Is Amélie too similar to Amelia?

[Purplepricklesalloverhisback]

DN is an Amelia, we are very close and she grew up with us.

I love the name Amélie which although pronounced very different to Amelia looks the same on paper.

Would you think it weird to call DD this given my nieces name?

To be honest, yes I’d say it’s really quite similar. Do you have any other options you like (almost) as much?

It’s not even pronounced very differently!

@Dryheave I think the pronunciation is quite different

We say Amelia as Uh-me-lia
Amélie would be Am-e-lee

Not many other options and baby due in 4 weeks. I like Iris but DH doesn’t. He likes Phoebe which I don’t love but could tolerate.

Amélie is the French for Amelia.
The cousins would have basically the same name.

It would be like calling one Margaret and the other Marguerite.

There are literally thousands of other options.

What is the age gap, how much contact will they have, and can you ask your niece what she thinks?

I have the same name - bar a single letter to at least make it different - as a cousin. But she was more than 7 years older than me, and we lived in different countries. There were good reasons to choose the name and it has never been any problem. Plus, I was called by the long form, sometimes shortened in one way, when my cousin was usually shortened a different way.

I would say that in your situation, the cousins sound to be likely to have more contact, but I suspect the age gap is sufficient that your niece could enjoy your baby being called "after her" if she prefers to see it that way! I think the two names are different enough. You can also think about shortenings - even if you usually use the full form, you can actively avoid the most similar shortenings. So if your niece sometimes gets called Amy, avoid that by considering Mellie. But if your niece gets "Melia" then your baby could be Amy/ "Ammie" as a contrast (if and only if shortening is wanted or inevitable!).

I think ask the parents first. If they are fine with it then go ahead. I agree they sound different. If not Amelie then what about Emily?

Actually don’t ask, do what you want!

If they were siblings then I'd say it's too similar but I think it's fine for cousins.

It’s basically the same name, and although you pronounce them differently, many would pronounce them much more similarly. However if that’s a name you both love, then I would just run it past your niece first and see what she thinks. She’s the only one I would worry about upsetting. I have a lot of sympathy as my favorite boys name was used by my sil, and her son goes by his middle name. However we’ve decided not to use it.

Its fine by me, I would run it past your DN saying that you would like the baby to have their own version of DN's name, win win.

DN is now 14 and doesn’t stay with us much anymore. She wouldn’t mind the name choice.

I don't like Amelie, although it is nice in a French accent. It will be pronounced Ammerly in the UK.
If you want to use it, then do.
Not many would consider it strange if there were 2 cousins called Sean and Ian.

Aurelie? (accent on first e?)
Aurelia?

Means golden. I love the name.

Call your child whatever you want. I have a number of cousins with my granddad’s name. We call them Big Stewart, Little Stewart, Baby Stewart, etc.

Gorgeous name and I don't think it would cause a problem with an Amelia. I simply wouldn't choose it based on how the pronunciation will be butchered by 99% of non French speakers.

Yep sorry far too close. If you didn't see your DN much it would be ok but as you have a close relationship I wouldn't.

It’s the same name!

Completely fine, we have uncles and nephews with the same name just call them Neil and baby Neil, we have a jack and a Jackson who are cousins.

Absolutely fine and they sound pretty different to me. Those saying they are the same name, so are Paul and Pablo but they still sound different.

If you love the name, go for it! For what it's worth, I think it's a lovely name.

They are obviously very similar and sound it too. However, I don’t think there is anything wrong with cousins having the same name let alone a similar one!

There's a big age gap so I'd probably go for it.

Not everyone will pronounce the names the way that you do so be prepared for them to sound more similar than you think. If they have the same surname then I'd opt for a different name. But if they have different surnames then I think their names in full will sound suitably different. But I would ask your niece's parents. There's no point storing up bad feeling about a name.

They’re not just very similar they’re the same name.

If you want to name your DD after your niece - that’s fine. It’s a compliment. But that is essentially what you’re doing.

It’s almost the same name not just on paper but in sound too. It depends on the age gap I think - if your niece is a teenager & can be asked permission she’d prob not care or be flattered in which case I can’t see the issue
But for same generation it would be really weird I think

I think I would choose a different first name and maybe use Amelie as a middle name.