Should I let my kids name their siblings

[sockieA]

Me and my DH are expecting twins later this year and are finding it near impossible to think of name! However our children have brought it upon themselves to name them. Me and my DH are not against this and have said we will go with whatever they choose (within reason obviously) and i think it will make the names more heartfelt and personal. However many people have advised us against this and called us crazy! Is it a bad idea or will it be a great way to come up with a creative meaningful name??

Crazy idea OP! If we had done this then our twins would have been called Dora and Diego

We played this as a game when DD was just-4 and had twin cousins on the way. She suggested things like "Flappy & Happy" and "Peanut & Weenut".

I agree that it completely depends on what they might suggest.

We asked the kids what names they like (more out of interest than anything else as we’ve already decided).

DS (10) suggested Angus (coincidentally, this is what we’re going with as a middle name, and were before he suggested it)
DSD (6) was pretty vague and useless and said she liked Barbie (it’s a boy).
DSS (3) likes Marshall because he likes paw patrol.

@MikeUniformMike
Haha are you serious? I don't even think it's a name.

My son (who suggested Malicia) is 5 and I'm pretty sure he has the names Melissa and Alicia mixed up.

My dd suggested six for new baby. Due in six months. I dunno. Rex i liked but not "six" !

@sibbys, it looks pretty and has a pleasing sound. I'd be a bit worried about how people might say it. I hear it as Mal-isha to rhyme with Trisha, but some might say Maleesha or Mal-issy-a, so perhaps scratch that one. It was a suggestion of a pp's DC.

My friends did this!
His mum was pregnant with and she let one decide a name for a girl and another for a boy!
It was a girl and my friend chose Jessica :)

I think it's really nice, normally they just like a name because it's pretty or it sounds cool and that sometimes is a good enough reason! As adults I think we think too much about it :)

My eight year old has just suggested Billow (boy) and Jaffa (girl)

Let us know how your newborns, Rainbow and Flower, are getting on in the new year!

A friend of mine was considering doing this with her youngest and Rainbow was, indeed, suggested. They didn't go with it and their DS has very conventional name

A colleague was named by her brother - it was the name of a girl he fancied. It was old fashioned even then and she hates it. Just don't!

Sibbys and mikeuniformmike
I have a relative called Melissa but its actually spelt Melicia so he wasn't far off a real name. It's apparently the welsh spelling 🤷🏻‍♀️

It gives them too much "ownership" of their younger siblings. They're not pets.

This. You're the parents. Be the parents.

Melicia, very welsh that.
If it is welsh, it isn't it would be pronounced
Mel-ICK-ya.

Had a feeling you'd have something to say about the welsh bit mikeuniformmike
Well she was born in Wales to welsh parents and a Welsh midwife suggested it as the alternative spelling to the English Melissa

Cement Mixers and Badgers.

But I'm not about to argue about my relatives name, it is what it is

In that case DS (4) would have named his new sister born at the start of the pandemic - either Rainbow - or Stegosaurus.

I didn’t allow that.

I think any name suggestion should be checked. I've seen some strange suggestions on here.

Melusa would be nearer Melissa but looks made up

unless I have missed it, the information we need is how old your other children are?

No. You name your children , not them. By all means include them, but you must have the decision. If anything , you might make them think they've got a bit of power and control if you're handing such an important decision to them

If we'd allowed my eldest to name his brother he'd have either been Wah-Wah or Chewbacca. It'd depend on the name I think!

My parents let us think we were going to name our sister - we had chosen a name from a Famous Five book. Then when she was born they called her a rhyming version of that name. The betrayal! They were right though.

As a compromise, when my mum was expecting my brother (I was 11 and my sister 9) we all went out for a really lovely family meal and my mum and dad said that we would not be leaving the table until we had all agreed on a name. It was so lovely as made it a special occasion, we were mulling over it all night and I remember the night so fondly to this day!

No.
If I found out my older siblings had named me (which of course they will) I might feel a bit unhappy about it (however much I liked my name etc) - introduces an odd dynamic for the named sibling to deal with when thinking about whether they were wanted etc. Loads of that thinking may be unreasonable or short lived but I can imagine it happening in family dynamics.

My friends sibling gave her the middle name Pebbles ‘Pebz’, as their favourite programme at the time was the Flinstones. Funnily enough she prefers it to her first name and had it changed via deed poll!