Name Poll

[evjolin]

Sooo....I currently live in NY state, but have spent 10 years of my life in the South. Down South, many children are named after family names. There are many sons named exactly the same name as their father. Is this is a purely cultural Southern-only thing? Will people up north find it strange?

For what it's worth, my husband goes by a nickname, and if we name our son after him, he will go by the full name, so there won;t be 2 people in the same house with the *same* name....

[MaerynPearl]

It is very very common here where I live (northern illinois/southern wisconsin so I dont think its south! lol)

most do have a different name that they go by than their fathers... I have one cousin that is the 4th, working on a 5th... and several other cousins who are juniors but go by other names than their father (including junior, trey -for a third, nicknames of the full name, etc.)

Plus as far as I know... many celebrities/really rich people still do this too.

[RedOakMomma]

I'm in the Midwest, and it's fairly common around here. I think if you can go by different names it's great. Will you be doing a "jr." thing?

[Redheaded_Momma]

Oops! I answered the poll without reading the question thoroughly. I say name your dc after your dp, if that's what you want to do!

[matey]

I am in MO now, and people do it. I am from clevelenad, where people do it. I think it is a common thing to do.

[Oztok5]

Augh, I voted wrong! Switch one of the "yes, it's weird" votes to a "no, go ahead and do it" vote.

[mclisa]

If you like the name, then go for it.

It is nice to have a different middle name for legal purposes.

[LittleBirdy]

Originally Posted by mclisa

It is nice to have a different middle name for legal purposes.

I used to work processing credit apps for a department store and people who were Jr.'s or III's or whatever used to have a heck of a time. Also worked for a staffing company where the father/son both worked for us and we would end up cutting the check to the wrong social, which would screw taxes up for the person. (This happened more than once, to more than one father/son.) That would be my absolute only concern, other than that I don't think it's weird at all My friend Ray had the same name as his dad and if you called the house and just asked for Ray, the person would always say, "Big Ray or Little Ray?" which I think is kinda cute.

[dannic]

I don't mind the same name, but I really am not into calling them Junior...

[philomom]

My brother is a junior on paper and goes by a different first name than my dad but...... they live in the same town and get each other's mail and packages. It is a royal pain in the butt!

[zinemama]

I realize it's a common regional thing, but I don't like it. Give the kid a name of his own. Or name him after a loved/revered ancestor. Naming a child after yourself strikes me as insufferably self-regarding. It screams EGO TRIP!

[Honey693]

We lived in IL when I was growing up and every first born on my dad's side was named after the dad. My mom hated the Junior thing though and my brother is John middle name last name II. He thinks it's pretty cool. The bank isn't a big fan though. Occasionally the mortgage statements would come to my brother when he was little.

[MammaB21]

I don't think you have to worry about it being only for the south. I also don't think people will think it is 'weird'. On the contrary, it's probably a pretty classic tradition, at least for the first born son.

With that said, I didn't vote at all because I'm really against naming your child after yourself. As a pp said, I think it has the potential to come off rather arrogant. More importantly, I value individuality and I think it sends the wrong message. We reserve middle names for that purpose and first names are unique to each child/not after any other family member.

[beanma]

Ooops I accidentally hit "yes", too. I think your question leads to incorrect answers. It's sort of a backwards set up 'cause you're asking should I do this? and people are answering "yes, it's fine to do it" instead of "yes, it's weird". Anyway, since I answered the poll wrong and another pp did, too, I would hazard a guess that some of the other "yes" answers were supposed to be "no, it's not weird" answers, too.

There are many famous men who are named after their dads. First to spring to mind is George W Bush , but there's also Robert Downey, Jr; Harry Connick, Jr; MLK Jr; etc, etc. As long as you don't pull a George Foreman and name all your kids your DH's name I think you'll be fine.

Here are a couple of links for you:

MSNBC: Junior status: Sharing dad’s name a mixed bag

Washington Post: My Junior Moment
I'm Number Two -- and No Longer Trying Harder

hth

[Lauren31]

Originally Posted by beanma

Ooops I accidentally hit "yes", too. I think your question leads to incorrect answers. It's sort of a backwards set up 'cause you're asking should I do this? and people are answering "yes, it's fine to do it" instead of "yes, it's weird". Anyway, since I answered the poll wrong and another pp did, too, I would hazard a guess that some of the other "yes" answers were supposed to be "no, it's not weird" answers, too.

DH is a jr. Its not "weird"... but I know sometimes it was difficult for him to carve out an identity seperate then his dad, iykwim.

[Kindermama]

I think if you *really* like your DP's name, then go for it. I, personally, would not name my child after my DH (even though his name is really "in" these days)....I like each person to have a separate identity in the family.

[sk8boarder15]

I live in Illinois and know several families where the Dad and Son share a name. Usually one or the other has a nick name they go by. In one family I know the Dad is Tim, and the son is Timmy. In other families the Son's initials are used one of my friends is A.J. or Anthony Jr.

[sk8boarder15]

Just Realized I ALSO voted wrong! I think you should GO for it! If we have a boy he will share his Fathers middle name.

[MaerynPearl]

My naming-my-children rule has always been middle name honors someone, first name is their own.

Then I got pregnant with my daughter after my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer... my daughters first name is her middle name (but it is very unique and beautiful and my mother is very much honored to have her little namesake.) So my daughters middle name is mine.

This unfortunately became a slight problem for me when i started dating DF and told him my rule on naming babies and he agreed... then told me his moms name. Her first name is the same as my step mom so I would not want to go with that...

her middle name is the same as mine. And my daughters.

So if this is a girl, she will have the same middle name as her sister and her mom.

I think that is MUCH MUCH weirder than being a Jr/II.

[ScarletBegonias]

i live in cali and it seems to be pretty popular in general and as a trendy thing to do. personally, i think that making your kid a junior is only cool if the dad has a cool name to begin with, but even then i still think it's weird and cheesy and confusing.

my dh is a junior and he has a lame name (he hates it), and it's confusing. besides, i think that children deserve their own name. idk, dh and i always joke that his parents are completely uncreative to have named him a junior.

also there are scads of my family and dh's family and our friends families who have juniors and it is VERY confusing. you never quite know who someone is talking about, clarification is always needed: "are you talking about your uncle or cousin?"

my grandfather, uncle, father-in-law and husband all have the same name. now, you can't help who you fall in love with, but to me that's just one more reason that i name my children a name that NO ONE I KNOW is named. if my friend has a friend or cousin or old boss named "X", it's OUT. when i talk about my children, i don't want there to be confusion or negative connontations!

but who cares what i think!