names that friends have used - can i still use!?

[mlbear]

We have recently found out were having a ds :)
We are the first of our close friends to have a baby, but other friends &family friends already one or 2 & since we about to join baby club i think we'll become closer to this group...
But the names we love for boys have already been used by this group!
We already knew what names we liked before deciding we wanted to start a family&this group started having children!
Some have the names we love as first names &middle names!
Can we still use these names? Will we be accused of copying!?

There are thousands of names to choose from so personally I would not use a name that is already used by our group of friends or family. We name our children to identify them, don't we?

Plenty of people have the same name and it makes no difference to their lives! I don't understand why people would not use a name they loved just because they had a friend who had the same name :S just means you both have great taste!

depends how close the other people are - emotionally rather than geographically - and how popular the name is. If its James, for example, its less of an issue than one thats ranking say 50. Personally i agree with poppy.

i wouldnt want my kids to be known as big x or little y.

I have a friend whose DD is two weeks older than my DD2 and they both have the same name!

It was pure coincidence though. Admittedly, we hardly ever see each other and my DD goes by a shortening of the name. Her DD does get shortened but to the other shortening of the name.

Course you can! You might not even be friends with that group in years to come.

I think it depends on what the name is.

If it's a name that's popular at the moment, then yes I would use it. If the name is a not so common one I'd rethink.

"Plenty of people have the same name and it makes no difference to their lives!"

From my own experience it can be a pain to share ones name with several others in the same class or the same office.

We have always had a boys name and before we started trying TTC our BIL had a son and used the name as a middle name. We still used it when our DS arrived a yr later as we've always loved it. Our DS suits it and no one has really connected it as it's our DN middle name and therefore is never used on a daily basis.

I forgot to say both names are in the top 10.

My group of university friends has got three little Williams between us. Get-togethers are rather confusing. We have to refer to William the First, William the Second, and William the Third. It feels a bit like Mme Tussauds or something...

I agree, If it's an unusual name then no but otherwise it's ok.

Use whatever name you like. If someone comments say you had already picked out names from early on and it's just coincidence that this group of friends have used those names already.

I'm not a fan of over common names but I know plenty of people who name their dc something they know full well will be one of many people called same thing. Each to their own.