Niece 'stealing' my son's name!

[FreddyJohn]

I see similar situations on here a could of times lately and figured I'd post as there doesn't seem to be any that's exact to this and it often borderlines on U or not on these threads so just wondering.

My son is Frederick Jonathan. He goes by Freddie and is 5.

My niece is naming her little boy (due in 3 days) Freddy John.

A lot of our family is still very close and see each other once a month. AIBU to think this is a bit copy cat? No family names either.

YANBU. Call him Freddy 2 to piss her off. Or Freddo.

Thanks @Chloe84  [wink]@Notknownatthisaddress why the heck am I getting a biscuit?

Because your son's name does not belong to you so how on earth can it be stolen?

I think if she likes the name then why should she not use it. Plenty of family members share a name.

Shows an embarrassing lack of imagination on her part tho.

You're right to be pissed off, it's obnoxious and not fair on your kid to have another so close in the family named exactly the same. I'd tell her to use her imagination and find her own name.

It is a bit weird but I would roll with it and be gracious.

After all, you got in first! Other relatives will be wondering why she made that choice too.

I had two cousin Elizabeths growing up and it really wasn't a big deal in the end.

Tell her 'Great, we can call him Li'l Fred, Freddy J, or Titch, which do you prefer?'.

Is this a spin off from the Hayden and Oliver duplication thread?!
Could it be the same OP, the same family?!

Mumsnet is a strange place sometimes.

There is another thread on here quite similar to this and nearly everyone said it was weird to chose the same name but on this thread its fine.

I personally think its weird and boring and lacking in imagination.

I see it quite a bit though Nellie two people post near enough identical threads. One gets sympathy and the other gets rounded on.

It's weird. Ask her if she wants some of your Freddie's old baby clothes, seeing as she's copying everything else.

2 names the same is a bit different though. .. that goes beyond the coincidence realm

My brother just called his daughter my DD's middle name followed by my middle name, I called him to thank him for the honour, unfortunately, because he's a bloke he had actually never paid any attention to my middle name or my DD's middle name so fumbled his way though the conversation, as I knew he would.

Nobody cares about you OP, they're just names they like, you don't own them.

Does it really matter? Take it as a compliment.

HairyHands ha my brother just gave my niece my middle as her middle name and it is very similar to his wife's sisters name....same situation, hadn't occurred to him in the slightest, nor his wife!

What's wrong with you people? Do you have copyrights on the names? Is there a rule that you can't use the same name twice in the family?
You're so "incredibly" close that you see each other once in a month. Seriously, get over it. If you lived beside her it could create a bit of a confusion but once in a month?

I was very very picky when choosing DH's name. I don't know of any family members with his name (first or middle) but I do know 2 other kids with the same first name (both are a friend's sister's son but one a slightly different version).

I would query it as a "oh like my son!" and see if she even realises. Maybe she thinks the shortening of both makes it different enough?

Some people don't care that they're not being individual, I did/

Clandestino OP didn't say they are 'incredibly' close. You invented that.

And I think it's fine to say you're close to relatives you only see once a month.

People have busy lives, many siblings barely see eachother once a year!

I guess it's mixed opinions then

Yanbu, there's a multitude of names to pick from, there must be one other name that she likes. Still don't worry about it. Just make sure that your ds's name doesn't get changed.

It wouldn't bother me.

BIL first DD has a nickname version of our daughter (she was born 6 months after) and their second DD has our daughters middle name as her name. We don't mind and none of the children mind either.

@Coulddowithanap that's a bit different!