Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Baby names

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

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Naming son after father

57 replies

MrsBonnie · 29/08/2018 23:03

Would you?

I love DH’s name. I also have 2/3 other names I love so probably wouldn’t do it in the end, but interested to hear your thoughts. I know of maybe 3 people who’ve done it.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

KennDodd · 30/08/2018 04:25

I think catinboots9 has summed it up perfectly.

Dated, narcissistic and weird.

I'd be cringing for you if you did this.

IceBearRocks · 30/08/2018 04:30

In DH sure there is a family name that has been around in the first male since 1830's ..it DH first Name and our sons middle name!
We hope our family can continue the name .

MrsTerryPratchett · 30/08/2018 04:33

Almost no women name their children after themselves. It seems so egotistical and unnecessary.

Sunflower321 · 30/08/2018 07:45

Names are given to identify someone. Not really happening if you give two members of the family the same name! Unimaginative too!

eeanne · 30/08/2018 07:55

DH's family does this, drives me crazy. If you call out Michael at a family event about 6 people turn around.

Men do typically do it but I know a woman named Anne and her daughter is Anna.

Also there's the interesting twist Serena Williams did, they named the daughter Alexis Jr after the father! But they call her by her middle name so shows it's too damn confusing.

BertrandRussell · 30/08/2018 08:08

Loads of Irish families have the same name in several generations. It does not appear to present unsurmountable difficulties.......

PickledElectricity · 30/08/2018 08:15

I would do it as a middle name, I think that's nice.

Both my mum and uncle are named after their parents (old and small John and Mary) and their baby sister was the only one to get an original name. When I was born they tried to pressure my mum into calling me Mary as well to "keep up the tradition" but luckily for me my mother rebelled as she hated not having her own identity and didn't want me to be like that.

juneau · 30/08/2018 08:17

My DH insisted that we name DS1 after him and a long line of his family members, complete with Roman numeral after . It wouldn't have been my choice, but I agreed to it because a) it meant a huge amount to DH and b) we decided on a nickname that he's always known by, so the two of them (three when FIL was still alive), didn't all have the same name. It has caused confusion in the past at airports and I have to be very careful when booking tickets. If you have the choice OP I wouldn't do this!

mydogisthebest · 30/08/2018 08:23

I never get why boys are given their dad's name. Silly and very confusing. My brother in law has the same name as his dad and his grandad and his great grandad!

EachPeachPearRum · 30/08/2018 08:29

I think it can be lovely if you come from a line of wonderful people you're proud to be connected to. It's far more common amongst in other cultures/countries like Ireland. When people decide to slam the traditions of other cultures as egotistical and narcissistic they only show themselves to be small minded arseholes who think their own culture is the only right one. Fuck that. If you want to name your son for his father go for it.

BertrandRussell · 30/08/2018 08:35

My son loves the fact that he comes from a long line of first born sons with his name. (his dad is the first in multiple generations not to have it for complicated reasons,) He likes being grounded in a family tradition.

If it had been a name I disliked I wouldn’t have used it, but it’s a lovely name, and using it gave so much pleasure to a lot of people, so win/win.

kenandbarbie · 30/08/2018 09:00

If you love dh name then go for it. It's a lovely connection to family. My eldest ds has a name that is a version of my dh name and so did my fil. Ds loves having the connection to his ancestors. He knows he's a separate person with his own identity!

If you're worried about confusion in mail, have a middle name with a different initial and use it for official correspondence.

lottiegarbanzo · 30/08/2018 09:13

It just seems so arbitrary to choose to name the child after one side of the family every time - so you're part of a long, traceable line dating back to someone who forms only 1/128th, 1/256th, 1/512th (and so on) of your ancestry. Drawing that line so brightly seems to push everyone else who has contributed equally to your lineage further into the shade.

So it is with surnames of course. To combine the two, from the same thin line, seems so very unimaginative and so uber-patriarchal.

There have always been cultural and political reasons for and cultural capitulation to patriarchy of course. Does that mean we are and should be happy for this to continue? And cannot speak of it from the viewpoint afforded by a different culture? I don't see that privelege operating unchallenged in other areas of life.

More practically and swerving the political angle in favour of all round celebration and appreciation, why not mix it up a bit? Surname from one side, given name from the other?

I know a family where the mother's maiden name, or the grandmother's, has traditionally been given to boys as a middle name, as one variation. Girls' names referencing maternal grandparents is pretty common too. Why not boy's names referencing maternal grandparents?

BertrandRussell · 30/08/2018 09:35

"So it is with surnames of course. To combine the two, from the same thin line, seems so very unimaginative and so uber-patriarchal. "
That's why I didn't.

Flamingosnbears · 30/08/2018 09:36

Not for me... Sorry

Nitties · 30/08/2018 09:50

I am not really fan of same names i would rather gave my little one his own

bibbidybobbidyboo · 30/08/2018 09:54

My DP is Spanish and this is still very much the done thing over there. He has the same name as his father & grandfather. He has always said that he wants to carry on the tradition with his son. I'm skeptical to say the least...

My main concern is that if we had a second son then it'll very much make them feel like they're the second or the afterthought. Son 1 gets daddy's name and son 2 gets a random one.

strawberrypenguin · 30/08/2018 10:04

No don't do it. As a middle name fine, but not a first name.

fieryginger · 30/08/2018 10:28

Be very confusing in the same house. I have a family member named after me, it's confusing (but lovely too), we get mixed up all the time and we don't live together.

Also DS and DH have the same first initial, post is always confused now DS is old enough to get regular mail.

EachPeachPearRum · 30/08/2018 11:18

My son has my surname as one of his middle names. My daughter has my mother's name as one of her middle names. I like having the connection to their roots embedded in their names. They both have their father's surname but only because they have half-siblings who already carry that surname and I didn't want to differentiate between them all with a different surname. DH would have happily had the kids be double barrelled. It was me who didn't want it.

TakeAChanseyOnMe · 30/08/2018 12:19

It was common for daughters to have their mothers name in Ireland - probably because most people were called Mary/Margaret/Bridget.

I know someone who has a baby that’s named after him. They call the child a nick name version (so Jamie vs James).

GreatDuckCookery6211 · 30/08/2018 12:28

I'm not keen tbf. I know three generations with the same name, the youngest being 13 and the name is outdated for a boy of this age. Maybe a middle name?

Shadow1234 · 09/09/2018 00:41

I compromised, and used my hubbys name as my sons
Middle name (he was happy with that)

I also have cousin and uncle with same name, and we have to
Call them 'big gary' and little gary'. (Even though little Gary
Is now 32!!!)

Goostacean · 09/09/2018 02:56

When people decide to slam the traditions of other cultures as egotistical and narcissistic they only show themselves to be small minded arseholes who think their own culture is the only right one. Fuck that. If you want to name your son for his father go for it.

Agreed! Some pretty offensive comments here, frankly. We’ve done this as it’s culturally normal for my DH, and I’m honoured to be part of such a longstanding tradition. My DS is the 4th in a line of first-sons-of-eldest-sons, and it’s a great connection to history and family!

Would I have chosen to do it without the tradition already existing? Probably not. But on my side, we have patronymics (middle name is that of the father, always), so there’s still that family link.

Up to you, obviously. Just wanted to put another view across :)

pilates · 09/09/2018 07:48

Not as a first name, but I would for a middle name.

Flip

1 2 3

Swipe left for the next trending thread