Pregnancy - similar names help please

[MistyEyes642]

Hi all, I’d appreciate an outsiders perspective please. We have our baby daughters name planned and have done for about 2 years. I’m getting a new colleague with a very similar name (well only be a team of 2). We are in love with the name Sophia and don’t really want to change it but the new colleague is Sophie. How would you deal with this?

I don’t see the issue, name your daughter Sophia (lovely name)

They’re two different names so no need to mention anything. Or, you could just say she’s got a lovely name and you’ve already planned to use a similar name

I would call my baby the name I loved regardless of colleagues - who will come and go - who have similar names.

No issue at all. Both Sophia and Sophie are quite common, so it’s inevitable that you’ll know some.

No issue at all - it wouldn’t cross my mind to worry about it.

There’s nothing to deal with! Just use the name, you’re over thinking.

Also, bear in mind she won’t be your colleague forever and you may not even know her next year.

It's not even the same name. As pp you might not even be working with her in a few months. There are lots of Sophies and Sophias/Sofias so I don't see it being a problem.

Is there a reason that you are worrying about this? . Do you have anxiety in your pregnancy? I had illogical thinking but my anxiety was more health related.

Total non-issue. You love Sophia, which isn't even the exact same name as your new colleague, so call her Sophia. Even if it was exactly the same name it wouldn't be an issue as it's such a well known popular name. It may have been a bit odd if your new colleague was called Snowdrop Fifibelle and that's what you were planning on calling your own baby but nobody will bat an eyelid at this.

Completely fine! As PP mentioned, in a few years you probably won’t even know this colleague, and it’s a different name anyway. A friend of mine wanted to name her daughter Emily but didn’t as a mum she’d met at baby group for her eldest had a daughter named Emily (she chose Melanie instead which has a similar sound). They were doing lots of baby/toddler stuff together at the time, then this other woman moved away a year or so later and she never saw her again.

Definitely not an issue! New colleague will def realise you’d already chosen the name. Congratulations.

I wouldn't think twice about it, even if the colleague was called Sophia rather than Sophie.

If you combine the two spellings Sophia and Sofia then Sophia is the most popular baby girl name at the moment. So nobody is going to think you've chosen it for any reason other than it being a lovely name.

I’d introduce the subject quite early. Comment on the fact that she has a pretty name and that actually you’ve chosen a similar name for your baby. That way you’ve aired the issue and that’s the end of the matter.

No issue at all! In my opinion they’re completely different names, but even if they weren’t I wouldn’t really bat an eyelid, I’d just be thinking “oh what a coincidence”! My little girl’s middle name was almost the same as a member of my team, which is a fairly unusual name but one I’d always liked and the only reason it ended up changing was because there was another name that worked better with her first name. The fact that it was the same wouldn’t have made a difference, it’s not like there’s going to be any strong personal link there, the colleague may end up leaving after three months!