Why do so many people want baby names that 'go' together?

[SpeedyGonzalez]

It's a bit like putting your kids in matching outfits. I find it weird.

but its a FAB name lockets, just FAB, sigh

we just need to sort kitty out now

lockets - what's your ds's fab name? pleeeeease share!

I have mentioned this before but I know fo two brothers called Romulus and...Martin. And THAT, ny dears, is why it is important to have names that match a little. It doesn't mean you have to call them Zig and Zag, Ronnie and Reggie or Harpo, Groucho, and Zippo or whathaveyou. It just stops you sounding like you had a bang on the head between children.

I think you need to be able to say X and Y comfortably. We were trying out names for DC2 and decided against a certain one because putting the two together had way too many A's, D's and N's floating around.

As for names going with surnames, our surname ends in Y and for me that means that all first names ending in Y or IE are a no-go.

You need names that aren't going to be total tongue-twisters when you reel them off one after the other. I also think that giving children wildly different names infers that you want them all to be different from each other, that you're trying to assign each certain characteristics. If you had, say, a Fantasia, a Maud and a La'keeshya, there's an expectation that they're all going to be quite different in fairly specific ways. I don't know, maybe that's just me.

I often wonder what frenzied chain of though the Beckhams were on when they names their kids - Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz are all fairly disparate naming choices.

You need names that don't rhyme either. I knew a Karen and Darren growing up.

I think its important to call your kids the same type of name.
My friend is called saffron. She has 2 sisters called summer and sapphira. She also has a brother called stephen. The stephen is a little 'normal' with the other names.

My LO is Thomas, so my next (hopefully) will be along the same name types. We wont have a Skye, prince, princess or Moonstar or something like that

I think the most important factors when choosing a name are

• do you like it?
• does it sound nice with the surname?
• has it got family/cultural meaning?

Whether it 'matches' a sibling is not important unless the names are tongue twisters when said together. Chances are that parents' choices of names will be similar anyway as it reflects their taste/style.

that's not true. I quite like it, it's ok!

Romulus, LadyT? Romulus? Heavens above! IMO that's more of an issue than the clash with Martin.

Well, there we differ. It's Martin that gives me the heebeegeebees. However, I have enjoyed asking people to guess what Romulus's brother is called (no one has ever got it, oddly.)

What do they suggest? A stream of Ancient Roman gods?

I wouldn't touch Martin with a bargepole, either, don't get me wrong. But Romulus gets the same response plus ROFLROFLROFL, pushing it straight to the top of my OverMyDeadBody names list!

Guesses have included Remus (obviously), Rufus, Raymond and Rigatone

But it is my favourite sibling names story. My second favourite is that Karren Brady has that unusual spelling as her older brother is called Darren and that's how her Dad thought Karren was spelt or so she said in an interview.

Rigatone? People are odd, aren't they?!

Hilarious about Karren Brady, though, that's brilliant!

How about:

Carol and Daryl?

(ooh, 'Daryl', now there's a classy name you wouldn't want your best friend nicking off your top 10 list!)

Actually, I did know three sisters called Shuma, Ruma and Duma.

So, on reflection, Romulus and Martin sounds quite tame.

Oh, just remembered an old gent (Mr Day) who was born on Feb 14th. Just guess what his parents called him.

Poor guy.

I knew twins called Noel and Leon.

Joy-anna sounds like Joanna in an Australian accent.

Darren?

groan at Noel and Leon!!

Celia and Alice have the same letters.....