Ways to honour people called....

I have a name which has several close variants. I promise you if someone gave their child a name which I have spent my whole life pointing out to people is not my name, I would feel insulted, not honoured.

You’re not actually honoring them if you’re not using their name, sorry, but it always comes across so contrived to me, you don’t like my name, fine you don’t have to but I’d find it a bit wearing to have to make several connections to arrive at the point where your child’s name meets my name. If it’s a middle name it’s even more tenuous a link.

I think it's nice to have a name that honours a relative. Usually a grandparent. I know people who have such names and they really like their middle name.

Siobhan is Irish for Joan not Margaret. Try Mairead.
The suggestions for Lianne or Gillian for a way of honouring Ian is bonkers . Why pick really dated names when you could pick something a bit more current - Ariana, Liliana, Diana, Georgiana ...

Just use the actual names or don't bother

Yup

There was a thread on AIBU a few months ago where the poster’s son and DIL had recently named their baby the same name as her deceased uncle as a way to “honour her”.

OP was very confused, and most replies agreed that you either use the name of the person you want to honour or not at all. Trying to create a tenuous link to another name is just a bit patronising.

With my youngest child I wanted to use the name of my late aunt who died as a teen when I was a small child. The name is old fashioned and so retro it is on its way back yet! So we used it as a middle name. She is 17 and not in the least bothered about her old fashioned middle name.

As a name, I don't like it but it means such a lot to me and the meaning of the name itself is beautiful. I am so glad I had the courage of my convictions and used it as a way to keep my aunt's memory alive.

“Hi, Uncle Ian-we really want to honour you when we name our baby but we hate the name Ian so we’re going to call him Evan. It’s the thought that counts, isn’t it?”
Either do it or don’t do it.

Ian -Ianto (said as Yan-to )
Caroline - Caro
Margaret- Maggie
Ethel - Etta
Marion - Mari
Marlon - Marley
Maureen - Rena
Doreen - Dora

Just use the actual names or don't bother

Ian - Julian, Gillian lianne

• Margaret - Megan, siobhan

• Doreen , Renee, reene

• Maureen, as above

• Ethel - Thelma

• Carol - Caroline, Carolyn, carys,

• Marlon, Martin,

Eoin or Eoghain is the gaelic form of John in Northern Scotland Iain is the anglicised version of Eoin
60+ years ago they frowned on gaelic names on birth certificates so even if you said your boy was Calum Iain or girl was Maighread Catriona the registrar would write Malcolm John or Margaret Catherine on the birth certificate; so in official records he would be Malcolm John Macleod the everyday he would be Calum Iain, so in the Isle of Lewis someone age 10 called Calum is almost certainly Calum on birth certificate if he is 60+ he is almost certainly Malcolm

I can see calling someone William to honour grandfather William even if he was always called Billy, I can also see calling him Billy but calling him Wilfred as it starts with "Wi" wouldn't really work

My boys are both named after family members. We had a similar issue in that I really didn't want to name my child Walter but did want a name linked to him so my eldest has his great great grandfather's surname, and my youngest is named after the town his great grandfather is from.

The boys love that there's a link to two important men from DH and my life, but also that their names are their own, if that makes sense?

well, that's better than Renesmee!

Dorian - Doreen combined with Ian. 2 birds, one stone!

I also don't get 'honouring' people by not using their name. Surely the whole point is that it's about your love for that person, not your love (or lack thereof) for their name?

You might as well not bother, tbh. Which is fine.

Just to complicate the John/Ian thing - I know a number of Ians who are John on their birth certificate. It was common where sons were named after fathers to use the alternate so you knew which was which, but they were all officially named John. A Scottish thing obviously!

I agree - pick a first name you love then use a second / third name to honour family members

It's not really naming Baby John after his grandad if his grandad is actually called Ian

• Ian = Euan / Ivan / Eoin

• Margaret = Mairead / Margot / Margarita / Marguerite / Rita / Greta / Pearl

• Doreen = Dora / Theodora / Dorothy / Dorothea / Isadora / Dorinda

• Maureen = Moya / Mary / Maria / Marie / Marianne / Marianna / Maia / May

• Ethel = middle name potential?

• Carol = Caroline / Carolina / Charlotte / Carly / Carla

• Marlon = middle name again?

(To the PP baffled about Evan - Evan is a version of John, which is what Ian is too).

“I read a story once where the name of the baby was created by taking the first letter of each relatives name to make a new name. That would please everyone.”

Oh, how lovely. And how pleased they would all be, especially the child, on the birth of baby Grop or Slurb or Kawtramp.

That said, using an opposite-gender version of the name could be find. "Michaela" for grandad Michael, that kind of thing.

I think you should either use the actual name (perhaps as a middle name?) or not at all.

Otherwise, it's like saying "Your name is ugly" to the person in question.

However, I would personally just go with one of the names as a middle name.

• Ian: Iona, Ianthe
• Margaret: Maggie, Meg, Peggy
• Doreen: Dotty, Dora
• Maureen: Mo
• Ethel: Effie
• Carol: Caroline
• Marlon: stumped on this one!

As other posters said Maureen literally means little Mary. So any other forms of Mary like Marie or Maria would work.

currently fashionable. Ian and Maureen are both nice.

Just use the name as a middle name.
Some of the names are nice but they're not currently
I wouldn't use a name that was a tenuous link, but something like naming a child Janet Elizabeth in honour of her nan, Betty, or Janet Charlotte after her grandad Charles is fine.