What do you consider name copying? For example… while nothing is wrong with it, I probably wouldn’t name my child a name that my cousin or best friend used… but if you have a friend who you haven’t seen in years… is using the same name as them copying to you? Where do you draw the line I guess is my question.
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I think if it was a name I loved forever, and relatively well-known, I would still use it. Or if it was a family name (for example, if a cousin named her daughter after our late grandmother, that wouldn’t stop me from doing the same).
It would depend on how often the kids would see each other and if it would become confusing to have two kids with the same first name.
However, I definitely wouldn’t use the same first and middle combo. I also wouldn’t want to use the same name if it were very unusual.
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I agree with [name_f]Poppy[/name_f]! It depends on how much you see them!
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I think if it was someone i was close to or saw regularly, i would avoid it
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like others have said it would depend on name popularity and how often i see the person.
it would also depend on the age of their child. If they had a 14 year old with the name i wanted to call my newborn then i would probably still use it (unless it was a really rare name) but if our kids were similar ages then i definitely wouldn’t.
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My sisters best friend just named her baby [name_f]Nina[/name_f], which was my ultimate top name to honor my grandmother who we called “[name_m]Nin[/name_m]”. It may bother her one day, but I would copy for sure. But I would draw the line at a close friend or a family member. I don’t see this girl enough
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Almost nothing seems like name copying to me.
If a name is THE name for me, then I would use it.
My only caveat would be if someone super close to me had chosen a wildly unusual name that I liked but didn’t love best.
But then why would I choose a name I didn’t like best anyway?
I think I feel so relaxed on the subject because of teaching for so many years. There are so many kids with most names that very little feels like stealing.
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I want a name that’s unique in my family and circle of friends so I would try to avoid names that others have used!
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Interesting topic 
!
I agree with @anon68906791 it really depends how much you see this person and how close you are to them. If it is a close friend or sibling then definite no but a cousin or an acquaintance you don’t really know would be fine in my opinion.
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I thought about using [name_u]Easton[/name_u]. I know a girl from high school who used it and we are facebook friends but I’ll probably never run into her so its like why not use it then? But I went a different direction- [name_u]Elliott[/name_u].
I really like [name_u]Corbin[/name_u] but a friend I might actually run into used it.
Sorry I know this is a girl thread but I’m having a boy!
For girls, off limit names are [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] and [name_f]Vivienne[/name_f] and any name starting with [name_u]Ari[/name_u]. Its fine - [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] has come up as a middle name with some of my first names so that one id the hardest but its our god daughters name so i really can’t copy it! I feel [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] is too overused too even though I don’t know anyone personally who used it except for one of my husband’s ex coworkers who he does still talk to. It would maybe be stealable but its so popular it makes me hesitant to use it anyway!
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I had a baby boy name picked from when I was like 10 years old. In discussing names for our possible children by husband and I both liked my favourite boys name. Unfortunately, he took his time arriving (in our 14th year of marriage). Everyone in the family knew our future son’s name. One BIL and his wife were considering using it for their first child if a boy and asked me what I would do. I said that no matter what, I would still use this name for my son. They later changed their minds.
As far as I am concerned, if people knew I was considering XYZ for a name, and they used it, well too bad, I would still use it. No one owns any particular name.
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I wouldn’t use a name my sister used. I think grandparents having grandkids with same/similar names would be a hassle.
Other than that, I think it does depend on how close you are and how much time you spend together. Person you are only facebook friends with? No problem. Your best friend who lives across the street and your kids are going to be in the same classes and doing the same activities? I would probably avoid having the same name unless it was an incredibly meaningful name for me.
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I always tell my students they will know if they are cheating. They say, oh, how will we know? C’mon, I tell them, you’ll know. And they know this to be true.
Same with “stealing” names. If you use a name because it is your very favorite name on earth, it is not “stealing”, but if you use it to get at someone’s goat who already used it, that is ill-intentioned. I knew two sisters slightly years ago. The older sister always wanted to name her daughter [name_f]Nuala[/name_f], but the younger sister married and had a child first, who she named [name_f]Nuala[/name_f]. Stealing may be too strong a word for a … well, for a word, but it seemed nasty to me.
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I would at least like it to be unheard of within my social circle, close family members, and even extended family.
I hardly see my second-cousins anymore, but once they name their baby a popular option, it manages to put me off on the name. That tends to happen with me, and I would not use [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f], [name_f]Sofia[/name_f], [name_f]Adeline[/name_f], [name_f]Mia[/name_f], or [name_f]Mila[/name_f] for the same reason. In a way, this is fine, because it might steer me away from the Top 50 lol.
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I have a large and close extended family— I grew up with the same name as a cousin, who was older, and I know from that experience I don’t want a potential kid to share a name with a relative.
That said, all my aunts, uncles, cousins, and cousins’ kids’ names are out.
My friends’ names are out.
Anyone who’s been significantly important in my life’s names are out, unless I’m intentionally honoring them.
Essentially, if it could reasonably be perceived I’m naming my kid after someone in my life, they’re probably not getting that name.
Except if it’s a middle name. I’m likely to do honor middle names. That’s common in my family and I’ve always liked it (I don’t have one and kind of wish that I did).
That said, I don’t really think of using the same name as “stealing” a name, though I get where the perception comes from.
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I agree with alot of the pp.
I also wanted to add a question. If you choose the same name as your friend, would your family pick up the connection and ask “Isn’t that what [Susan] named her baby?”.
For me, once I know someone has chosen a name for their own kid, I will probably only associate THAT name to THAT person/family. And using that name wouldn’t feel like “my own”. That being said I would be definitely conflicted if someone took a name that I had been planning to use for years…
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