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Baby names

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

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Original poster

Name a boy after his Dad..?

29 replies

SunSoakedStone · 02/04/2011 20:21

Anyone else done this? Is it really as confusing as I imagine it to be?

I do like the name and DH dead set on the idea (obviously).

Would use a nickname day to day, but fairly sure he would drop this nickname as he got older.

Still, feels slightly unimaginative!

OP posts:

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notanumber · 02/04/2011 21:03

No, absolutely not.

As a teacher, whenever I see the name Junior, I wonder why his parents bothered to have a child if they can't even be fucked to think of a name for him.

It ss the least imaginitive thing you could possibly do. Seriously, there are millions of name out there - give him one that's his own, for pitys sake.

Also, the privacy issues for post will be a pain later on.

sweetkitty · 02/04/2011 21:06

Not keen either, we have say John Smith in our family 3 generations, so grandpa John Smith got called Old John, Dad Big John and son Wee John. Wee John is well into his forties and 6 foot and still gets called Wee John, Wee John had all girls so never got to have Wee wee John Smith!

DS has DPs name as a middle name, it was DSs Grandads name as well so a family name.

Cattleprod · 02/04/2011 21:10

I hate this tradition. So unimaginative and frankly arrogant on the father's part.

A surname is for passing on the family name, maybe a middle name to honour a loved relative. A first name is intended to give your son his own identity, not to resign him to a life in your DH's shadow.

shmoz · 02/04/2011 21:11

Don't see a problem with it, especially as you both like the name anyway.
Give him a different middle name, this gets around the post issue.

ValiumSoltera · 02/04/2011 22:04

god no it's a stupid idea. he's passing on his sur name as it is. he wants a clone of himself does he? you carry the child, you give birth to it, you bf it (?) and he gives the child his first name and his last name!!?

and then how would you even things up and assert yourself as an equal parent? By giving a daughter your name? even though she would still have his sur name and so not have the exact same name, I bet you would be too sensible to do that.

Goober · 02/04/2011 22:06

My DS has DH's name as his middle name, my DD has my name as her middle name.

booandbump · 02/04/2011 22:07

As a middle name it's fine but not as a first name imo

Original poster

SunSoakedStone · 02/04/2011 22:20

Wow, how did this become anything to do with equal parenting? Either sex will have my name as a middle name, because I like it, not to assert myself.

I'm fairly confident in our parenting equality already. We have one son, a clone of neither of us, with none of our names fwiw.

And no, there wouldn't be 'Jr.' anywhere. Now THAT'S naff.

Hmm interesting.

OP posts:

mellicauli · 02/04/2011 22:22

The trouble is that doing this does not recognise that the baby will become his own person. A bit like you, a bit like your husband but mostly like him. To give him his father's name is to saddle him with a whole load of expectations of who he is and what he is going to be even before he's born. Which he might or might not be able to meet. Another name would give him more freedom IMO.

Original poster

SunSoakedStone · 02/04/2011 22:26

Fair enough, though it's a very common name so there will be plenty out there.

Anyway, could be a girl. Problem solved .

OP posts:

nickschick · 02/04/2011 22:26

Oh dear God its a nightmare we have big nick and little nick here it used to be bay nick (and some people still use that even though hes 17 ) anyway little nick is 6'3 and bigger (in height) than big nick and theres been numerous times when one has been mistaken for the other - most noticeably when Big Nicks boss called Simon phoned little Nick answered and thought he was speaking to his friend Simon it was only when little Nick called Simon a knob for losing at football .....that boss Simon realised his emplyee would never speak to him like that and asked to speak to big nick.....we used to call big nick father nick but that sounded like he was a vicar he refused to be called Old Nick as in the devil so really its been a long trek...........

If I shout Nick will you help me do xyz? neither hears if I shout Nick do you want the last bit of pudding etc etc both hear ......DONT DO IT.

nickschick · 02/04/2011 22:27

baby nick not bay nick

Original poster

SunSoakedStone · 02/04/2011 22:28

sweetkitty- that's my dad's name and I know five John Smiths in total! What is it with that name?

OP posts:

Original poster

SunSoakedStone · 02/04/2011 22:31

nickschick- decent advice, will probably avoid this.

It was the 'Big X' vs. 'Little X' I was concerned about.

OP posts:

Perpetuallypregnant · 02/04/2011 22:31

Well personally I wouldn't do it but DH has the same name as his father and he as his father (etc) as does my Dad and his father. They aren't scarred for life.
Thankfully I was spared any dilemmas as dh and I have only had girls together. I like dhs name a lot but it would cause loads of confusion I would imagine.

It's up to you anyway. You say you will use a nn. Dh and his dad do that and it works very well.

breatheslowly · 02/04/2011 22:36

DH has the same initials as his father and ended up with his Dad's salary in his bank account for a few months. I imagine the same name would be even worse.

nickschick · 02/04/2011 22:40

What we had to do to avoid anything like that breathe was to add little nicks middle name to everything official .....unfortunately his middle name begins with A and our surname a G so his initials are NAG .

COCKadoodledooo · 02/04/2011 22:57

Ds1 has dh's middle name as his first name.

Ds2 has dh's first name as his middle name.

That's as close as I'd get tbh!

toomanyprojects · 02/04/2011 23:08

My parents did this with my brother (no boys in the family for ages so they were over the moon at his arrival!) My Mum calls my Dad Keith-Dad even when my brother isn't around.

Opening post was an issue once my brother was older as well.

MercyMe · 03/04/2011 00:32

I wouldn't do it if I were you! Fil and bil have the same name and it is always old xxx and young xxx - very confusing! There are so many lovely names you'll find another to fit.

Underachieving · 03/04/2011 05:12

My Dad, my grandfather, my brother, my mums new bloke, the father of my first child and several friends are allcalled the same thing (lets say Mike for convenience, although it isn't). This means I have to be really careful in conversation. I have had some very weird moments like when one friend suddenly said, in the middle of a chat about my Mum's partner, "OMG I have just worked it out, your Mum is shagging the father of your baby, that's gross"... Noooo!!!! It's a different Mike!!!!!

CheerfulYank · 03/04/2011 05:18

Depends. Dh is Andrew called Andy. I wanted a DS named after him but called Drew. (He was against it though) FIL is James and BIL is too, but always called Jamey. I think it's nice actually. :)

Merlion · 03/04/2011 06:56

My Dad has the same first name as his father but was and is always called by his middle name. Most people who don't know him that well would assume that was his first name so actually giving him the first name was a bit of a waste of time IMVHO.

sarahtigh · 03/04/2011 22:21

it can be confusing with mail etc but if its a family tradition for 7 generations then i think you have to go with the flow certainly in some cultures this is very important still is in highlands of scotlands
DS1 paternal grandfather
DS2 maternal grandfather
DD1 maternal grandmother
DD2 paternal grandmother
if have DD not DS grandfathers name feminised like Donald is dolina or donalda, if both grandfathers same name then donald and then donald john shortened to donnie
I knew of a family with 3 brothrs all norman the 3rd after an uncle that died in WWII but that is taking it too far, it also took me ages to get my head around why anyone would call their son Donald macDonald but they do they are hundreds of them

SecretSlattern · 03/04/2011 22:24

I love DH's name but agree, don't think it's a good idea to have two of the same name in one family. However, saying that, we do have a tradition in our family that the daughter receives the mother's first name as a middle name and the son receives the father's first name as a middle name.

We were fucked when we had DD2 cos we ran out of parents

Fortunately, DH has a name which is great as a male name, but adding an 'e' to the end makes it feminine, so we went with the girly version of DH's first name as a middle name for her.

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