Surnames as a first name

[Moominfan]

I know they usually don't go down as well as Oliver and Olivia on here but I really like the name Hudson for a boy

I like Sonny as a nickname. I also like surnames as first names. Cameron, Francis, Spencer, Fraser etc, in my opinion are lovely names. My family are Scottish though, so it's not really considered ’wanky’ or ’chavvy’ hate that word up here.

Surnames as first names. Just. No.

I like it personally. Cooper was on our shortlist. Though our surname is very much a surname, so perhaps that helps. Do it!

My son has a surname for a first name. But I'm American and in the South where it's not an unusual thing to do.

Surnames as first names is a very old Scottish tradition but it does tend to be family names.

This is one of the reasons that it is a popular tradition in the American South. Also often the surname is the mother's maiden name so it is a way of keeping that in the family.

I did a similar thing SenecaFalls, but as a middle name, (which is Francis) for my DS.

I've got Mason which is also a surname and we love it.Just go with what you like best it's your baby

Please think of the school staff once your child is at school. Names on spreadsheets such as Kennedy Lewis, Jackson Hunter, Norman James, Cooper Cameron, Taylor Jackson, Cassidy Presley, Carter Harrison etc etc. Confuses the hell out of us.

I think they only work well if you don't have a very surname-y surname. Otherwise it just sounds like a double barrelled second name.

Eg

Hudson Robinson - no
Hudson Lewis - yes
Parker Thompson - no
Parker Swift - yes

Also, if your surname is a noun, never use a surname for a first name. As your child will sound like a visitor attraction - eg Parker Bridge (sorry Wayne and Frankie) or Jackson Waters

Your choice. Just be careful if you have a surname that is or can be read as a first name. I didn't realise this with my child as they had my surname. I registered them the day after they were born, so didn't stop to think about how my other halfs surname went with it. Now my child has a name people get confused which it is. I do regret it.

I think most people know that surnames are also popular as first names for girls in the US. Two of the most popular are the Scottish surnames Cameron and Mackenzie, which leads to the possibility that you could have a Cameron Mackenzie and a Mackenzie Cameron in close proximity.

It’s not a new trend -Victorians often did this.
Examples I love are Hindley, Heathcliffe and Hareton from Wuthering Heights.
But why not.

I know a few people with last names
Anthony
Charlie
Thomas
Neville
So can't see why it would be a problem

I though Hudson was the river, like Niall

The river Niall?

MrsCharles

I can think of a good reason not to use Hindley!

I taught someone with a common surname as his first name and a common first name as his surname. It was tricky not getting tangled up with it as his first name was my original surname, and he always seemed to end up with a classmate with the first name of his surname so I frequently had to call that out anyway.

On several occassions he "corrected" documents that were already correct as SURNAME firstname because he was so used to having his name mixed up and assumed that it was wrong yet again.

Aside from issues of personal taste, just be thorough at checking that the name combination clearly works and isn't going to be jumbled up easily.

I love the name Winter for a girl...

Sorry it’s shite.
Mind you if he ever wants to be a butler it’s perfect

I hadn’t heard it before as first name but I rather like it :)

Not quite the same, but my husband was given his mother’s maiden name as a middle name. Not a particularly unusual name but not one that we have ever come across as a non surname. It has caused various bureaucratic hiccups over the years when he has had to give his full name on forms and they have then written to him as Mr Maidenname-Platypus, taking the apparent two surnames as being double barrelled.

The anti-surname brigade is just ridiculous. I know people with the surname of Ashley, John, David, Laura, Anthony, just to name a few. A name is a name. If you like it, use it.

As has been mentioned upthread, plenty of classic boys first names are also surnames: James, Thomas, Oliver, Alexander, Duncan, Simon, David, Charles etc

I don’t think there’s anything wrong per se with giving a name normally associated with a surname as a first name.

Yabu for not using the baby names thread for baby names.

Summer and Autumn are fine for girls. Winter and Spring, really??

We toyed with the idea of using my maiden name as a middle name if we have a girl however the child would then have 2 very popular American styled names as middle and surnames... and we like very traditional names as first names. Think Something along the lines of Victoria Kendal Madison. We decided against it and instead went with a Gaelic first name and a family middle name :)

"Surnames as first names is a very old Scottish tradition but it does tend to be family names"
Was just coming on to say same.

Lots of "sonny's" too - due to Scandinavian origin surnames mainly in the highlands - Anderson, Stevenson, Peterson, Thomason etc

Depends, if actual surname can't be mistaken for a forename fine, but if it can its a flipping nightmare once they reach adulthood. Friend of mine has a name like this which is also used as a unisex forename mainly in America - she's had endless issues with bureaucracy plus blatant sexism where people have seen her name written down and assumed she's male