Cousin Had Her Baby

ara_cale

She named him Elijah Hayden.

Her other son is named Malachi Elijah.

Apparently it's a Korean tradition to link the children's names somehow so they're using the middle name from the previous child as the first name of the following one.  

It's a nice theory, but I feel kind of bad for the middle child who won't have a name of his own.  What do you guys think of both the name and the naming theory/tradition? 

 

BostonGayGal

I think it is a nice concrete connection, and where it is a tradition, it wouldn't be interpreted as a negative, but as a family bond.

Mrs.Deputy

The only kid I feel sorry for is the next one who has to be named Hayden.

AnneShirleyBlythe

I think that is pretty cool actually. 

 

And I adore the name Malachi.  

plunderb

In China, some families still observe a similar tradition: each child in a generation (siblings, cousins, etc.) has one name that marks them as a member of the same generation and then a personal name for each individual.

I think it's nice to use family-connected names in whatever way your family tradition specifies (though I agree that kid #3 is getting a raw deal with Hayden). My siblings and I all have the same middle name ? my mother's maiden name. 

[Deleted User]

My sisters both have the same middle name, mostly because my mom liked the way it sounded with both names, and she couldn't think of anything else.

It's completely a non-issue. 

ara_cale

I feel like I should clarify and say that I don't think the tradition is bad, I think the tradition is wonderful and I'm glad that they're incorporating it.  I just don't think I would have followed the tradition the same way.  For instance someone previously mentioned that all of the children in a generation could have the same middle name.  I think that is a great way to follow the tradition especially if it's by using the mother's maiden name.  That way each child has a first name (an identity) that is solely their own and the tradition is still carried on.   

 

anna7602

I actually really love DD's mn. I have considered if I could get away with using it again for a second daughter (as a mn or even fn, although it's unlikely since it was relegated to mn status due to its "weirdness").

I don't know, I don't think the tradition you outline is that weird. My mother, her brother and her father all share a part of their names and each of them went by a compound name- Maria Luisa, Jose Luis and Juan Luis. If anything, it kind of made an even stronger statement about their link as a family. I never thought about it as taking away from giving them names or identities of their own. To me, it seems much more acceptable than sons being named the same exact first, middle and last names as their fathers.

Calla123

How cool!  I really like it :-)

zaramarie81

I think it depends on how many kids you have. Is your sister only having 3? Because with a larger family, there would be no lone "middle" . That said, regardless, I like that she is sticking to a Korean tradition. It's a nice link for sibs.

ara_cale

zaramarie81:

I think it depends on how many kids you have. Is your sister only having 3? Because with a larger family, there would be no lone "middle" . That said, regardless, I like that she is sticking to a Korean tradition. It's a nice link for sibs.

My cousin is planning on having 3 kids.  She's hoping that number three is a girl so that she can name her Hayden Elizabeth.   

HannahO28

so how would it have worked if she had a girl this time? Would she have just found a different way to link the names? Is that the reason she chose a unisex MN for LO2? So that she can continue the current tradition on the next baby no matter what sex it is? 

Under.the.Rose

Mrs.Deputy:

The only kid I feel sorry for is the next one who has to be named Hayden.

Same here! The name linking thing is actually really sweet in my opinion. 

I looooove Malachi. Elijah is cute too. I love the biblical connection too. They definitely work well as a sib-set. 

ara_cale

HannahO28:

so how would it have worked if she had a girl this time? Would she have just found a different way to link the names? Is that the reason she chose a unisex MN for LO2? So that she can continue the current tradition on the next baby no matter what sex it is? 

I actually joked with her and asked her if she was going to name this one Elijah Elizabeth if it were a girl.  Apparently if this one have been a girl they still would have named her Hayden Elizabeth and then if the next one had been a boy he would have been Elijah Hayden and if it had been a girl it would have been Elizabeth something.  I'm glad this one was a boy because in my opinion the whole tradition would have fallen apart otherwise.  

To all of you who are saying that you feel bad for the child who has to have Hayden as a first name I agree with you.