Everyone naming baby the same as ours!

If they had said at the time you had your son 'oh we had that as our first choice!' fair enough

No, they should have chosen another name for their son. There are more than enough different names to choose from!!!

It lacks imagination for sure and it's a bit odd if you see each other regularly, but I guess it's a compliment of sorts!
My DD2 had baby no 2 on Thursday and we are going to have the opposite problem... it's a classical name (nothing made up) but she will likely be the only one in her class with it and her other grandparents can't seem to grasp how it's pronounced so I think we can look forward to some funny versions!
(Or some folk will think it's from Grey's Anatomy as there is a character there with it, but not why they chose it!)

@Bubble92 I think the "not close enough to matter" is exactly it.

You expect (especially with more common names) to see it around and for duplicates in classes, but generally you'd expect someone very close eg your sibling not to give their child the same name as your child for example.

It IS weird to use the same name when it's someone very close who they will see very regularly.

Thinking of names for future children, there's a girls name I've always loved but some friends (who I had never mentioned the name to) used it for their baby last year.

I say friends but nowadays we see each other less and less and are more like distant friends I suppose.

Whether or not I could get away with the name feels like a grey line at the moment.

I think if I did, they wouldn't be annoyed but it does sort of give off a message that I don't feel close enough to them to actively not use it. Even if not consciously, I think it would almost add to the distance as I'm indicating that I'm putting them in the "distant" category.

I'm sure lots of people will insist that it's fine to use a name in any situation but I think generally if someone named their child "Tarquin Winston" and then their brother used the same name the year after, most family members would think it very very odd.

So there is a line. Where that line is does change depending on how common the name is and how close you are but there is a line somewhere.

I do think it's weird if you see each other regularly. My cousin called her daughter the same name as mine about a year later but I haven't seen her for a decade so it's really no issue. (Her first son has my husband's name so if she has another and doesn't name it after me I'll be offended 🤣🤣🤣.)

I agree - very odd to do this within a family and same generation. It's one of the things to consider when choosing a name like can it be shortened, or made into a horrid nickname, do the initials spell something rude, etc.

If they had said at the time you had your son 'oh we had that as our first choice!' fair enough but otherwise it is baffling.

It also lacks respect towards you.

It's very annoying and unimaginative!

Names are used to IDENTIFY people

I agree it’s weird, I can’t imagine calling my child the same name as someone in the same generation in either side of the family.

There were 5 Thomases in DS’s class in school. 4 girls called Ella in another year, and 5 called Olivia in a Nursery setting of 60 children.

If you pick something fairly common it’s going to crop up. The child of a cousin isn’t exactly a close relative, though. I wouldn’t let it bother you.

The more common the name, the more it will be used. Just you wait until he starts school 😲

If you’ve picked an extremely common name it’s to be expected well used.

People here will say you don’t own a name, but I think it’s a weird thing to do and I would never do it.
my cousin named her son the same as mine 5 years later and they went to the same school, its a fairly uncommon name too. 😤