Sister in law using same baby name

I think it's also potentially an added complication in that traditional names and their pet forms have become very much blurred over the past decade or two.

Not all that long ago, you would virtually never have met somebody with the official birth certificate name of Bobby, Charlie, Evie or Tommy - although they were commonly called that - but now, parents will frequently give them as actual official names.

I think it is odd that they would choose a v similar name. If I were them I’d feel a bit embarrassed so I’m not sure why people do this. It would irritate me yes but as you know you don’t “own” a name.

However, YABU to put this on your SIL (as per your title) - your brother is equally responsible surely? You probably did this subconsciously but probably something you should consider.

If concerned about this, you could call your child "Orange".

I wouldn't be remotely bothered by this. It would be a total non-issue.

I also cannot see why you couldn't have used Leo if you had a nephew called Theo. They might rhyme, but that's surely not an issue. They are not the same name at all.

Do you live in the same part of the country? Or even in the same country?

It might be a little bit odd if you're expecting to see each other every day but if, like myself and my children, you see your cousins a couple of times a year at best because they have always lived hundreds of miles away, I can't see it will have any effect at all.

My kids grew up quite happily with two uncles with the same name, one on either side. Obviously nobody knew about this at the time of naming, but they never found it remotely difficult to cope with.

If I think about my group of cousins (born in the 80s), there is an Ella, an Eleanor and an Emma. It has never been a big deal at all!
She probably just loved that name. Be nice; she’s a new mother and you have a beautiful new niece.

Not something I would do and it does seem unusual but there is nothing you can do about it, other than take it as a compliment!

I think it’s funny, but cute. Although I named my son second in a line of similar names (think Joanna, John, Joan) but the second 2 are more alike. It’s kind of common when people are named after someone, so I’d take it as a sign of affection and tell your daughter they chose the name because they know how great she is

@BringMeTea , to you maybe, but if it was your DD and your niece, you might feel differently.

I agree - Gracie is just a nickname of Grace so I would be pissed off about that

Ella is a different name to Ellie, Eva is a different name to Evie (in my mind).

so I think it depends on the name but I understand the annoyance. I would just answer your daughter with oh they must love your name so much when she asks why the baby’s is similar.

same here - 6 months apart, very similar names. Nobody cares. Live and let live

Your DB and SIL have no imagination, and although I can understand why you are not happy about it, there isn't a lot you can do about it.

i know two brothers who each have a child with very similar first names (Eva/Evie type similar), and the same middle name and surname. The names are nice enough but very ordinary.
Another set of two brothers have two children with rhyming names (Cara and Sara type similar). The cousins have the same surname and work together.

It's not like there is a shortage of names to use.

I think it happens because they know they 'shouldn't' use it and the name sort of becomes far more attractive because of that.

This is a non-event.

Do they share the same surname too?

It's weird as fuck but nothing you can do.

I can't see why you're so annoyed about this. The title says it's the same name but your post says it isn't. I get that you're saying it's very similar but still not the same.

Your SIL could have had any number of reasons for choosing that name. Maybe she wanted to honour a relative. I wanted to name my DD a similar name to her paternal cousin, to honour my late mother. The only reason we ended up choosing a different name was because my ILs named their dog something very similar to the name I wanted for DD. Similarity with our niece's name wouldn't have stopped me.

Venting is fine. i´m called like my mother (and a first cousin), my brother is called like my dad, my grandad and two of our first cousins. Nobody gets the wrong person. So this wouldn´t bother me in the slightest. You can´t control other people, only how you react to things. So frame it as "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". Like when I met a lady wearing the same dress as me. Your taste is exquisite I told her. She had the grace to laugh.

Didn't your brother have say in naming his baby too?

Ignore and move on.

Really? Seems pretty blooming obvious.

OP -
YANBU about the name
YABU about putting your SIL as the main blame, and not your brother, even if you didnt mean to it to come across like that - it does.

I think it’s weird. I wouldn’t care if it was a cousins kid, or some other relative I never see, but my own brother naming his kid the same/very similar - I think that’s so strange.

My dada and step mum named their DD very similar to my name. I was 7. I remember wondering why, but I've grown up and realized they were a bit stupid but otherwise it's had no impact on mine or dsis lives.

My cousin who's about 6 years younger has almost the exact name as me (similar to sophie/sophia similarity with same middle name and surname) but her mum asked first if my mum minded and she also lives quite far away so it wasn't really an issue. My SIL considered a name that sounds similar to my daughters and she did say to me, I didn't mind but she didn't go with it anyway.

I think it's the fact they didn't ask you first, definitely weird just to go with it and not say anything.

It's not enough for you to just be known as Grace in the family - it's going to be 'Sue & Tom's Grace'.

This is the point, surely? Yes - it happens in extended families and people marry people who may well have the same name. So we often talk about “Paul’s Louise” to distinguish her from “Nick’s Louise”. And that’s….what it is. And it doesn’t matter all that much and, obviously, when we are with Paul we just talk about “Louise” rather than “your Louise” because the context is obvious. But I don’t know why anyone would do that on purpose! As a pp said, the point of a name is to identify someone; surely you want your child to be easily identifiable within her own immediate family?

We have a very similar situation in my family...my sister's daughter and my brother's daughter the same name bar one syllable. It's a total non-issue. I think when the second girl was born there was a moment of 'they are very similar names...I hope it won't be confusing'. It's not. They are teenagers now and the names actually sound more different as they have got older because one is associated with one girl and the other is associated with the other girl and they have very different personalities.

I can understand that if your DB and SIL absolutely loved the name and they considered other names but no other came close, then I would use it too.