2 family names repeated by cousin... weird?

[Thistly]

Hi,
my dp’s cousin has announced the birth of his 2nd child, and he has used the same name as our ds for his new baby. Their first child has the same name as dp’s ex wife. It’s a male cousin so same surname.

I think this is weird. We don’t see that much of them; closer to the older generation, so I guess we are just not on their horizon.

I would never use a recently used name by someone in the family; I avoided a name given to my nephew, and another cousin avoided our ds’s Name recently too.
What do you think?
Weird or not weird?

But you suggest in your title that it’s a family name, so not unusual surely that several cousins would use it? I have two cousins named after the same shared grandfather.

Not weird.
They have chosen names they like

I don’t think it’s weird. I guess the current fashion of being unique & ‘owning’ names means it might be to some, but no previous generation ever thought they owned a name. There would be so many Johns & Marys in a family they’d have some known as Jack & Molly etc.

What is it that makes you feel they shouldn’t use the same name?

It is weird!!!

But you suggest in your title that it’s a family name

I understood that to mean the names of two people in the family, rather than 'family names' per se.

It's a bit odd but nothing sinister - they've chosen names they like, and as the saying goes 'you can't own a name'. You may find they hadn't even connected the dots between Dp's ex wife and their DD's name, especially if you don't see them often. Plenty of cousins have the same name, and while I would personally try to avoid choosing names that are already 'taken', it really isn't that uncommon for family members to share names.

Ultimately, they shouldn't have to choose names they don't like as much just because there are connections to a cousin's family they barely see.

My grandfather (Charles) had three sons. Each of his sons had a boy and named him Charles after their father. So we had to distinguish them as Charles the first, Chip, and Baby Charles. Baby Charles is 42 and the family still calls him Baby Charles and his son is Little Chip.

I find it weird.

I don't find it weird. My son has the same name as my cousin's son. I don't think I've ever met my cousin's son, so he wasn't even on the radar when I chose the name.

Also there are two parents and maybe the name was chosen because it was of significance to the other parent. If I named a child after a much loved relative for example, and one of my husband's cousins was miffed about it I'd think them pretty selfish.

I don’t think it’s weird.
I have so many cousins/second cousins/third cousins that to be honest I wouldn’t even know if we’d repeated a name.
You said yourself you’re not close to them. Why should they not use a name they love just because some distant family member they don’t see has already used it?

It’s a bit odd. I’ve got two cousins who are also cousins who were born weeks apart, they both have the same name.

If you’re not that close to them I don’t see how it’s a problem. You rarely see them.

My grandfather (Charles) had three sons. Each of his sons had a boy and named him Charles after their father. So we had to distinguish them as Charles the first, Chip, and Baby Charles. Baby Charles is 42 and the family still calls him Baby Charles and his son is Little Chip.

I love this!

One of my cousins used my DD’s name (named after a late great aunt who I was very close to but my cousin wasn’t, purely because she was very young when said GrAunt died). My DD was only 5 at the time so it was a bit annoying but I didn’t say anything and have mostly let it go.

My son and my sister’s son have the same middle name, both named after our granddad. I didn’t feel miffed about that because we were both close to our granddad, it’s a middle name not a first name, and my sister asked/told me in advance, rather than me finding out on the birth announcements.

Ultimately, no one has exclusive rights to a name, but it’s natural to feel a bit miffed if you feel like your child hasn’t been factored into a family member’s decision making process.

Best to let it go though.

My father was one of 11, each of the 11 had children- you can imagine how many grandchildren his mum had.
now we are onto Gt Grands ( & GGt in somecases) and when the last child was born, someone was heard to say ''Ohhhh we havent had a Freya before''

So many repeat names- thats just the way it is, especially with common names like James and Thomas etc

Jessbow that sounds a lot like my dads side of the family!

Not weird in the slightest.

@DuMondeB but what is there to ‘let go’? I just can’t understand why it’s offensive to use a name someone else has used. Even more so given you weren’t the first to use it either

How often do you see them? If it’s once every 10 years it’s not weird.

Totally weird to me!

Not weird.

Couldn't get worked up (or even slightly bothered) about this.

My cousin got divorced then married a woman with his ex's name and his ex married a man with my cousin's name... and both new partners happened to each already have a son with their previous partners sharing the name of my cousin and his first wife's son together. BRAINMELT.

People get so het up about other people "stealing" names or how they can't use names that someone they know has used.

I don't get it. Who cares? They've picked names they like, and they've not wanted to forego using the names they like just because someone else likes them.

If you don't see them very often what does it matter? You don't own the name. It's just a name.

It is weird.

Not weird, they've used the name they wanted. Their first child having the same name as your Dp's ex wife is irrelevant. You said yourself that you don't see much of them so I couldn't get worked up about it.

It is weird.

I don’t like the idea of naming a baby after someone else in the family