I really love the classic simplicity of [name]May[/name] as a first name, but I have a cousin named [name]Ellie[/name]-[name]May[/name]. We’re a pretty close family, and she’d most likely be in her mid-late teens when I’m having children. She goes by both [name]Ellie[/name] and [name]Ellie[/name]-[name]May[/name], I’d say it’s about a 50:50 split. Her little sister is due in [name]December[/name], and her name is to be [name]Mary[/name], also somewhat similar to [name]May[/name].
Should I avoid using it for this reason? I know it’s a personal choice, and I’m not that worried about confusion (I have a brother named [name]Caleb[/name] and a cousin named [name]Kayla[/name] - and that managed to work out!) but I’m wondering if anyone has a personal experience with a similar situation, and how you felt/dealt with it?
I’d of course ask both [name]Ellie[/name]-[name]May[/name] and her mother before actually making such a choice, as I know before my brother was born, [name]Ellie[/name]'s mother advised my mother not to call him [name]Eli[/name] as it’s so close to [name]Ellie[/name]. But I’m just wondering what others think in a general sense.
I see how it could be confusing, but if it’s a name that you really, really love, I don’t think you should let other people decide if you should use it or not. I’d say that since [name]Ellie[/name]-[name]May[/name] is her full name, it will be likely that she’ll just go by [name]Ellie[/name] in a few years. Go with what you want, it’s not your fault that your cousin have the same name as one of hers.
I think [name]May[/name] is fine. Especially cause of the age gap. We have a [name]Laura[/name] & a [name]Lori[/name], a [name]Jeanne[/name] & a [name]Janine[/name], but around 10 years between the pairs made it a non-issue really.
I have a step-cousin named [name]Alek[/name] and I’m [name]Alix[/name], he is only a year younger than me and during the summers we were almost always together along with [name]Anna[/name], [name]Ashley[/name] and [name]Amanda[/name] lol. But it was only confusing a couple times when people spoke quickly. So I think it is fine