Would you use a surname as a first name of your surname can also be used as a first name?

Lots of boys' names are first names and surnames: Andrew, Philip, George, Paul, John, Jeremy, Nicholas, David, Oliver, Zachary, Zachariah, Evan, William, Thomas, Harry, Peter, Jacob, William, Rees......

Both my maiden and married surnames are also legitimately first names, and popular ones at that! Which is kinda weird! But no, I wouldn't ever give any of my kids a surname as a first name with my surname.

" that's one of the most hilarious and transparently bollocks things I've yet read on mumsnet"

You think it is 'bollocks' that barristers and their clients have different names? That is factually untrue?

I agree that discounting a name you like because of who else uses it is snobby bollocks, but that isn't what that poster is saying.

"But in England tends to indicate lower status. I say that not as someone who endorses any concept of class determination but as a barrister who has worked with underprivileged people for 30 years and has observed the striking difference between colleagues and clients in this regard."
Thanks Huppopapa - that's one of the most hilarious and transparently bollocks things I've yet read on mumsnet. !! It gave me a good laugh though!
As for pp's saying they wouldn't do it for fear people thought they were 'chavs'... I think this can only say something about you. You must really ask yourselves why the preoccupation with the idea that people might think that you and yours are 'chavs'?

My husband's first name, middle name and surname are also common surnames. He is an accountant and often gets referred by his name but in the wrong order. Really isn't the end of the world. Go with the name you like!

My dm's maiden name is a common girl's first name. She spent her whole life correcting people who thought they knew better than she did what her first name is...

Dh has this, although is slightly different in that both his first name and his surname are usually first names but can also be surnames (e.g. James). A lot of people get his name the wrong way round.

my sister's friend Mackenzie (American) is now Mackenzie MacKenzie, makes me giggle every time I hear it!

My sons name is also a surname, I chose it as I wanted something uncommon without being weird.

Alexei Sayle solved this problem a while back with his proposed redistribution of names

www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_8j68WyxOU

I have a name like that and it's never been a problem.

In my mind it is like double denim.

And I wouldn't call my son Harrison or Jackson unless he was 'Harry's son' or Jack's son. It makes no sense. Just call him Harri or Jack.

If you want people to think you're American or a chav then do it!

Well, CatastropheKate just settled this one.

Ramsey Bolton. That's all.

Yes we did. Our surname is a female first name and our son's first name can be a surname too. The only time it's ever been noticed is at appointments if his name is listed surname first and people are expecting him to be a girl.

It's a long tradition in Scotland, a necessarily short one in the USA but in England tends to indicate lower status. I say that not as someone who endorses any concept of class determination but as a barrister who has worked with underprivileged people for 30 years and has observed the striking difference between colleagues and clients in this regard.

If I were writing a novel and wanted to create a pompous, wealthy American character, I'd probably call him Surname Surname. So that's what it conjures up to me and not in a good way. I think Firstname Firstname is different as most people don't really choose their baby's surname; they follow social convention by using one of the parent's surname usually the father. So it isn't as discretionary a choice.

It does depend on the specific names though. Something almost exclusively surname like the examples you gave, definitely not. Something almost equally common as first or surname like Martin, then that's probably fine as most people would expect "Martin Harrison" to have it in that order.

I don't particularly like the surname-as-first-name trend anyway so that could be colouring my view. I really dislike names ending in -son being used as first names - the logical part of my brain is going "but you aren't Jack's son"...

If you absolutely adore the name and have no other possible choices that you like, then it isn't the worst thing in the world but if there were any other names that you like at all, I'd choose those first.

I would, depending on the sound of a particular pairing.

I'm struggling to think of any people I know who have surname-surname (weird as I'm a teacher so know an awful lot of names). Can think of a few first-name, first-names (one confusing one was a girl who was virtue-name, flower-name (eg Faith Rose but not) but the others are more your standard Matthew James, Chris Ryan type names which my brain copes with fine).

I have a friend who refused to consider calling his child any name which has ever (to his knowledge of course) been used as a surname. Made their boy choices quite limited! They had a girl though.

No - awful.

Fine if more common as a first name - James, Henry, Craig, Andrew etc.

However - Connor, Jordan, Brodie, Harrison, Mason -awful chavvy names as first name.

I knew a boy who had the same name twice, as in James James or Harrison Harrison. Whatever were his parents thinking?

I wouldn't but I don't particularly like surnames as first names.

No, I wouldn't.

I don't really like surnames-as-first-names anyway, but especially not if you've got a surname which can also be a first name.

Come to Wales, you'll be fine!
Top 10 surnames below , 9 of which it is easy to spot the identical or very close Christian name!
Jones ...?
Williams...William
Davies ...David/Dafydd etc
Evans ...Evan
Thomas ...Thomas/Tomos etc
Roberts ...Robert
Lewis...Lewis
Hughes ....Hugh/Huw
Morgan..Morgan
Griffiths ...Gruffudd/Griff etc

On the otherhand seeing as first name and surnames matching also occurs you won't ever get a mix-up. David Davis, William Williams, Llewelyn Llewelyn, John John just to name the ones I know closely.

I used to work with someone called a name like Harrison Henry (i.e. the first name was more commonly a surname, the surname more commonly a first name). There was at least one call a day asking for Henry Harrison.