Naming a child after a living relative

[Tallybeebloom]

What do people think about this?

DP and I have been struggling with boys' names.
My DP's family has a tradition where there is a boy in each generation with the same name, so my DP has the same name as his father, and grandfather, etc. Neither of us actually like DP's name enough to call a baby it however have considered it as a middle name.
I've never really considered my own dad's name as an option because I always just saw it as my dad's name. It's a name that's always been in the top 10/15 in the last few years so pretty popular although my dad is from another country where they spell it differently. Today I imagined my dad's name with DP's name as middle name and I genuinely think it sounds like one of the most beautiful names I've heard. It doesn't bother me if the name would be popular and I know it would mean a lot to my dad if we named the baby after him (and me, I adore my dad). But I'm just wondering if it would feel weird calling after my child and it's my dad's name? It's not something I'd ever considered before.

Has anyone else called a baby after a relative who's still alive? Was it strange or did you just get used to it?

There are some religions cultures where it’s a no-no, and others where it’s considered an honour. In Judaism for example, you’d normally name a baby after a deceased relative so naming after a living relative can be seen as wishing somebody dead! In your shoes I’d decide then ask your dad if he’s alright with it.

Coming from a culture where no offence would be caused by the naming of a baby after living relatives, I think its a lovely idea if you're both in favour. Also, not unusual.

That aspect of it isn't really a problem for us. My cousin was actually named after my dad as he's her godfather, although she was named the female version of his name.

My aunt married a family where it was common to name sons after their father & grandfather, as long as you don’t mind your dc been referred to as little name by everyone on your side I don’t see a problem with it. However your teen/adult dc might find it tiresome.

One of the most beautiful names you've ever heard! How can you think of not using it for your beautiful son?

My brother is named after my grandfather (who only died when we were adults). It always seemed like a nice thing to me.

My DS is called after his grandfather, but he died when DS was about 18m old, so he wasn’t a living relative for much of DS’s life.

My DS has the same name as his Grandad! We call him a shortened version so there's no confusion and he was honoured when we chose it for our baby ☺️

My son has my brothers name as his middle name.
Hes technically my foster brother but hes been my brother for 23 years. He has severe learning difficulties but is amazing with my kids. I love him so much I wanted to show him hes as much family as anyone else.

My son has my brother's and my father's middle names.

Absolutely fine.

I am curious now as to what the two names are . If you think they are beautiful then , why not? Your dad might be very happy that you chose his name.

Could you use a variant of his name rather than the actual name / is it a name with more than one nickname?

One of the most beautiful names you've ever heard! How can you think of not using it for your beautiful son?

Exactly my thinking. Strangely, I never thought of my dad's name as beautiful but when I pair it with my partner's name I just think it's so lovely!

I am curious now as to what the two names are . If you think they are beautiful then , why not?
To be honest I'd be more than happy to say except my dad's name with his spelling is unusual for the UK and combined with details I've given in some other posts, it would become very easy for someone to recognise me on here (which I wouldn't want due to details on other posts).

It's lovely to hear of so many others who have named their children after relatives. I'm going to float it to DP (he was out today so was waiting til he got back). I'm sure he did actually suggest my dad's name a while back but I automatically said no because of its popularity, but actually I don't think I care about that any more. It feels meaningful so it wouldn't matter if other children in their class shared the name.

Most of the children in my immediate family have one name after a relative, some of whom are dead, some of whom are not.

Could you use a variant of his name rather than the actual name / is it a name with more than one nickname?

I'd suggested a couple of variants to DP in the past and he wasn't keen on those versions, it's also not the kind of name you have nicknames for. It's a variant of DP's name though for the middle name, but it's the version of the name from the country I'm originally from.

My sister named her DD the same name as me. Never been an issue although I don’t appreciate now being called big yennefer 😂😂 and she’s little yennefer.

Go for it, I'm Irish and it is really common for babies to be named after grandparents/grandaunts/uncles etc
I have many family members of both sexes with shared names but usually different nicknames or they go by their middle name etc
If you don't like "Little Tomas/Tomasin/Tom Jr" etc you could start naming your son with his surname/first letter of his surname if your giving him your DPs.
So your dad is Tomas and your baby is Tomas Jones or Tomas J when talking to your family.
I think it's less of a problem if you name a child after a grandparent though as people will know if you say Tomas you mean your son and Dad for your Dad.

Go for it. It's not an unusual thing to do, and as a pp says it's often done in Ireland. I know many boys with the same first name as their father or grandfather.

I'm giving my baby one of my parent's first name as a middle name. They are alive so will be able to see the tribute! It isn't a name I'd ever choose if not for being my parent's name and I just know they'll love the gesture so it makes me really happy.

If the baby was a different sex we were planning on giving it the same first name as it's living grandparent on the other side too.

DH is the fifth or sixth generation to be given a certain name. It's hideous. He hates it, is embarrassed by it and goes by his middle name instead.
We didn't use it at all for DS. No-one said anything!.
You pick a name you like first and foremost IMO, if it happens to be a family member too then fair enough. But passing down names for the sake of it, no.

I think it’s a lovely thing to do.

I think it's fine in principal to use your Dad's name (lots of people use the names of living relatives), my concern would be that you say it's an unusual spelling in the UK? I'd personally find it annoying to always have to spell my name, so you would maybe need to consider that for your DS.

my concern would be that you say it's an unusual spelling in the UK? I'd personally find it annoying to always have to spell my name, so you would maybe need to consider that for your DS.

This doesn't worry me too much. It's not a long name and I need to spell my name out all the time, it can be a bit annoying but it's not the end of the world.

Fine as long as you don't mind them being called "little (name)". I would ask your parents what they think though. Eg. If your mum and dad are still together then mum might find it hard when dad dies, or she might like it. Or your dad might actually really hate his name.

What’s the English spelling of the name?