Okay to use same name as another family member?

I posted a name earlier but thinking we may end up using “[name]Jack[/name]”. I’ve always liked the name, but my husband and I each have a kid cousin (2 and 5) named “[name]Jack[/name]”, that we see at family functions 3, maybe 4 times a year. [name]Do[/name] you think we would get the “name copier” vibe from them?

Our families are quite large, lots of little young cousins and aunts and uncles, and there’s a lot of boys. A line needs to be drawn somewhere. I guess we all have simliar tastes. Now that our aunts and uncles just finished having kids, I feel like we’re stuck for boys names…

I wouldn’t use a name in my immediate family, but what about cousin baby names? Anyone have a simliar experience? Did you get any negativity from the parents? Did the name not feel as special cause someone used it?

Somewhat distant cousins in a large family that meets only a few times per year? A little name duplication wouldn’t bother me, especially given that [name]Jack[/name] is a common name.

So often, though, whether or not you’d be seen as a “copier” depends on the personalities involved. If the parents of either [name]Jack[/name] are the territorial or touchy sort, they might not like it.

I think it would be okay. In my family, there are three [name]John[/name] [name]Roberts[/name] (my dad, brother, and grandfather), and then my dad has a cousin, [name]John[/name] [name]Allen[/name], and he has a [name]John[/name] [name]Allen[/name], [name]Jr[/name]., and one of my dad’s other cousins married a [name]Johnny[/name]. Not to mention the fact that my great-grandpa was a [name]John[/name] [name]Russel[/name]. As far as I know, it was never a big deal and people easily told them apart at family reunions. My sister and I have both claimed [name]Grace[/name] as a MN for our daughters (it’s our grandmother’s MN, though, so it has significance), and my brother could likely end up with a [name]John[/name] [name]Robert[/name], IV, while I might end up with a [name]Jack[/name] [name]August[/name] [name]Cole[/name], if I have enough sons.

I think it’s good to try and avoid it, but if not, is it really a big deal? If you’re worried, talk to them. My mom is of the opinion that I could use all the same names my cousins have already used for their kids, so I see her point on one hand–I still haven’t met one of my cousin’s children, and we live in the same county, lol. On the other hand, I can appreciate wanting to not repeat names, but if you really love [name]Jack[/name], I would use it anyway! It’s such a handsome classic and [name]Harrison[/name] and [name]Jack[/name] are utterly perfect together.

Good luck!

They would be second cousins. And eventually the family get togethers will get smaller. The parents are pretty easy going type, they don’t appear territorial, although sometimes the fathers can say stupid things/jokes.

I’ve had such a hard time with boys names, and I think it’s partly becasue I was avoiding any family used names. Nothing feels as good as our first son Harrison, except names like Jack or Sam. Sam is my new nephew so I wouldn’t use that, but Jack is just a kid cousin of ours, not in the immediate family. Our parents don’t seem to care if we use a same name.

I’m of the opinion no one owns a name so there is no such thing as name stealing anyway but you are talking cousins, not siblings, and you only see them a few times a year. Definitely okay to use the name if it’s the one you love.

I agree that you may want to mention it to the other parents of little boys named [name]Jack[/name] to get their feedback if that really matters to you, if not and you really want to use that name anyway, then just go for it. I know lots of families where cousins share first and middle names often. I think [name]Harrison[/name] and [name]Jack[/name] go very well together.

Edited for privacy.