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Original poster

First and second names which mean the same thing

38 replies

Minesril · 12/11/2019 17:25

I really like Jacob James. But a quick google revealed that James is the English version of Jacob. How much of a problem is this? Has anyone done similar?

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MikeUniformMike · 15/11/2019 11:45

If you want to call him JJ, call him Jacob James (Jaycub Jaymz).
So what if the nmaes mean the same, they're both nice, but you could just call him Jayjay.

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 15/11/2019 10:47

How about Jacob Joshua?

VenusClapTrap · 15/11/2019 10:39

I like Jacob Julian.

Original poster
Minesril · 15/11/2019 07:35

The thing is we want to call him JJ. So people will ask what it stands for! Suggestions for other J names welcome! I quite like Jacob Jeffrey. DH does not. He likes Jacob Jupiter Hmmi am coming round to the idea of Jacob Julius!

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daisypond · 14/11/2019 19:22

Meant to add, James and Jacob will be commonly recognised as the same name because we refer to the reign of King James as the Jacobean age.

daisypond · 14/11/2019 19:18

I would notice immediately and think it very odd . But that’s if I knew the middle name. Middle names aren’t commonly used so you’ll get away with it.

MikeUniformMike · 14/11/2019 17:34

If Jacob James was French he'd be Jacques Jacques.

It compares to something like Miriam Mary, Marion Mary or Hannah Anne.

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 14/11/2019 17:21

I'm sure it happens quite a bit and nobody cares. I heard of someone named Joshua Koshy the other day, which is exactly the same name in two languages and I did think it was mildly amusing to have a first name and a surname be the same but I probably wouldn't think about it more than once if I knew the person. (And to be fair, if he's from the cultural background that I think he is, then traditionally there are only 26 male names and the last name is his father's first name so it probably happens occasionally.)

VenusClapTrap · 14/11/2019 15:25

I was about to say I would notice, and that I don’t think it’s a great idea, but then I realised that I do actually know a Jacob James irl and it’s never occurred to me until now that it’s the same name. So crack on.

Medianoche · 14/11/2019 09:41

I think if they’re both established enough to be separate biblical names, then I think the heritage is long enough to mean the derivation doesn’t matter.
I think they’re both nice names and sound good together, but it’s your opinion that matters.

SemperIdem · 14/11/2019 09:35

I would notice, sorry.

Jonah perhaps, as an alternative, if you like alliterative names?

MikeUniformMike · 14/11/2019 09:17

Ian is from Iain, scottish.
There are several welsh forms of John - Ioan, Siôn, Iwan, Ifan.

Jacob James is too much IMO.

ladycarlotta · 13/11/2019 22:37

I might notice if I was invested enough to give it much thought, but I'd probably assume that James was for a family member or something, as MNs often are, and therefore non-negotiable. I'd probably think it was none of my business, tbh.

MollyButton · 13/11/2019 19:20

I would notice. But I wouldn't say anything.
I'm still curious why some ancestors called their only two daughters Elizabeth and Eliza (2 years apart both survived to adulthood, no indication of ill health in either).

bridgetreilly · 13/11/2019 19:15

It's not that they mean the same thing, it's that they literally are versions of the same name. I would think it a bit weird, tbh, but it's not a big deal.

Original poster
Minesril · 13/11/2019 17:18

No, James would be the middle name. I guess nobody does give their middle name so no-one would know! We were going to call him JJ for short (or he can use that with his friends).
To a previous pp, funnily enough we were considering Elizabeth Isabelle had it been a girl!

OP posts:
BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 12/11/2019 23:11

I think most people wouldn't know that they were versions of the same name, and anyway middle names are almost never used so it wouldn't matter.

yourestandingonmyneck · 12/11/2019 22:59

Do you mean James is the surname? In that case I think it's fine.

Or is it first name and middle name? If so, I can see both sides to it. Although it definitely isn't as noticeably odd as the Billy William mentioned above!

Mevernind · 12/11/2019 22:29

They're different enough that most people won't notice or if they do will be polite enough not to comment.

I do know someone who named her son Billy with a middle name of William - which seemed sort of pointless. And went to school with a David Davidson - which was either really mean or really lazy of his parents.

BikeRunSki · 12/11/2019 22:26

I'd notice & would think it a bit odd. Sorry.

Me too.
I think it’s fairly well known that James is derived from Jacob, as in Jacobean relating to the time of King James 1st of England /6th of Scotland.

Mishfit0819 · 12/11/2019 22:21

Personally I wouldn't have linked Jacob and James. It sounds like a lovely name OP. I do think it depends on origins though and people's familiarity I. E. I'm Scottish and if I heard a Hamish James it would be.. Confused Hmm

MittensForKittens123 · 12/11/2019 22:17

Iain is the Scots Gaelic version of John

VanyaHargreeves · 12/11/2019 22:10

Jack is a NN of John hence John F Kennedy often referred to as "Jack"

Sean is the Irish form of John

Is Ian the welsh?

highheelsandweathercocks · 12/11/2019 22:06

If DS2 had been a girl, he was due to be Isabel. I had always wanted to use Elizabeth as a middle name but then realised that Isabel is the Spanish form of Elizabeth, so I was put off.
However everyone else thought I was mad, so the consensus is to go for it.
My brother is Sean, my dad is John. It wasn't until he was about 5 that anyone clicked that they were the 'same'. Because they're names in their own right.

VanessaShanessaJenkins · 12/11/2019 22:01

Erin and tara?
I think I need to get googling

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