Using same name as relative's child

Boy Names
1

I have a cousin whose son is the name I want to give my son. I spent holidays with this cousin growing up but have seen her maybe once in ten years. I may see her casually a couple times throughout the rest of my life, perhaps funerals or a wedding here or there. I had zero qualms about my child sharing a name with this cousin’s son because it’s basically like him sharing a name with any random person we’ll interact with through life. Other family members have criticized me and told me it’s absolutely inappropriate. What say you, nameberries? Inappropriate or go with favorite? I don’t concern myself with popularity of a name, so my kid sharing names with people in general doesn’t bother me.

Humorously, our second choice for a boy is also a name another distant family member has given their child so simply choosing second option isn’t an easy fix for this issue.

2

[name_m]Just[/name_m] do it. It’s your child and you have the right to be happy with your child’s name. If anyone gets upset over that, ignore them :slight_smile:

3

If you love it, go with it. It won’t matter because it doesn’t seem like your child will ever see this family member, maybe once every handful of years. They won’t grow up together or be close. Choose the name you love. Family members are the worst at criticizing names but in the end they’ll fall in love with your baby and it won’t bother them!

4

I say go for it unless it’s a wildly unique name. In which case, pick another.

5

I say go for it. In many families there are same or similar names in use. We had 3 [name_m]Craig[/name_m]'s and noone in the family seemed to care that the name was used by cousins etc.

6

I say use it unless it is a unique, made-up spelling that only that child is known for. Use what you love for your child.

7

It seems really silly anyone would suggest it’s inappropriate. You should absolutely use thr name.

8

Considering how often you see your cousin, I don’t think it’d be an issue.

9

I say go for it! Anyone that disagrees will forget once he’s born :slight_smile:

10

I’m in the same situation. I’ve selected a first name for my son that a second cousin used for her son about 5 years ago. However, I haven’t seen this cousin of mine in about 15 years and have never met her son (I only even know his name because of facebook).

I decided to go ahead and use the name anyway. You should too, I don’t think it will be a real problem in the end.

I actually grew up in the this same situation myself. I had a younger cousin who was given the same name as me. We saw each other once ever 4 or 5 years, but that was it. I always thought it was pretty cool that she had the same name, especially since I was the first one. In my mind, that just meant that her parents liked my name so much they had to copy it.

11

My cousin chose the same (unusual) name for her son as my sister but politely asked permission first. It wasn’t an issue for anyone and my nephew loved the fact that there was a baby with the same name as him.

Most people would see it as a compliment to their taste.

12

I’m also going to say “go for it!”