So, before I get into the strange naming coincidence and whether or not I’m crazy for letting it bother me, I’m going to give some background information. I’ve read threads about name “stealing” and I know some believe there is no such thing, and it doesn’t bother them and others are very protective of the name they’ve chosen for their little one and are very upset when someone “steals” it…I’ll admit, with my first child I was very worried about “name stealing” and it was such a relief that no one I knew used the name before my child was born. It was our number one name for a long time (before we were married or expecting) and we weren’t considering any other names. I’m now pregnant with my second child, due at the beginning of [name_f]September[/name_f]. This time around my husband and I had a short list of names, and after some discussion and revisions we agreed on a name that was our favorite. The more we said it, wrote it, and read it the more it became the obvious “winner”. We also had a talk about whether we (meaning myself, specifically) would be upset if someone else used it and whether we would consider switching the name only for that reason. We are aware that the name is in the top ten most popular names for 2016, but we don’t personally know anyone with this name. Someone I know in our small community (but not a close friend or a family member) had mentioned using our chosen name in both the first and middle spot for different combinations. I told my husband this time I don’t care, I’m sticking with it and I’m not going choose my “second favorite” name because someone else used “our” name first, even if the children would be in the same grade in our small rural school. The girl had her son earlier this month and did not use the name we’ve chosen, and since almost all of the babies we know that are due before or shortly after my son in [name_f]September[/name_f] are girls, we felt confident we were out of the woods that anyone would make an announcement using the same name. However, my husband has still asked how I was feeling about it, since I was so nervous about someone using the same name with our other son. This is the name. He doesn’t deserve the second-best or second-favorite name on our list, I’m sticking with it. My husband agrees, since “name stealing” doesn’t really bother him anyway and we’ve ordered a little brother onesie with his name embroidered on it–the only personalized item so far, but I feel committed to this name.
Here’s where it gets a little weird (to me, maybe you all think I’m crazy…) My grandparents’ dog recently passed away and they have been looking for another one, but were not wanting a puppy. Yesterday, they found one. It is a year and a half old, and it is named THE SAME NAME we have chosen as a first name for our son. I couldn’t believe that of all the names it is the one we’ve picked and kept a secret this whole time. It bothers me. If the dog was a puppy and they were choosing a name I would probably either directly or indirectly get them to choose another name…We don’t want to announce the name before the baby arrives, but in that case I might quietly tell just my grandparents and ask them to choose a different name, or just suggest other names for the puppy hoping they choose something else. In this case, the dog is already coming to them with that name, so I don’t see the point in telling anyone the name we’ve chosen is the same…They’re not changing the dog’s name at that age, and we’ve agreed to not change the name or look for a new favorite…but I was not expecting a family dog to arrive! I think it will be a bit awkward when we announce the name in a little over a month and it’s the same as the new dog…my husband is the only one who will know (besides me) that we’ve had it picked for months and strangely enough this dog came into the picture and it’s a weird coincidence. I KNOW that no one will think we named the child after the dog, obviously, but I’m just worried I won’t get the reaction I was hoping for from my family because they’ve been introduced to the name already, via dog…I think my family will think it’s funny, and maybe it’s my pregnancy hormones, but I don’t think it’s funny and I don’t want to hear jokes about it. My son will share a name with this dog for the rest of the dog’s life. It is my favorite name, I was hoping to hear compliments on the name like we heard on my first son’s name (and I’m sure we will, from my husband’s family and others who do not know of this situation), and it’s a small group of people–just my family–but it is just under my skin. It is a strange coincidence for sure, but I don’t want hear “funny” comments on it. I take choosing names for my children very seriously since it’s something I’m so interested it, so it does bother me and I feel like it will get old quickly.
Sorry for the long post. Go ahead and tell me I’m being irrational. I just needed to post because there is literally no one else I can tell this “you won’t believe this but…” situation, without spilling what our son’s name will be!
Wow! That’s a very strange coincidence. I do feel for you. That has got to be the worst possible scenario for naming. Honestly, if it were me, I would choose a different name and use that name in the middle spot. It would just be too weird to me. (Unless this dog is somehow out of the picture by the time you give birth…which seems unlikely.) I’m really sorry, but I wouldn’t imagine calling my son the same name as a family pet–even if I had had it picked out way beforehand. However, you can certainly use it. I do think everyone will understand. Though it may get old when you have to explain it to everyone who notices that your parens have a dog and grandchild by the same name. Also, think of the child… I am not sure that I’d like to grow up sharing my name with a dog–at least, not one I will be around often. That might be just me, though. I actually think my youngest sister would be thrilled to share her name with a pet of any kind! Lol:D In the end, you’ll have to do what you think is best. And if that is sticking with the name you have loved for a long time, then good for you! I encourage you to go for it. And if not, then I think everyone here on NB would love to explore other options with you and help you find another name you love:)
Best wishes!
~[name_f]Emma[/name_f]
Huh, that is very odd! I’m sorry you are having to go through that! I’m in the same mindset as you, as far as not sharing the name before birth…we won’t be doing that either. However, it seems like that sets us up for something like this…which can be just as a hurtful as “name stealing.” So I do sympathize with you guys! I don’t think you are being irrational at all!
It sounds like the name is still the name for you. I’m sorry you might not get a huge name reveal reaction, but you will still be introducing a new little life into the world and that is still very special 
the name won’t lose any worth or beauty because it was used on a dog. [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t worry. If someone does ask, I’d just be honest and say that you’ve had the name picked out for months and didn’t want to change it. It might not be quite as bad as a situation as you are thinking. Best of luck to you, and we’re always here to listen to venting or give advice
HUGE HUGS That is a HORRIBLE situation and you are NOT overreacting at ALL! My only suggestion might not work, depending on the Name, but is there a possible Nickname for The Name which you don’t really like? If so, maybe you could still quietly explain your situation to your Grandparents and ask them to call the Dog by that Nickname? For example, let’s say the Name is [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] (Top 10 Random pick - sorry if it’s inadvertently The Name!). Perhaps your Grandparents would consider calling their Dog Ezzie? [name_m]Just[/name_m] a thought!
Honestly you should probably change it. Ps. What is this name?
I’d ask your grandparents to change the dogs name of they would. It usually is not difficult to do.
The dog’s name has to change or you have to pick a different one. Those are the only two acceptable choices I see here. I’m sorry that happened. 
Such a bummer. What’s the name?
Maybe it’s a sign that you’re not supposed to use that name. Or you could use it as the middle name…
I don’t see why you can’t politely explain the situation and ask your grandparents to change the name of the dog. Maybe it’s because we were kids but my siblings and I changed the name of our family dog that we adopted. I thought it was a pretty normal thing to do? Besides a name matters much more to a person rather than a dog.
I’m really surprised so many people are suggesting you change your son’s name! Perhaps it’s because, as you mentioned, different people have different priorities in a name. You should let your family know that you were planning on using the same name as the dog- I’m sure your grandparents would be willing to change or adapt their dog’s name when they see how much it bothers you. [name_m]Even[/name_m] they won’t, for whatever reason, (I can’t imagine why) I would still advise you to keep the name. It’s just a dog- there’ll be jokes in the beginning, of course, but your family will get over it, and though it may not seem like it now, you will too (I hope I don’t sound too condescending!)
I’m sorry this is happening, it sounds like a horrible situation to be in. Best of luck!
I agree- there is no reason they can’t change the dog’s name. You will have to reveal the name you chose before you wanted to, but I think that is definitely the best solution here. You shouldn’t have to change your son’s name because of a dog and he shouldn’t have to share it with the dog if that makes you uncomfortable. I’m sure your grandparents would understand! It’s not a name they picked right? The sooner you tell them the better so they don’t get too used to using it and can easily change to a new name.
I think you should just tell the grandparents to change the dog’s name and explain that it’s your chosen name! You could show the onesie as proof though I doubt they’d ask for proof.
I have 3 shelter pets, I didn’t change the dogs’ names (out of laziness) but I did change the cat’s. Honestly most ppl would change their dog’s name anyways, usually the shelter will just pick popular names and dub the animals with said name.
I’ve seen plenty of shelter cats and dogs with top-10-names, so it’s not too bizarre that the dog has the name.
If anything I see it as a sign that the name IS the one for your family! 
I think you should just have a quiet conversation with your grandparents and explain how much the name means to you, and ask them to change the name of the puppy. With a little extra training etc I’m sure the dog will quickly learn it’s new name - people change shelter dogs names all the time. I’m sure your family will understand
I think you both should still go with the name you love. Dogs, no matter what age, can be called different things and still obey and hear it’s them and such. I would be really open with your grandparents and explain to them that you had selected that name for your baby. I’m pretty sure they’d choose a different name for their dog or at least call him by a different variation or nickname of that name.
I think if you tell your Grandparents the strange coincidence that they’ll probably be more than happy to change the dog’s name. Who would have ever thought that would happen! So weird!
Thank you for your responses everyone!
For anyone that was curious, the name is [name_m]Oliver[/name_m]. We know this is a popular name–according to lists we’ve seen. However, I’m a teacher and looking beyond my own classroom (I’ve never taught an [name_m]Oliver[/name_m]), there is no child in my building with the name, and I’m quite confident there’s not a child named [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] currently in my (small) district. Which shows that it’s popular in theory, but not popular in our area. Since it IS popular in theory and popping up on name lists we knew that it may be on other people’s name lists and little ones named [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] may start arriving (before or after ours). We were okay with that, even if the children would be similar in age meaning they’d be in the same grade throughout school…This time around we picked a name after some initial difficulty in finding the “perfect” one, so we are sticking with it. We can’t expect him to be the only [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] in every situation or environment, that’s just ridiculous. We were prepared to hear of other human Olivers in the community…
But when it comes to sharing the name with a pet…I’d like to say it wouldn’t bother me if it was the pet of a cousin, friend, or someone that I do not visit often, but I’m very close with my grandparents and they live only 10-15 minutes from me. My boys and I will likely continue to visit my grandparents at their farm every few weeks for the remainder of time they are able to continue living there and the duration of the dog’s life.
As someone asked in the thread, it is NOT a name that they chose, it is just the name the dog was given by it’s previous owner. I’m sure they are not determined to keep that name, as it’s not what they picked, so we’re not really fighting over who gets to use it. My husband and I have just been debating about what to do or say, if anything, about the situation.
My husband is okay either way…if it makes me feel better to tell them he says to do it, but he’s also fine with keeping it a secret and dealing with the “what a funny coincidence” remarks from my family. He keeps assuring me that my family is a very small portion of the people that will know our [name_m]Oliver[/name_m], and we won’t get those remarks from our friends, acquaintances, co-workers, or his family. Although I HATE announcing the name beforehand, that seems like the less awkward option. I know they will understand, but it’s not how I wanted to reveal the name. Better to do it now than to have an awkward announcement when the baby arrives and then share the name for the rest of the dog’s life.
If the dog had arrived later this fall…say, [name_f]October[/name_f], after the birth of my son I think they would automatically change the name without me having to choose to either reveal the secret or bear the awkwardness. THAT is a funny coincidence I could deal with, but having this happen in this way is just the strangest thing!
[name_m]Oliver[/name_m] is such a great name! One of my nephews is named [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] [name_u]Michael[/name_u] maybe, since you were so blindsided by this admittedly unusual set of circumstances, you have plan a cool name reveal, if you do decide to reveal it early? That way the ball is sort of back in your court. There’s some great ways to do it and that way you can somewhat have a bit of that wow factor…and grandma and grandpa will be aware. It isn’t unheard of to change an animal’s name, so it should be okay.
Oh, no! That is certainly unfortunate. Since it sounds like you’re close with your grandparents, I would just broach the subject with them. [name_m]How[/name_m] many people know the dog’s name is [name_m]Oliver[/name_m]? I would think they could even change it to something similar (like [name_m]Oscar[/name_m]!) and it would be fine. I know I was extremely close with my grandma before she passed, so I would just speak with them in private. They wouldn’t have to reveal why they changed the dog’s name, and you could still do your big reveal if you wanted. I imagine your grandparents would be very accommodating–I know mine would have been, especially because they know how invested in names I am!
For what it’s worth, [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] isn’t in the top 10 (if that makes you feel even better about the name!). A lot of websites advertise a “top 10” but it isn’t the national list–it’s the most popular lists either viewed by visitors to their site, or of the babies announced through their website up until a certain date. Rarely does it closely mirror the actual top 10 that the SSA puts out each year. Nationally it only ranks at 19. Which is not too much less, but if you look at the numbers, there’s about 8,000 less Olivers born each year than Noahs, which certainly add up!
Good luck!
[name_m]Oliver[/name_m] is such a handsome name - don’t give up on it!
It is certainly a strange coincidence, but coincidences happen.
My aunt adopted a dog that happened to have the same name as my grandfather. She adopted another dog that happened to have my name. Another aunt gave my cousin the same name as my mother’s dog, because she liked the name for her baby. It didn’t bother anyone, though it can get confusing when you’re calling for the dog to come in haha, but it’s no big deal.