I’m not a fan of naming a child after parents for either gender as I think that a child should have their own name so they can form their own identity and not carry over any preconceptions.
[name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] [name_m]Gilmore[/name_m] ([name_m]Gilmore[/name_m] Girls) did it and her daughter went by the nickname [name_u]Rory[/name_u] so it was harder to confuse the two.
There is actually no reason why you couldn’t name your daughter after yourself, you just have to think why you want to do it.
If you want to be technical, the only way to be a jr, III, IV, etc. is for the fn, mns, and surnames to be the same. Although, if a middle name is changed some people may use [name_m]Jr[/name_m] or a number just to differentiate, even if it they aren’t legally Sr./[name_m]Jr[/name_m]. For example, [name_m]George[/name_m] [name_m]Herbert[/name_m] [name_u]Walker[/name_u] [name_m]Bush[/name_m], the 41st president, and his son [name_m]George[/name_m] [name_u]Walker[/name_u] [name_m]Bush[/name_m], the 43rd president, are sometimes called [name_m]Bush[/name_m] Sr and [name_m]Bush[/name_m] [name_m]Jr[/name_m].
Personally, I wouldn’t do it. One reason is that people usually try to find a way to differentiate whether that’s through nns or from putting “little/big” in front of the name. I know I wouldn’t want to be known as “little ___” in my family. There are more subtle touches that I think are nice. Either sharing the middle name or having the middle name reflect the relationship. [name_m]John[/name_m] [name_u]James[/name_u] with son [name_m]Felix[/name_m] [name_u]James[/name_u] or [name_m]John[/name_m] [name_u]James[/name_u] with son [name_m]Felix[/name_m] [name_u]Jameson[/name_u]. I still wouldn’t do it myself because I think my middle is too filler-y unless I did a variation (like use [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] in the middle or find a name with a similar meaning).
I’m a huge fan of seeing names passed down to the opposite sex child. For example, a [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f] giving her son the name [name_m]Cecil[/name_m] or a [name_m]John[/name_m] with a daughter [name_f]Joanna[/name_f]. It feels less like they want to pressure the child into being a clone and more like they want to have a special bond.
This last sentence of yours really resonated with me. I was adopted when I was three years old into a family that had already a biological kid, a couple of years older than me. My mom, she really wanted to bond with me, I think to compensate the fact that we didn’t have that gestational nine months of bonding, and also the first few nursing months… So she decided that not only would I get my new dad’s last name, I would get her first name as well.
It was never something I disliked or thought deprived me of my own identity. It made me feel like I really belonged to them, my parents, when that need was always so strong to me.
Yes, some people would be surprised (like my in-laws), when I would mention or introduce my mom by the same name as me, but I have had no negative comments. My mom goes by her full name always and I go by [name_u]Caro[/name_u] or [name_f]Carola[/name_f] which she especially calls me.
As for things of correspondence, we never had much of a problem, because our middle name initials are different and so have always been our last names.
I just thought I’d drop in my 2 cents. I think that perhaps most people here are name enthusiasts, they would never consider giving their child the same name, with so many beautiful other options in the world. I get that, as I wouldn’t name a child after myself. But I do think, however, that with great thought and love put behind the decision, it’s perfectly acceptable, and more than that, special.
I don’t like it personally, but I don’t like naming a child after yourself regardless. I think putting the mother/father’s name in the middle spot is lovely, but not completely copying your name into your child’s name. Not only do I find it uncreative (come on, think of all the beautiful names…) I just like giving them their own identity and feel this stops them from being their own self. It is also confusing (unless, that is, one goes by their first and one goes by their middle or junior - I still find it confusing though). Like @katinka said, juniors and seniors are unheard of in the UK now, although a lot of people have their middle after their parents and it’s the ‘thing’ we do in my family.
Honestly, I have no clue how it works if the woman takes the surname of someone else for marriage. I guess they’d lose it?
My mom and I have the same first name; I never thought it was weird or anything. That said, she has always gone by two names --as an example, let’s say her name is Mary Jane-- while I go by “Mary”. I used to go by my middle name as a kid, but that was simply because I went through the “I hate my name” phase There has actually never been any confusion with the names, but I guess that’s because our middle and last names are different. I had an epiphany about us sharing the same name when I was around 14 and I have to admit I appreciate having the same name as her (though most of the time it doesn’t feel like it, LOL).
My parents actually never intended to give me the same name as her. My mom had several names chosen out for me, but was willing to let my dad choose it since I was his first child. He never showed any interest in finding one until he visited an old friend who had a daughter. Guess what the daughter was called? Hehe. Anyways, my dad came home and --quoting my mom-- that was it. It was only after I was baptised that my aunt pointed out that my middle name is the feminisation of my father’s name (to be honest it’s the same name plus one more letter), so in one way I’m named after both of them. To this day, my dad LOVES my name and he loves telling me the story behind it.
Funnily enough, my OH also loves my name and wants to use it on a daughter. He dreamt several years ago that we had a daughter named “Mary” ____ and he still mentions it every time we talk about names. I’m more lukewarm to the idea. I like my name and would really like to honour my mom, but it feels strange to use it on a daughter because it’s my name. I’d be more comfortable using a variation or putting it in the middle spot.
I come from Italian, Spanish, and Latin American stock, so literally EVERYONE on both sides of my family is named after everyone else. I was named after my paternal grandparents, my parents, and my birthdate! I don’t think it’s a problem, especially if you go by nicknames or middle names.
I think it would be fine as a middle but honestly I find it confusing for either gender–and not just parents to children.
My mother’s father is named [name_m]John[/name_m]. My brother is named [name_m]John[/name_m]. My mother’s brother named their son [name_m]Jonathan[/name_m] (probably because [name_m]John[/name_m] was taken) and he now goes by [name_m]Jon[/name_m]. [name_m]Jonathan[/name_m]'s other grandfather is also [name_m]John[/name_m]. So birthday parties were always a bit crazy because really who even knows which one is being called.
Similarly my mother has two cousins, both named [name_f]Liz[/name_f], who married men named [name_m]Jim[/name_m]. They are Big [name_f]Liz[/name_f]/Big [name_m]Jim[/name_m] and [name_m]Little[/name_m] [name_f]Liz[/name_f]/[name_m]Little[/name_m] [name_m]Jim[/name_m] respectively.
The only time I would do it would be to honour a deceased parent. My mother has a cousin [name_u]Chris[/name_u] named for the father who died a few months before he was born.
There’s nothing wrong with naming your child after yourself. It used to be very common. I just find it confusing.
I am not personally a fan of [name_m]Jr[/name_m]/Sr situations because I have seen the confusion it causes with my brother and father, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with it if you like it. It is absolutely OK for a girl to be named after her mother. You could give her the same first name, and a different middle name to avoid the [name_m]Jr[/name_m]/Sr problem. My sister both did that with their sons.
Either way [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] [name_m]Gilmore[/name_m] named her daughter after herself, so if it’s OK for [name_m]Gilmore[/name_m] Girls, it must be OK in real life. Right?
I probably wouldn’t but I don’t like my name very much and it’s pretty dated. My Pop’s name is [name_m]Harold[/name_m] and he named his son [name_m]Harold[/name_m] (goes exclusively by [name_m]Harry[/name_m] though) and he’s one of 7 so it doesn’t really bother me, he didn’t pass on the tradition because [name_m]Harold[/name_m] is just too old fashioned for a kid born in 1998. I have nothing against the [name_m]Junior[/name_m] and III and IV thing it’s a tradition and tradition is important to me, if my future husband is a II or more I’d pass it on but I wouldn’t begin such a tradition.
I personally wouldn’t do it. It feels a little uncreative, like little thought has been put into it. I’m not the biggest fan of my own name so I wouldn’t do it anyway. I think the best way to honour yourself would be to use your own name as a middle, not a first name.
I dislike my spelling of [name_u]Haley[/name_u], but would I name my daughter [name_f]Hayley[/name_f]? Sure. I love the spelling, and I don’t see a problem with it. I know a family where mum + daughter share a name, mum is big [name_u]Lisa[/name_u] and the daughter is little [name_u]Lisa[/name_u] if they’re together and someone wants to get the attention of one of them.
Actually, I have [name_f]Hayley[/name_f]-[name_f]Jade[/name_f] on my long list. The two names together differentiate even more between my name and a potential daughter’s name if i do that.
To any posters saying that it shows a lack of thought - it entirely depends on each situation, the same as ‘filler’ names.
Though I think it takes some of the fun out of naming your child something completely new and unique, I kind of like it. If I had a more unique name that I loved or a family name that meant alot to me, I would definitely pass it down to my daughter. I think it’s especially important that you can derive a unique nickname from the name that does not pose much semblance to the original name, allowing the child at least a little individuality. For instance, I would only name my daughter [name_f]Emily[/name_f] if I could get away calling her something unexpected like [name_u]Remy[/name_u] or [name_f]Mila[/name_f] ([name_f]Emmy[/name_f] or [name_f]Emma[/name_f] being too obvious for my taste). But more likely I would use a name similar to [name_f]Emily[/name_f], like [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f] or even [name_f]Clementine[/name_f]. That way I’m honoring my name (wow, that sounds pompous) and also giving her her own individuality.
I like my name but not enough to actually want to pass it on. However I have toyed with the idea of using a name with the same meaning as mine in the middle name spot. I like the idea of there being a subtle connection between my name and my daughter’s name.
While I probably wouldn’t bestow my own name upon a daughter, I do find it refreshing to talk about passing on the mother’s name. I feel like society tends to pass on father’s names more often than mother’s names, so in general I like the idea. Although, depending on the name, I’d probably use it in the middle name spot instead. I don’t see any confusion with having two women named ‘[name_f]Mary[/name_f]’ or anything like that, but that would be my personal preference.
I really like the idea of women passing on family names to daughters though - I might use a variation of my middle name for a daughter someday.
I’m not a fan of it, on either sex. It’s like saying “this kid is a miniature version of me and doesn’t have any identity of it’s own.”
I know a couple of women who have done it and they regret it, they doped up after birth and were just like “whatever”. I also know a couple of guys who have done it and their kids hate it.
I was [name_f]Katie[/name_f] as a kid, and want to pass on the nickname, (and an engraved, personalized bracelet), on to my firstborn daughter. I didn’t want to pass on the first name [name_f]Katherine[/name_f], and using it as a middle still seems a little too on the nose. I had decided on [name_f]Katniss[/name_f] as a middle, but now I can’t, thanks to The Hunger Games. So i have decided on Ketevan as a middle, which is the Georgian version of my first name, and I know of another person named Ketevan who shortened her name to [name_f]Katie[/name_f], in fact she’s a singer who goes by [name_f]Katie[/name_f] professionally, but named one of her albums Ketevan.
I personally don’t believe in naming your child after you, regardless of gender. While part of the reason being it takes all the fun of naming your baby I think, for practicality sake, there’s too much confusion involved. Sorry to say, I know someone who is named after the parent. The offspring is a criminal and the parent gets to deal with the name confusion.
Having said that, even if you raise your kid right and there’s no trouble, I don’t care for that tradition. Maybe giving YOUR first name as their middle name? That’s not too bad.
But I also know of a family who has the same name (or variation of) by FOUR members! [name_m]Even[/name_m] as middles, that is too much, in my opinion.
I personally wouldn’t want to do it, but I wouldn’t pass on any judgement to someone who did. There could be other reasons behind it rather than just plain hubris. Wanting to bestow a loving connection is a possibility.
And children will still be able to form their own identity. My child is very aware of himself and what he does and does not like. He challenges me at every turn, and I don’t believe that would be any different had I written another name on the hospital paperwork. Being a “junior” isn’t cause to make a family counseling appointment.
However, no matter what name you’re thinking of, I think it’s a good idea to explore other possibilities before making a final decision, which is why most people browse nameberry anyway. I do love variants.
I personally wouldn’t want to do it, but I wouldn’t pass on any judgement to someone who did. There could be other reasons behind it rather than just plain hubris. Wanting to bestow a loving connection is a possibility.
And children will still be able to form their own identity. My child is very aware of himself and what he does and does not like. He challenges me at every turn, and I don’t believe that would be any different had I written another name on the hospital paperwork. Being a “junior” isn’t cause to make a family counseling appointment.
However, no matter what name you’re thinking of, I think it’s a good idea to explore other possibilities before making a final decision, which is why most people browse nameberry anyway. I do love variants.
There has actually 