For years, long before I ever even got married, I have always said that if I ever had a little girl I would name her Caroline after my paternal grandmother. I never had the chance to meet my grandmother, so I thought it would be a nice way to honor her & my dad (who adored his mom), along with just really liking the name.
Flash forward to about 5 years ago, my 2nd cousin (1st cousin's daughter) has a daughter of her own, and decides to name the baby Caroline (Which would be her great-grandmother)! We have a very large family, so depending on what kind of family events are going on, we may see each other 5x a year, or can go a few years without seeing each other. Its very sporatic. Most contact is just "liking" each others posts on facebook type stuff.
My question is, would it be weird if we were to use Caroline for a name as well? Is it too close? Does anyone else have a cousin/family member with the same name as you? I know nobody "owns" a name, but I still feeling like I am "stealing/copying" the name from her. I know we can always use Caroline as a middle name, but having no other good ideas or prospects for other girls names, I just keep dwelling on this.
DH says I am just making myself crazy, and we shouldn't worry about a girls name until we know we are having a girl! We've had a boys name picked out for years.
Too close to use name? 193 votes
I would totally use the same name if I loved it that much
Eh - kinda weird; Just keep it as the middle name
Listen to DH - Don't stress about a girls name until you know you need to
Re: Too close to use name?
But I agree the relation is distant and infrequent enough I think you're fine with Caroline. Great name.
Married my love 6/11/11 | MMC 10/11/11 | Eliza Frances born 9/18/12 | Rhett Garland born 2/24/14
Bottom line: I think it's fine to use the name. They won't be around each other enough for it to cause any issues and they'll be 5+ years apart.
I've discounted lots of names because of repetition in my family but my extended family is very close - I'm closer with my 4th cousins than I am with my first cousins.
That being said, I think you're borrowing trouble. If you find out you're having a girl, worry about it then.