Olivia when there is an Oliver in the family

angsamp · November 2014

I have always loved the name Olivia for a little girl. Right now I honestly don't have any other name I like that much, especially factoring in that my husband and I would both need to love the name! He says he really likes the name Olivia because it's "sweet and innocent" and we should use the name... The kicker is that my husband's sister, who we are very close to, has a 3 yo son named Oliver. He goes by Ollie to the family, but Oliver everywhere else. My SIL told me to pick Olivia if I really love it--she's pretty laid back.. but I just want opinions on how strange it would be to have first cousins named Oliver and Olivia. Is it rude if I do this? Weird? Totally mean? Thoughts please..

DaisyZH · November 2014

No issue, go for it!

Renisra+2 · November 2014

I can see why you might be concerned, but I don't think it will make much of a difference. Most likely, they won't be shortened into the same nickname.

Steph1673 · November 2014

I'd use it!

thehills1983 · November 2014

Use it! Beautiful name.

RachiCakes · November 2014

I don't think it's an issue - and Olivia is a beautiful name

angsamp · November 2014

cstuart07 said:

I don't think an Ollie/Oliver in the family should have any impact on your choice of Olivia. Olivia ia a beautiful name. Keep in mind it is a top 10 name though (and has been for a couple of years) so you may know several other Olivias down the road.

The fact that it's a Top 10 is an issue for me as well... Fortunately I don't know any in the small town where we live, but I do worry about the day she goes to college and is 1 of 15 Olivia's in her classes... So I'm also considering that maybe I should use it as a middle name, but again, I have to find a name that husband and I love and agree on!

atrinh11 · November 2014

We are actually avoiding Olivia for that exact reason. But, at the same time, it isn't our favorite name either. We have actually always joked about naming our daughter Olivia, just because of our nephews name. I honestly think if we really loved it and wanted to do it, my SIL would be okay with it. Although our Oliver goes by Oliver to everyone. We do happen to have Livia on our list though, but I think we have other names we like more. Anyway, if you don't mind and your SIL doesn't mind, then I say go for it.

blu-eyedwife · November 2014

I would totally use it.

Elsa1984 · November 2014

My cousin and I (she is a year older) have the exact same name. Same spelling too. Never bothered us. It does get confusing when we are together, so one goes by "little" (me being younger) and one goes by "big" (her being older). Its no big deal. Since they are still two different names, I wouldn't worry about it. They are close, but not close enough that you wouldn't know who was who.