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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Are they too similar/close...

27 replies

Bea2022 · 13/01/2022 16:37

Expecting a baby boy and have very different taste in names to DP! There’s also a lot of names we feel we have to rule out due to friend/family connections which is making finding a name very difficult.

One name we can agree on is Oliver but DP’s 3 year old niece is Olivia... I’m a bit uncomfortable with how similar they are and I think his sister could be too although wouldn’t say. DP’s not concerned and doesn’t think she’d mind. Is this too close? They live 4 hours away and we see her maybe 4 times a year.

The other name we agree on is Charlie but again I have a close male relative called Charlie! Also see them approx 4 times a year but I’m more comfortable with this connection maybe because of the age difference and also it’s a long running family name.

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toastofthetown · 13/01/2022 16:46

The advice is usually that nobody owns a name and the names you’ve mentioned are so popular that people can’t be put out by others choosing a similar or the same name. And with Oliver/Olivia the nicknames tend to be Olly/Liv so quite different. But I imagine you would get a lot of comments on how similar the names are and if you are uncomfortable about that then it might be worth avoiding it.

KirstenBlest · 13/01/2022 16:43

They are close but it would probably be ok unless both end up being Ollie