My cousin is getting quite a bit of hate for naming her newest daughter [name]Jessamine[/name]. Apparently another friend named her daughter [name]Jessica[/name] and thinks that [name]Hannah[/name] (my cousin) stole the name. I don’t believe in name stealing. my niece is [name]Emma[/name] and I am [name]Emily[/name] but I get called [name]Milly[/name] 80% of the time. We also have two [name]Elizabeth[/name]'s in my family circle, one is [name]Hannah[/name]'s daughter who gets called [name]Betsy[/name] the other is my sister Jaxie’s daughter [name]Elizabeth[/name] no nickname. My sister was also cautious about using [name]Catherine[/name] because of a cousin who had lost her daughter [name]Katrina[/name]. My sister could be called a name thief considering the other [name]Elizabeth[/name] and other [name]Catherine[/name] form are older then her two. [name]Do[/name] you think this is ok?
[name]Jessamine[/name] is an antique floral name that comes from [name]Jasmine[/name], which is originally Persian/Arabic (they duke it out) and “[name]Yasmeen[/name].” It is a beautiful but very rare name, with very few associations.
[name]Jessica[/name] was potentially invented by [name]Shakespeare[/name]. It was one of the top 5 names throughout the 80s and therefore is more of a “mom name” nowadays.
They are entirely different names, with a very different valence. I am sorry there is such rancor greeting the beautifully-named new arrival!
This I don’t understand at all. [name]Jessamine[/name] is the archaic [name]Jasmine[/name] and has absolutely no connection to [name]Jessica[/name]. If I was in your cousin’s shoes I would be very, very upset and defensive.
To put a more productive tone to a response, I would encourage your cousin to recognize that her friend either might not be very mature or might be dealing with some post-partum depression or even some name regret and is lashing out with a focus on this issue when there is really something else going on. I am sure if the friend is underlyingly mature they can talk this out: if your cousin always loved [name]Jessamine[/name] and planned to name her daughter that even before [name]Jessica[/name] was born, if she possibly plans to call the girl [name]Minnie[/name], can tell the friend about the history, all of that could help the issue.
But I agree with what I think you’re saying, I can’t understand the fuss about this issue in most cases. Some names are just common. I don’t really think it does most children any harm to know someone else with their name - as a [name]Jessica[/name] I have never minded. And on a note about that – while I agree with pp that it’s somewhat of a mom’s name because of the 1980s-1990s peak, as pp also pointed it out it actually has a lot of history and I don’t find it “lame” at all. And while I’m not bothered at all by people not finding it attractive to their taste, or finding it too dated for a baby, I find the description of pretty much any name as “lame” to not fit the tone that Nameberry promotes.
I think it comes down to the question: Is it worth risking the friendship over a name? The other friend obviously doesn’t want [name]Jessamine[/name] I think because it makes her [name]Jessica[/name] seem less special since there will be two [name]Jess[/name] names. Not everyone is a name nerd, so I don’t think knowing the backgrounds of both names and how they were derived matter in this case.
I know no one owns a name, but if I named my child [name]Madeline[/name] and my sister decided to name hers [name]Madison[/name]. Honestly, I would be a little peeved. I think it’s easy to say no one owns a name, but when a friend or family does pick a close name to yours it does seem like copying even if they don’t intend to, which is why in order avoid loosing relationships, it’s better to just pick a different name or move it to the middle spot UNLESS they are okay with it. My fiance’s eldest sister named her child [name]Nora[/name] and then his other sister, name her son [name]Noah[/name]. They tease that she copied after the older one, but both were okay with it.
[name]Jessamine[/name] and [name]Jessica[/name] or different names, same with [name]Catherine[/name] and [name]Katrina[/name]… I think they need to get over themselves. She should name her daughter whatever she wants. But I understand, family can be a pain.
Your cousin’s friend sounds very immature. [name]Jessamine[/name] and [name]Jessica[/name] aren’t the same name at all. Her friend needs to get over it and if she can’t, then your cousin needs to cut her ties and move on.
they live in england and [name]Jessica[/name] is top ten still. They call [name]Jessamine[/name] [name]Jessie[/name] and [name]Jessica[/name] gets called [name]Jessy[/name], that is the problem. [name]Jessica[/name] is only 6 months old.
Sorry to say, but in this case it does seems kind of rude and like she is copying. It would be one thing if [name]Jessamine[/name] went by [name]Jessamine[/name], but to take the same nickname already being used? What if they called her [name]Minnie[/name] instead?
[name]Ah[/name] - I think both names are more common there! It’s just liking a popular sound. I hope they can work it out since both babies are here as I gather it. I had a cousin with my exact name growing up and it wasn’t a problem.
I agree with @catlovered. Personally I’d prefer [name]Minnie[/name] anyway. [name]Jessie[/name]/y seems so obvious and blasé in comparison.
In regards to [name]Catherine[/name] and [name]Katrina[/name]. They are different yet related names. I think if one is worried or the deceased [name]Katrina[/name] was the child of someone I was close to I might ask the parents how they would feel about me naming my child [name]Catherine[/name]. Their opinion shouldn’t be the say all but consideration might be in order. Esp if the conversation went something like “we wanted to let you know we are naming our daughter [name]Catherine[/name]. We know it’s similar to [name]Katrina[/name] but we really love the name [name]Catherine[/name] and you are so important to us so we wanted to make sure you understood our choice. We by no means meant to take away from anybody’s memory of [name]Katrina[/name] and just really wanted to let you know that.” (Of course bringing it up could make it a subject of contention but then not bringing it up could do the same. I feel like it’s a no-win situation except of course that she’d get to use the name [name]Catherine[/name]).