See the results of this poll: Which do you prefer
Respondents: 72 (This poll is closed)
- Edward : 48 (67%)
- Michael: 24 (33%)
Definitely [name_m]Edward[/name_m]. More distinctive and loads of nickname options. I personally wouldn’t give my son the exact same name as his father. If it was a must, I’d put it in the middle spot. It could work, though, with a name like [name_m]Edward[/name_m] that has a lot of distinctive nicknames that would allow a child to make his own.
I like [name_m]Edward[/name_m] 
And I wouldn’t give a name the same as the father, it would be too confusing when you say the name and both their heads turn because they don’t know which one your calling lol. Unless you have a specific way you say the name for your son and his father and they learn to understand the distinction. Good luck!
I like [name_m]Edward[/name_m] best too, although I like [name_u]Michael[/name_u] as well.
And I think naming your son the same name as his father is fine in theory, but would only be practical if one of them went by a middle name or nickname or diminutive.
I grew up with my dad and brother sharing the same first name. I never really liked it but at least it was easy enough for my mom because she always called my brother [name_u]Freddy[/name_u] and my dad [name_m]Fred[/name_m]. I know that DH would love to just name our future kids [name_m]Brendan[/name_m] [name_m]Junior[/name_m] and [name_f]Cheryl[/name_f] [name_m]Junior[/name_m], but I just don’t like it and I can easily see a lot of confusion happening. I’m not against it for other families, we just won’t be doing it. Plus I feel like since there are so many other names I love I’d rather use them.
As for [name_m]Edward[/name_m] and [name_u]Michael[/name_u], I think they make a fine sibset. I don’t particularly like [name_m]Edward[/name_m] as it sounds so old to me which is weird because I usually like that in a name! I also don’t love the Twilight association with it. [name_u]Michael[/name_u] was such a popular name when I was born and now I know almost too many, but I think it would be refreshing to hear it on a baby. [name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps
I have no opinion on sons sharing their first names with their fathers. In some cultures that is the norm, and I see nothing wrong with it. [name_m]Edward[/name_m] and [name_u]Michael[/name_u] make a great brother pair.
I think a child having the same name as their father can be confusing, but it depends a lot on what each of them go by. [name_m]Say[/name_m], if the name is “[name_u]James[/name_u]” and the father goes by “[name_m]Jim[/name_m]” and the son by “[name_u]Jamie[/name_u]”, I think it’s fine. If both of them go by [name_u]James[/name_u], I think it’s more of a hassle, but to each their own.
I’m not much of a fan of [name_m]Edward[/name_m] nor [name_u]Michael[/name_u], but I prefer the latter one because of the nn [name_u]Misha[/name_u].
I agree with what some of the previous posters said: totally understandable, nice even, if people want to name baby boys after their fathers - as long as the child has something different they can go by. If I saw a father and son going by [name_u]Michael[/name_u] and [name_u]Michael[/name_u] [name_m]Junior[/name_m] or [name_m]Mike[/name_m] and [name_u]Michael[/name_u] to me it just says there’s some kind of idea that the child “represents” the father, or that the parents want him to be just like the dad. I’ve even seen a dad named [name_m]Zach[/name_m] whose son was called [name_u]Baby[/name_u] [name_m]Zach[/name_m] - right up into high school. It was miserable for him. I love the idea of honoring relatives with names but I think the name the child wears in everyday life should give them the opportunity to be their own, new, completely original person.
As far as the names I definitely prefer [name_m]Edward[/name_m] as a first name. [name_u]Michael[/name_u] has tons of variants or similar names that could be used to honor dad’s name - [name_u]Mika[/name_u], [name_u]Mikko[/name_u], [name_u]Micah[/name_u], [name_m]Milo[/name_m] etc.
I would never consider [name_m]Jr[/name_m] to be a legitimate naming option because it is an unoriginal one. Whether the name is plain [name_f]Jane[/name_f] or obscure [name_m]Orpheus[/name_m], children are entitled to their own special names to complement their own special characters.
Not only that but, I honestly cannot believe that out of the millions of boy names in this world, the only one that sparked interest was the father’s name. To me, a [name_m]Jr[/name_m] advertises the notion that the parents couldn’t rouse the enthusiasm, passion or effort to pick a thoughtful name for their child, and instead just settled for the father’s name because they couldn’t be bothered and recycling dad’s name expended the least amount of effort on their parts. Obviously, I know that’s not the case for most people, but that’s what a [name_m]Jr[/name_m] suggests to me.
All that aside, I just think it’s tacky. From what I know, most parents resort to calling their [name_m]Jr[/name_m], just straight up “[name_m]Junior[/name_m]” or by a nickname to avoid confusion, which defeats the purpose of the title [name_m]Jr[/name_m] entirely. Plus, at the risk of coming across as childish, crude or offensive (which is not my intention, I assure you, and I apologise in advance), in my personal opinion, the name you cry out in passion when you and your significant other are alone together is NOT the name you should give to a child.
On a lighter note, and finally, part of the fun of being a parent that is expecting a child is naming the little one. It can be stressful at times, reading and scrolling through thousands of names to find the perfect one - HIS one, But it’s fun, exciting, highly fulfilling and, in the end, very rewarding and pride-inspiring. Why anyone would want to pass that up is beyond me.
That’s just my opinion, and regardless of what name you choose, I’m sure it’ll be lovely. But for the record, I absolutely adore [name_m]Edward[/name_m].
I prefer [name_m]Edward[/name_m]. My dad and brother (and grandfather) have the same name. It was a pain at times. My father went by his middle name so it was no issue for friends and family. However, business calls could be problematic.
I hate children named after a parent. I feel it’s egotistical on the parents part and also takes away some of the child’s identity.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with a child being named after their father, but it frustrates me when people name their son after the father and then never call him that because of the confusion. I have a few people in the family that have done that and it makes no sense to me - everyone gets called by their middle name, so that no one gets confused. If you want to use the father’s name, I think using it as a middle name is better.
Also, I personally prefer [name_u]Michael[/name_u] to [name_m]Edward[/name_m].
I like [name_u]Michael[/name_u] more, it’s got an Italian Renaissance vibe that I love.
I think there’s no problem having the father and son name being the same, don’t like the nickname [name_m]Junior[/name_m] though.
I find no problem with people being named after their fathers, I know many Juniors and thirds. My boyfriend himself is a [name_m]Junior[/name_m] and is very much on a kick that he would love a [name_m]Kevin[/name_m] the third. While I’m a fan of honor names, I know the hassle two people with the same name causes. My boyfriend and his fathers paperwork get confused all the time. My boyfriend actually had issues getting his house originally since some papers just said [name_m]Kevin[/name_m] and some said [name_m]Kevin[/name_m] [name_m]Jr[/name_m]. It also bothers me a little bit that in his mid-twenties he still goes by Kevie or [name_m]Little[/name_m] [name_m]Kevin[/name_m] by his family. However even with the technical difficulties I’ve asked my boyfriend if he likes his name and the fact hes a [name_m]Junior[/name_m] and he always says a very proud yes as it makes him feel closer to his father.
I prefer [name_m]Edward[/name_m] to [name_u]Michael[/name_u] as I know about 20 [name_u]Michael[/name_u]'s so its a little over done for me.
I much prefer [name_m]Edward[/name_m]. And I’m not a fan of fathers and sons with the same name. As others have said, it must get confusing and, in my opinion, it’s a bit of a cop-out. I think the middle name is the place for honouring relatives if desired; a child should have his own unique name first imo.
I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one that dislikes it for that reason!
I have family members that share the same name, and legally they’d often get confused. And having 3 in the family line with the same name makes genealogy slightly more difficult. I also find it silly when adult men are still known as “little ___”. I actually like when it’s daughters that get a feminization of their dad’s name ([name_u]Michael[/name_u] with daughter [name_f]Michelle[/name_f]/[name_f]Michaela[/name_f]); same thing for mother’s and sons but it’s a little more difficult.
I think having a baby and naming it after dad is alright. It might be annoying for legal documentation, but if you love the name and want to honor the babies dad, then go for it.
I like both name [name_u]Michael[/name_u] & [name_m]Edward[/name_m], I feel that both would be a refreshing change on a baby instead of an adult.
My ex was a junior, and that was what his whole family called him - [name_m]Junior[/name_m]. I HATED it, and when he demanded his son be called by that name I just about hit the roof. The only way we got around it was that we gave our son a different middle name and he went by that name through his entire childhood.
I had a colleague who named his son directly after himself found that he regretted it. First there was the confusion over who mail was addressed to, who phone calls were for, and later on, the son got in to some financial trouble, and the bad credit information turned up on his dad’s credit report. This happened more than once, leading my colleague to say that he wished that he’d at least switched his first and middle names around, if not picked something altogether different from his own name.
Hoo boy, I’m dealing with this discussion myself right now. My husband has the same name as his father- and their name, [name_m]Lincoln[/name_m], doesn’t really have great nickname options. So in their extended family, they go by ‘Big [name_m]Lincoln[/name_m]’ and ‘[name_m]Little[/name_m] [name_m]Lincoln[/name_m]’- and I just refuse to refer to my husband as ‘[name_m]Little[/name_m] [name_m]Lincoln[/name_m]’ at family gatherings. But now we’re expecting, and he reeeeaaally wants to continue the tradition- and I reeeaaally don’t want to. (I don’t want to call my husband and my son by the same name, and I want to have my say in the naming decision. I am the one giving birth, after all) No practical advice, but I get the dilemma.