Name Poll - Page 2

[ScarletBegonias]

Originally Posted by 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.

dh's family does that too except it's even more confusing because fil and dh are named frederick. of course, neither of them are called frederick. fil's mom and sisters call him freddy, everyone else calls him fred. my husband is freddy to me, and fred to others, so when we all get together or talk on the phone, 1/2 of us have no idea which "freddy" or "fred" some person is talking about.

it's freaking exasperating!

for all my ranting above, this is exactly why i will never understand why people name their kid something, while INTENDING to call them something else! "oh, we're naming him joseph james, but we'll call him john." "her name will be margaret sophia, but we'll call her megan."

what *is* the point? just give them the name you will call them!

or when people pick out nicknames before the kid is born. why not just name them that nickname legally, or wait until you meet your freaking kid to nickname them?

the junior/nickname thing is just too much for me.......maybe because i've been dealing with it my whole life and i see it as a completely avoidable problem and more than slightly ridiculous.

like my aunt carol and uncle bernard who named all 5 children (boys and girls) some variation of bernard: bernard jr, bernadette, bernie, bernice, bernard jr 2. i think i hear twilight zone music. either someone has a way big ego or just no imagination!

eta: i don't mean to offend anyone! i am surrounded by juniors and it's tiring!

[To-Fu]

For what it's worth, my partner is a Junior and he really doesn't care for it. I'm sure a lot of that is based on his not-so-great relationship with his father, and the fact that I'm pretty sure his father did it out of arrogance.

I think it's a pretty common tradition all over the country, so no one will think you strange for having done it, but my personal opinion echoes many other posters' in that I think a child deserves his/her own name. Having someone else's name and essentially being a junior or "#2" is some big shoes to fill.

[evjolin]

thanks--yes, i realized my poll is terribly confusing--my bad!

as for the whole junior thing, we would NOT refer to him as that. and my husband's name is super unique and different, and we happen to love it. my dh goes by a nickname though, and to everyone he is that nickname--both personal and professional relationships.

so i am not worried about confusion, as we would call baby by the full given first name.

the thing i worry about it the ego thing looking weird to some people and the child living under dad's shadow.

the articles from a pp were fun and helpful! thanks guys :-)