i really like john laurence! i love the meaning that it has to your family, and personally, i think that we need to normalize mothers naming their children after themselves.
go for it! it’s a lovely idea 
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That’s my opinion as well. And we would call him [name_u]Jack[/name_u] so he would also feel like he has his own name and not the exact same as either me or his grandfather.
Thank you! [name_u]René[/name_u] is lovely as well–as a matter of fact I met a guy named [name_u]René[/name_u] recently and he was very cool 
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Makes me think of [name_u]Will[/name_u] and [name_f]Jada[/name_f] [name_m]Smith[/name_m] who chose to use their names on their opposite sex children with [name_u]Willow[/name_u] and [name_u]Jaden[/name_u]. I think it’s a great idea because a parent’s bond isn’t dependent on the sex of the child. So if you’re into honor names then I think a boy should definitely be able to honor his mother or other female family, and a girl should be able to honor male family.
I hadn’t thought of that example! I do want him to feel like he has his “own name” as well. So by calling him [name_u]Jack[/name_u] and using a variation of my name I feel like it achieves both. I also agree with something my best friend’s mother said about giving both of her children her maiden name as middle names, “I just want to get credit at least at birth and graduations.” haha!
I think it’s a wonderful idea!
I’m female and I was given the feminine version of my dad’s name. One of my sons has my dad’s name as a middle. While he was technically named for his grandpa, he was also named for me since the name is the masculine form of my first.
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[name_u]Love[/name_u] it!
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I am a daughter named after my father (my first name). Then I was called by my middle name, and I like my first name too, but in this case, I like the female version better, so I would use it for a girl’s middle name. Usually I prefer it the other way though, to switch the gender!
I think it is great if your son’s name honors you.
Btw I have heard of daughters’ names honoring dad, so I don’t know why sons’ names can’t honor mom.
I am all for naming a child after the mother, boy or girl. I’ve thought about using [name_m]Cole[/name_m] or [name_f]Colette[/name_f] as middle names which are variants of my middle name. Heck, I love my first name and have thought about using it as a middle for my daughter as well.
I think it’s a lovely idea, and [name_u]John[/name_u] [name_u]Laurence[/name_u] is such a handsome name!!
I think that works! [name_u]John[/name_u] [name_u]Laurence[/name_u] is meaningful and handsome!
I think [name_u]John[/name_u] [name_u]Laurence[/name_u] is lovely, like you I chose a meaningful middle name (after my Dad). It’s also a solid name.
I think it’s great when moms name their children after themselves and i think it should definitely be done more often!
I love the name and love the significance behind it. It sounds like family names are important to you, and this really seems like a well thought out choice that honours everyone. Go for it!