Too matchy for twins?

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Mulling over names for our boy-boy twins due soon. We are as sure as we can be pre-birth that they are non identical if that matters.
So question is, are Rufus and Rowan too matchy for twins? I am aware they have very similar meanings too, I’m not so fussed about that. I’m also not too fussed about having more than one person in the family with the same initial (also my name starts with R too...)

Both nice names but I’d definitely avoid having twins with the same initials if it were me - it does feel a bit matchy and I think it’s always going to seem deliberate, even if you just happen to like those names. I’m not a fan of twins being named as a matching “set”, so to speak.

Some ideas to go with Rufus:

Torin
Jowan or Jovan
Ezra
Orson
Evan or Ivan
Samson
August
Jesse
Jasper or Casper
Dashiell
Willem
Edmund
Dexter
Isaac
Frederick
Finbar or Finnian
Patrick
Otto

My DH has the same initial as quite a number of other family members. Big family.

We have received post and emails for other family members. Estate agent sent some stuff about our move to his grandad, who had used them 6m prior.

I would definitely worry about same initials, same address and same DOB. Kids don’t get much post but it’s fairly common for young adults who are at uni or in fairly temporary accommodation to give their parents address as theirs.

DH’s bank accounts, savings bonds, pension all had his parents address on until we bought our first home. He was mid 20s but just hadn’t considered anywhere else permanent enough and didn’t want the hassle of changing address admin every year.

I had the same initials as a parent. Lots of things for me got opened by my parents. Hated it.

Gorgeous names. I think you can overcome the initial problem if you really want them.

I find if friends have children with similar names I get them all mixed up unless I stop and think and so I avoid saying their names at all. I think with twins it could be more difficult to remember.

I think Rowan is too unisex. It's nice and did Rowan Atkinson and Rowan Williams no harm but it was probably not a unisex namethen.

Rufus and Henry is lovely

I love Rowan but not keen on Rufus.
I have twins with the same initial but they are boy girl, I would probably have avoided it with same sex twins. It has not been an issue for them at all though.
I also have the same initial as them. I wouldn't worry about the post. Hardly anyone sends letters these days!

I don't really like either name, but that is personal taste rather than any particularly good reason.
I don't think the 2 names sound too much the same, but I really think it is a mistake to give them the same initial. It's not so much the 'formal' things like post, medical appointments, but it is the 1001 informal times you just want to jot their initial, or you are labeling things, etc. I just think you are asking for confusion.

I think Rufus is lovely but not a fan of Rowan, in part because it’s quite often used as a female name and I think people might assume he was a girl if they hadn’t met him.

I don’t have a problem with the two Rs..name tapes will be easier...

Robert
Rollo
Ralph/Rafe
Reginald
Rory/Ruaridh
Roderick
Roddy
Richard

If you want the Norman name theme from Rufus, then Rollo, William, Geoffrey, Jocelyn, Hugo, Stephen all good Norman names.

If you want the Latin connection, Miles, Milo, Julius/Julian, Adrian/Hadrian, Augustus/Augustine,

Other Classical unusual names

Hector
Alexander
Ambrose
Alban

The matching initials done deliberately is a personal choice - not mine, but I think that you often tend to like names starting with the same initials. The if I like this name what other names will I like? will sometimes several similar names with the same initial.

I agree Rufus & X. I'd say both R names could lead to issues as others have said. Afraid not keen on Rowan - sounds far too soft next to Rufus. I do think they need to be equal weight names. Rufus & Henry, Rufus & Edward etc

Ooh yes to Hector or Milo with Rufus.

Honestly I don't think the initial thing is an issue.
If I want to jot their names down or make a note of something etc I just use their middle initial as well e g. ABC and AGC for example. It's not a problem at all.

I think for twins they are too matchy. It would be ok for regular siblings but the identity issue is so much more sensitive for twins. They not only have the same first initial but are both two syllable and have the same vowel-consonant pattern - for example Rufus Smith and Ricardo Smith sound to me much less similar than Rufus Smith and Rowan Smith.

Got to say, we have two similar named cousins in our family and they get mixed up dreadfully, it's like a tongue twister.

Love them!

They are both nice names, but personally I would not name any two siblings (not just twins) with the same first initial. I'd be more inclined to use those two as middle names with more "different" first names.

Just wanted to update, as our twins arrived this morning.
We thought we had decided on Rufus and either Matthew or Edward but once they were here we admitted neither of us was totally 100% sold on Rufus in the end, or quite brave enough...(I know it’s not exactly out there, we are pretty mainstream I guess!!) so we have Matthew and Henry. I have loved Henry for ever but discounted it as very popular where we are, but in the end decided popularity didn’t matter after all. V happy with our choice and hopefully they won’t get mixed up at all!

Lovely names - many congrats

Congratulations! Beautiful names!
Welcome to the world Matthew and Henry.

Many congratulations! Both beautiful names.

I think they sound fine together.

Congratulations! Just a quick note to ask if they had cord blood taken to determine whether they are identical or not? My ID girls were DCDA and we were told it was most likely they weren't ID but DNA testing showed they are. They certainly look very alike (they are 7 now and people still often get them mixed up), but as babies we couldn't have guessed because all four of our DC looked so alike at birth that they just looked like one of ours rather than specifically like each other iyswim!

It could be a bit confusing when letters addressed to Mr R Surname arrive in years to come, also at school with registers, grades, etc.