My husband and I finally seem to agree on a name for our third boy -[name_u]Owen[/name_u]. Naming is hard for us and it’s rare we actually agree.
I love it’s connection to the name [name_m]Eugene[/name_m] (which is a family name) and I think it sounds great with our other two boys’ names- [name_m]Grant[/name_m] & [name_u]Reid[/name_u].
But I’m having a hard time getting past it’s popularity. Especially because our other 2 kids names are not so popular.
I’m also struggling with the fact that an old co-worker has a son named [name_u]Owen[/name_u] (whose 6). And while I don’t keep in touch with her much except on social media- we do share some of the same friend circles which makes me feel weird.
Part of me thinks I need to just get over it because otherwise it seems like the perfect name to complete our sib-set. But another part me feels like a “name stealer”…
Since she’s not really in your life I don’t think it’s a problem at all! [name_u]Owen[/name_u] is a popular (but not too popular) name so your coworker is going to come across some people who named their son the same name. Also I don’t think [name_u]Owen[/name_u] is too popular at all! I have only met one [name_u]Owen[/name_u] in my whole life and I think it goes great with [name_m]Grant[/name_m] and [name_u]Reid[/name_u]. So I’d say go for it!
I would go ahead and use it. [name_u]Owen[/name_u] is not just HER name, she doesn’t own it, and you won’t be stealing the name.
My brother and sister-in-law found the perfect name, and didn’t tell anyone until their younger son was born. About a month before he was born, my brother found out the neighbors (in a neighborhood of maybe 30 families on a single road in/out and they weren’t at all close to at the time) had named their newborn son the same name with a different spelling. He hesitated to tell his wife the newborn’s name, but did so. They kept the name they had come up with and the two [name_u]Brayden[/name_u]/Brᴀɛdɛn are now best friends. No one thought my brother and sister-in-law had stolen the name, and find the story entertaining moreso than anything else.
I don’t think it’s a problem. [name_u]Owen[/name_u] is popular enough that it won’t seem like you are stealing the name, especially since the other [name_u]Owen[/name_u] is six already, and you aren’t very close with his mother. However, it’s still uncommon enough that it fits with [name_m]Grant[/name_m] and [name_u]Reid[/name_u]. I think [name_u]Owen[/name_u] seems more popular than it is because it’s a well known name. [name_m]Grant[/name_m], Re¡d, and [name_u]Owen[/name_u] make great names for brothers.
I would use it! I think the “name stealing” thing is a bit blown out of proportion, but that aside it doesn’t sound like you are close at all and the other child is so much older than yours! I don’t see why it should course problems. Use the name you love.
I’d say go with [name_u]Owen[/name_u] - it seems to be the one you love, it’s not overly popular, yet it’s familiar enough that it doesn’t seem like you’ve copied.
I agree with pp. You dont really keep in touch with her, and I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you both had the same names for your sons, she would agree it’s a good name! Lol
Regardless, if you still feel awkward about the whole situation, you could consider [name_m]Odin[/name_m], [name_m]Otis[/name_m], [name_m]Ian[/name_m], [name_m]Aaron[/name_m] or [name_m]Edwin[/name_m]?