WDYT about Mother & Daughter with the same name?

dpdw

It's widely acceptable for dad & son to have the same name, but not so much for mom & daughter.  At least, not in my area - although I know one family who has done it.   Is it common around you?  What are your thoughts about it?

My initial reaction was that the mom was being pretty vain, but now it has grown on me.

Smtih&co

It's not overly common, but I do know a few families who do this.  I just think of it like a father wanting his son to be a jr.  I don't think I would do it, but to each her own!

aggiewed05

That doesn't really interest me.  Neither does Jr's.  I guess I think that everybody should have their own names.

ara4488

My mother & I have the same full name (she goes by the middle name, I go by the first) as we're both named after my great-great-great grandmother. 

In my family, it's a name which has been passed down to each subsequent direct female descendant and one which I hope to pass onto my daughter someday.

soccerwife

I went to school with a girl who had the same name as her mom - 1st, middle, and last - her brother had the same name as the dad (all 3 names) - everyone, including me, thought it was ridiculous. They were the only children.

A child being named after a parent is fine - but don't do it for both parents! It was utterly confusing- they couldn't even tell who the mail or phone calls was for.

smismar

I'm not a fan of Juniors for either sex.  I'd give a child a middle name after a parent (in fact, I prefer that mn's be family names), but I think a child should have their own first name. JMO.

tct1219

i think it's terrible to name your child, boy or girl, after someone in your family (unless the child goes by something else) because the child won't have his/her own identity.

berryblndgirl

I don't know anyone who's done this, but I don't think it's something we would do. I'm not into Jr.'s either, though.

EXL311

I don't like it for either sex.  I wouldn't want the same name as my mom.  I like having my own.  I had a friend in high school who was Mary Claire and her mom was Mary Alice.  If you called and asked for Mary without specifying her dad would say, "which one?  The older one or the younger one?".  Just seems like a pain in the butt to me.

lcarlson0131

I wouldn't ever do it, but I really don't see it as a big issue.

jessawakawaii

I don't think it's any more vain than a son being named for his father. Less so, as a matter of fact, because generally the children will have the father's last name anyway.

LMS05

Not a fan at all. I really hate Jrs. I just don't see the point. I'm really glad it's not a tradition in DHs family because I would have a problem.?

MoFree

In the Jewish tradition, children are not named after living relatives, so children do not share the same name with their mother or father.  I don't care for the custom of being Jr. or II and think people should have their own first name.

brookelynpaisley

I wouldn't do it. My grandparents named their first son and first daughter after themselves. My aunt has a slightly different spelling and my uncle has a different middle name. it's just plain confusing.

monkey62

I know one person who has done this and I really don't like it. I am not a fan of male Jr. either though

GettinNervous

I don't like it, and it's extremely uncommon here. I do know someone who named her DD after her but with a different middle name. They call the daughter by her first and middle name so they know which one they are talking about. Her middle name does NOT go well with her first name, so it's awful every time I hear it.

gotchagomo

They did this on Brokeback Mountain, remember? Alma, I think, and they called her Junior.

LoriFalce

I think it's a very regional thing. I've heard of it in England, and among very well-to-do families in the South and New England. Probably a good example would be Frankenstein author Mary Shelley, who was born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, which was her mother's name, too.

I've even heard Southern families refer to "Katie Jr."

Sally J

My DH's half sister is named after her mother (my DH's stepmother), who was named after her mother.  So three generations have the same name.  The name is Antoinette, and they all have different middle names.  The grandmother went by Anne, the mother by Toni, and the daughter by Lee (her middle name).

Not a fan personally.

ETA:  My SIL had a baby and I was happy to see she did not choose Antoinette...instead she chose Virginia, nn Ginny.

Temp950106187509203

In my circle, it's more common to use the maternal grandmother's name than mom's name, but I know families who've used mom's name for a girl.  I've never heard of a girl being called "junior," though (I'm from TN).  In one family I know, grandmother, mom, and daughter (who is 10 or so now) all have the same name (grandmother has a different ln, obviously, but fn and mn are the same).  The formulation they use is the one I've hear the most: Grandmother is "Big Emily," mom is "Emily," and daughter is "Little Emily."  I actually don't think it's that confusing -- you're usually looking at who you're talking to, or you use the Big/Little indicators.

I don't think one's personality or identity comes from one's name, and I think people who decry using juniors for that reason ("the child won't get to be his own person if he/she shares a name") are very strange.  Does the same apply to people who get called Sarah A. (or whatever) in school, or just within families?