Naming a girl after the Mother?

MrsCooper1009 · June 2012

I can't stop thinking about baby names...it's all I do lately and we're only TTC. I've been through hundreds of names which is why we're here right. I keep coming back to the fact that I really love my name (which is Katie) but also love the name Kate. I wouldn't even mind Katherine and calling a girl Kate but would the fact that I'm just Katie be weird? Or how about naming a girl Katie and calling her Kate.

What do you guys think about naming a girl after you...I always thought it was weird but maybe there's a reason I keep thinking about it...

braveangel2 · June 2012

I'm pretty narcissistic about my name, but I'm not really taken with juniors (mascuilne or feminine). For example, I say my husband's name lovingly, but I use a stern tone, a pleading tone and an exastperated tone with my eldest. I don't want the name I say so lovingly to be used with those tones because my name relationship with him is different than with my children. So that brings me to ask what your guy thinks about it. If it's still in your head and you haven't asked him, go ahead and bounce it off of him.

I think incorporating your name is a good way to go, but I'm not really feeling two Kates/Katies in the household.

TripMomma · June 2012

I am not a fan. That may be because I share my mother's first name and hate it. I have never liked the name, nor the fact that they didn't bother giving me my own name. I have gone by a totally off the wall nickname since I was 8.

KittyMarie219 · June 2012

I think it's fine to like your own name, but I also think it's really narcissistic to name a child after yourself (male or female), no offense, especially when your giving both your fn and mn. To me, it's pretty much the same as telling the child, "You have to grow up to be just like when you grow up or else you're worthless", which I know isn't the case for everyone, but I also know there are some parents out there who want their kids to grow up to be just like them and by that I mean go to the same college, get the same job, have the same name, ect. Aside from that, I've heard that having juniors in the family can cause a lot of troublesome hassles with paperwork and such.

Plus, I wouldn't any child to have my name -- it means "bitter, bitter ocean," and I think it's horrible.

ashtonblair123 · June 2012

Me and my husband do not like this. I someone suggested my middle name as a middle name for my baby and I was like "Um, that's my name. So no."

And my husband is the fourth. And it didn't end up being a boy, but if/when we do have a boy there will be no fifth. It doesn't help that neither of us like the name.

g8trkim · June 2012

I don't like juniors in general, so this wouldn't be for me. I feel like every kid deserves their own original name.

Reilly626 · June 2012

Love Katherine/Katie! It's a classic and goes back to the royals. You can't go wrong! My daughters name will be the Slavic form of Katherine because my husband and I are both Lithuanian. I say go for it!!!

EastCoastBride · June 2012

KittyMarie219:

I think it's fine to like your own name, but I also think it's really narcissistic to name a child after yourself (male or female),

This. I don't like "Juniors".

Puppylove*85 · June 2012

It's a beautiful name but I would only use it as a middle name.

Kate and Katie are basically the same name. I like the idea of a child having their own first name. It also seems a bit narcissistic that with all the wonderful names out there you only loved your own name. (I think the same thing about male juniors.)

lily_721 · June 2012

It is SO confusing to have more than one of the same name in the house/family. This happens all the time in DH's family. SS1 has the same FN as DH, FIL, GFIL, and keeps going back. SS1 said to me recently, "I'm changing my name, I want my own name. Call me..." Its SO confusing when we are with FIL's side because that is where the name is in every single family.

sweetpea2003 · June 2012

My DD is Katherine/Kate so i obviously love the name. That being said, I would probably avoid using it as a first name. It would be confusing to have a Katie and a Kate in the same house. There are so many beautiful girls names out there - I would go back to the drawing board.

My first name is Jill and one of my husband's favorite girl names is Jillian. We never even considered it because we didn't want two Jills in the same house (my grandmother is also Jill so it would actually be a third Jill.. ugh).

If you love Katherine, I would start looking at some of the other classics - Elizabeth, Caroline, Vivian, Abigail.... Elizabeth is a great classic with lots of cute nickname options - Betsy, Libby, Beth, Lizzie, Eliza, etc.

af1274 · June 2012

g8trkim:
I don't like juniors in general, so this wouldn't be for me. I feel like every kid deserves their own original name.

This.

someso · June 2012

How about using the full name (Katherine) and calling her Kat? That is different enough from Katie.

Pearl16 · June 2012

It's not something I would do, personally, but I'm just not into juniors. I wouldn't give a son my husband's name either. It's just not my style. However, if you love your name and it has meaning to you, then I don't see anything wrong with giving your daughter your name. Men do it all the time and aren't labeled narcissistic. Both my grandma and one of my aunts have a daughter named after them, and no one seems to think it's odd.

LadyXaverian · June 2012

someso:
How about using the full name (Katherine) and calling her Kat? That is different enough from Katie.

This is what I was thinking.

Otherwise, I like the suggestion of using another classic name that falls into the same category as Katherine. Also, Kate makes a great middle name, IMO.

Abigail Kate

Audrey Kate

Ava Kate

Eleanor Kate

Eliza Kate

Elisabeth Kate

Fiona Kate

Isobel Kate

Julia Kate

Laura Kate

Mary Kate

Miriam Kate

Sarah Kate

And so on...

elisabethb29 · June 2012

SuperDeDuper:
Puppylove*85:

It's a beautiful name but I would only use it as a middle name.

This.

I'm not a fan of using the same first name as either parent, boy or girl. It's confusing and I like the idea of each baby getting a name of his or her own. That said, I think the MN slot is a perfect place to put a name with family significance, and that includes using your first name or a variation of that name for the MN of your daughter. JMO.

I agree with this. Very confusing to have two of the same fn in one household.

Allycat11 · June 2012

I am not a fan of Juniors for boys or girls, I think every child deserves their own unique name. My mom shares the same name as her mom and she's always found it rather annoying. If you love your name, use it as a mn.

rowanleaves · June 2012

I am a Kate as well. I was named for my mom and my grandmother, Katharine. My mom is Kathy and my Grandmother is Kitsy. I went by Katie as a kid, and Kate as an adult. I hated it, but that's just me. I will not be naming a girl Katharine to continue the line.

sesigs · June 2012

My MIL is named after her mother. My fianc?'s side is Cuban so when his mother was little they just added the diminutive to her name, Carmen, and called her Carmencita to differentiate between mother and daughter. I think it is a nice tradition though it might be easier if you could have a most distinctive nn for her at least when she is young (which seems easier to do in certain cultures). I just imagine every time someone says Kate or Katie both of you answering

TarHeels&Rebels · June 2012

My dad chose my first name, and it's only 1 letter different from my mom's, so much like what you're considering. The extra syllable and completely different middle name added up to a very different name. I never in a million years felt like I didn't have my own identity. Knowing who was who growing up on paperwork or on the phone, etc wasn't hard either. If you like it, do it. Just make sure there's something distinctive about it and that it's not identical.

apc1929 · June 2012

I really never understood naming a child after yourself. It puts a lot of pressure on them I think to be your namesake and also alienates sibs a bit. I very much think every child should be totally individual (which is partly why I hate overly-matchy names for sibs or keeping all same letter but that's another post!) and named as such. Don't mean any offense at all to Jr's everywhere- my own brother is a III its just how I personally feel

ChristyML · June 2012

This is an ironic post, because I have family friends and the mom's name is Kathy (Katherine) and her first daughter's name is Katie (also Katherine). I'm not sure of the spelling of their names though. I never really made the connection until I got older, and I don't mind it now.

jennygirlmt · June 2012

I hate naming kids after parents, both male and female. I think kids deserve a name all their own. There are certainly enough choices. My Dad and brother share a name and I hated saying "Do you mean my Dad or my brother" on the phone. Even now my family is big on group emails and we'll have long chains back and forth and I hate not knowing whether it's my Dad or brother responding without checking the address. Now my nephew is a Jr! It's simply ridiculous. If you are set on this, I would give her Kate as a middle name or give her your middle as her mn, but that's it. Sharing a first name in the same house is awful.

Aligator28 · June 2012

g8trkim:
I don't like juniors in general, so this wouldn't be for me. I feel like every kid deserves their own original name.

This. I think having a Katie and a Kate in the same house would be confusing.

MrsCooper1009 · June 2012

I agree now...I was curious as to what people thought about it...I thought it was weird too I just like the name Kate!

mrebecca · June 2012

I wouldn't give a name to my kid that would make him a junior.

alimaried · June 2012

I think it's neat, especially if you go with Kate or use a full name so that there is some differentiation between your name and hers. My grandmother was Donna and she named one of her daughters Donna, and in our family everyone appreciates that warm connection. I don't see how its any different than a man having a son who is 'jr'.... people just react differently since a woman doing it is less of a norm. I say if it isn't weird to DH for any reason...go for it!

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