Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Too similar sibling names

313 replies

MyBluntSloth · 20/07/2024 04:50

My daughter is Charlotte and i am expecting my second, another girl, due in October. Charlotte's middle name is Pearl and the new baby's would be Opal. I really like the name Colette and I think it goes really well with Charlotte with the similar structure but different soundings. I also like the names Chloe and Nicole but I would still strongly prefer Colette over them. Is it too similar?

OP posts:
time2changeCharlieBrown · 20/07/2024 13:28

willWillSmithsmith · 20/07/2024 12:10

How weird 😁

I heard of someone that had three George’s!!
dad son and daughter (georgie)!!

time2changeCharlieBrown · 20/07/2024 13:26

No I don’t think they are similar
would you shorten them?
I think they are nice and go well together

willWillSmithsmith · 20/07/2024 12:44

MyBluntSloth · 20/07/2024 10:16

Is Colette not too similar or should I go for Claire instead? Cara Rose sounds nice but again might be too different.

Why don’t you want them to be different?

MasterBeth · 20/07/2024 12:15

They look more similar than they sound.

Charlotte has the emphasis at the beginning, Colette at the end.

willWillSmithsmith · 20/07/2024 12:14

ToriMJ · 20/07/2024 10:11

Celeste?

Or Celine, that’s a nice name (or Selena).

willWillSmithsmith · 20/07/2024 12:13

BurntOrangeAutumn · 20/07/2024 10:09

Um no actually there are comments saying Colette will feel cheated if she has a sister named Charlotte & other comments putting that particular name down, not only because they think they sound very similar.
Read the comments before getting arsey who pissed in your cornflakes this morning 😂

Really? Collette was a name I would have called a girl if I’d had one. I love the name.

willWillSmithsmith · 20/07/2024 12:10

protectoroftherealm · 20/07/2024 10:07

I actually think they sound lovely together!

True story - My nanna was called Hannah, she had a younger sister called, erm Hannah!

How weird 😁

Davros · 20/07/2024 12:09

Claire again doesn't go with Charlotte in terms of history, tradition, cultural perception etc

willWillSmithsmith · 20/07/2024 12:07

ebadame · 20/07/2024 09:59

Cute! I might take that idea

It was really useful. They knew when it rang it was time to come down and eat. I’d ring it then hear the stomping of feet down the stairs. I pinched the idea off a friend who was doing it 😁

(sorry off topic).

PinkArt · 20/07/2024 12:07

MyBluntSloth · 20/07/2024 07:53

We live in an area where mail has your full name in it so its not a problem for us! My main concern is for them to have separate identities but I really love both names! If sound-wise it isnt too similar then ill go for colette.

This doesn't tally with you wanting first names that not only start with the same letter, but that scan very similarly and on top of that have matching middle names. It sounds like you want a branded pair of kids rather than thinking of them as individual people.
The differences are the kind made in celebrity authors books so they can legally say of it's not about X, but the reader clearly knows exactly who that character is based on because the changes are so small.

RoseMarigoldViolet · 20/07/2024 12:01

Caroline is lovely, and more distinct! Hopefully your husband likes it.

RoseMarigoldViolet · 20/07/2024 12:00

I think that it may be other people who mix them up rather than you. Your friends, neighbours and people in the school community. In my experience, it works better for siblings to have names that are reasonably distinct so other people remember them better.

MyBluntSloth · 20/07/2024 11:57

I think Caroline is a great idea thank you! Caroline Opal sounds nice too

OP posts:
Fifthtimelucky · 20/07/2024 11:55

If you want something classy and elegant beginning with C and that is a good match for Charlotte, I'd go for Catherine or Caroline.

All three are names of English queens and all end with an E.

I think Colette is too similar to Charlotte.

MyBluntSloth · 20/07/2024 11:31

ReadtheReviews · 20/07/2024 11:21

Opal Colette runs much better than Colette Opal anyway. So you'd have a nice pattern to their names but day to day wouldn't seem matchy.

I am still keen on having a first name that starts with C and ends with E

OP posts:
ReadtheReviews · 20/07/2024 11:21

Opal Colette runs much better than Colette Opal anyway. So you'd have a nice pattern to their names but day to day wouldn't seem matchy.

fromthegecko · 20/07/2024 11:14

autienotnaughti · 20/07/2024 05:59

Lettie and Lottie? I love it!

Isn't that an Agatha Christie plot? One of them fraudulently claimed the other's inheritance and did a few murders though, so....

UltramarineViolet · 20/07/2024 11:13

I much prefer Claire to Colette and think it is a better match for Charlotte

I can never understand when people are so adamant that siblings having the same initial is problematic. It really isn't! I have same initial as my sibling and don't recall it causing any issues

MyBluntSloth · 20/07/2024 11:07

Its Claire Opal for now--- need to wait till DH gets home!

OP posts:
HmmWhatNameToHave · 20/07/2024 11:05

I would suggest not having the same initial, problems with post, there would be confusion and arguments. I speak from experience. And yes the actual names would sound the same when shouted upstairs. Your children are individuals, let their names be different enough to show that. All the names you have chosen are really beautiful. Congratulations on your pregnancy, how exciting.

Inertia · 20/07/2024 10:50

For me they’d be too similar. I like Nicole from your list, but if you’re set on a name beginning with C then Catherine , Camille or Caroline would go well with Charlotte.

I think Colette is quite a pretty name, but it always reminds me of a scouse girl at university who always introduced herself as ‘ Colette : 1L , 2Ts don’t forget it!’

ebadame · 20/07/2024 10:47

caringcarer · 20/07/2024 10:07

This. I think Chloe Opal works though.

Chloe Opal sounds like a stage name

KarenOnTour · 20/07/2024 10:44

OH, this thread is where the triggered people are.

Beautiful3 · 20/07/2024 10:42

You're talking about Cara, what about Clara?

jackstini · 20/07/2024 10:38

Claire is a bit old fashioned in UK but not sure about Singapore, maybe Clara?

Catriona
Cassandra
Calista
Caitlin
Corrine
Calliope

I love the gem middle names!

Swipe left for the next trending thread