Reusing a family name

ShanRum3

Here is my dilemma. For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to name my daughter Kathryn Elizabeth, after my Grandmother's and although we don't know yet what sex this baby is, we are talking about names. However, my grandmother died 4 years ago and since then, my cousin named her daughter KathrynI don't like the 2 names flip flopped, but still want to use the name Kathryn, or Kay, since it is my and my Mom's middle name (a shortened version of Kathryn)  We were thinking of going with Isabella Kathryn, but then remembered that DH has a cousin whose daughter is Isabella.
Is it wrong to reuse either of those names? Or does anyone have suggestions for first name that will go with Kathryn or Kay as a middle name?
Side note: Both of our boys are named after my DH, each one having part of his name as their middle name.

bbiutmcph

I don't see an issue reusing any family name.  The only way it may be something to consider is if you see these people several times a week and it might be annoying. But in my huge italian family we have lots of repeats and it's not an issue at all.  

MandyMost

I also don't see an issue with you also naming your baby Kathryn, even though your cousin named her kid Kathryn. Especially if you plan to call her Kay, and that's not your cousin's kid's nickname. Depending on your relationship with your cousin, you may want to mention it to her first. 

Otherwise, what about a variation on Kathryn, and still use Kay as the nickname? https://nameberry.com/list/16/CatherineKatherines-International-Variations?all=1 

SmrBrd2012

To me it would depend on how often you see them and how big your families are in general. I only have 3 cousins and I see them fairly often so to me it would be weird if I used the same name they did.

lm45678

I have 2 uncles, a cousin and my dad all named William.

If my LO is a boy he will be William, after my dad. The name has a lot of significance to me and so quite honestly I couldn't care less about a repeat.

Now if I wanted to name my son Axel (or something else out there with no significance) and my cousin named her kid Axel, I would pick a different name. 

I hope that that makes sense, it did it my head

saham07

Grandmas name belongs to everyone, not just the first one to produce a daughter. If you love Kathryn Elizabeth, I would use it for sure. I would not nn kathryn only because it is so beautiful. I have an Ava Kathrine and a niece named Genevieve Kathrine. I LOVE Kathryn/Katherine

ShanRum3

@laurenm2123It totally made sense to me!
Thanks for all the input ladies! My cousin and I do see each other relatively frequently, and her little girl mostly goes by Katie, so I might be able to get away with it, but I would definitely talk to her about it first.