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HelpHere's a hypothetical for ya...
Let's say a girl grew up with a maiden name that clashed with her first name, and for that reason, she didn't like it much. The thing is, her maiden name by itself is actually very pretty. So pretty, in fact, that it would make a good first name for a daughter, should she ever have one. The problem is, it happens to be the surname of her two nieces. Would it be weird if two cousins had a last name that was a first name of their other cousin? They would grow up together, so it's not like they would only see each other around Christmas and it wouldn't be a big deal. Thoughts on this would be appreciated.
I don't think this will ever really happen, but I'm curious as to what people would think if someone did it.
"What matters most is how well you walk through the fire." -Charles Bukowski
I don't think this will ever really happen, but I'm curious as to what people would think if someone did it.
"What matters most is how well you walk through the fire." -Charles Bukowski
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It seems pretty reasonable and normal to me. Families share names. It might even make the cousins feel closer. IME even superficial similarities help kids feel they are more alike and closer because they have things in common. If I had a cousin whose name was my surname, or whose surname was my first name - so what.
I think it would make it not matter at all, if there were a nickname.
I think it would make it not matter at all, if there were a nickname.
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I think that would work. I've known families in which a maiden name was used as a FN so 1 cousin had a FN that were other cousins' LN (the one I can think of off the top of my head is Cassels, which was my friend's LN and her cousins's FN). I don't think it's a big deal.
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Another question...
...would it make a difference if the child were called by a nickname/shortened version of the name?
...would it make a difference if the child were called by a nickname/shortened version of the name?
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Nah. I mean, in terms of it still not being weird.
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Sounds fine to me. I'd do it.
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No, I don't think it would be that weird considering it is the mothers maiden name. It's not uncommon for women to pass their maiden names on to their sons.
However, I am assuming the surname is a female name, like "Lynn". My thoughts are different if the name is like "Wieniawski".
However, I am assuming the surname is a female name, like "Lynn". My thoughts are different if the name is like "Wieniawski".
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It's not.
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I think it would be fine. I think that sometimes modern people get too into the "no-name-repeated-in-the-family" mindset. For a long time, a very long time, it wasn't considered a big deal. I think the situation you describe wouldn't be thought twice about in the eighteenth or nineteenth century, for example.
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Funny you should mention that. I'm re-reading the "Little House" series now, and a lot of Laura's family members have "recycled" names. She herself was named after her grandmother, and Baby Carrie was named after Ma (Caroline). The baby that died wasn't mentioned in the books, but they named him Charles after Pa. Much more common back then.
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Passing on family names in various formats is normal. This would not strike me as being unduly odd for this to happen.
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Well, two of my cousins (brother and sister) did something similar. One cousin has the family name as a last name (Daniels), and the other gave it to her son as his middle name (Daniel).
Then there's my cousin who got the feminine form of said family name, and all of her cousins on this side have the last name. (Danielle and Daniels)
It might be better in the middle name slot, or if she went by her middle name instead of her first name. But that's me.
Then there's my cousin who got the feminine form of said family name, and all of her cousins on this side have the last name. (Danielle and Daniels)
It might be better in the middle name slot, or if she went by her middle name instead of her first name. But that's me.
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I wouldn't do it personally, even if I did have a pretty-as-a-first-name surname, but I wouldn't think it weird or anything if someone else did.
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This happened in DF's family, minus the part where the names clashed.
Grandfather had six kids, 4 girls, 2 boys. One boy has four children and they all get the surname (say, "Kendall"). One of the girls marries, changes her surname, and has four kids–three boys and a girl, the girl being named "Kendall". So Kendall has four cousins all with the surname Kendall (the other guy had no children). It's not a big deal, everyone knows Kendall's surname isn't also Kendall, so it was obviously after the family, and they see each other several times a year.
I wouldn't do it myself but I'm also not super into honoring.
Grandfather had six kids, 4 girls, 2 boys. One boy has four children and they all get the surname (say, "Kendall"). One of the girls marries, changes her surname, and has four kids–three boys and a girl, the girl being named "Kendall". So Kendall has four cousins all with the surname Kendall (the other guy had no children). It's not a big deal, everyone knows Kendall's surname isn't also Kendall, so it was obviously after the family, and they see each other several times a year.
I wouldn't do it myself but I'm also not super into honoring.
This message was edited 7/27/2014, 2:05 PM
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Nope, not weird. Not at all weird.
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I don't think it would be that weird. At least, nothing that couldn't be handled. My brother's middle name is the surname of most of my cousins, and I don't remember anyone thinking it was odd. It's a little different than your hypothetical question, but not by that much. It's a family name, so I think most people in the family would get why it was used.
This message was edited 7/27/2014, 2:54 PM
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I don't see the problem. Go for it.
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Yes, it would be kinda weird.
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I think it would be hard on the child and for that reason I would steer clear of it as a first name. For a middle name though, why not?
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Why do you think it would be hard on the child?
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I feel that it would be as bad, if not worse, as giving the child the same first name as a close relative in the same generation. It's just my opinion that it would strip some of the individuality and identity from the child.
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Reminds me of Dillon Dillon
I read a book for a children's lit course about a boy named Dillon Dillon (fn and ln).IIRC, his mom's maiden name was Dillon, and she gave him that as his fn when he was born, but after she passed away, he was raised by his uncle and aunt, who had that as their last name, this making him Dillon Dillon when he was adopted by them.
I read a book for a children's lit course about a boy named Dillon Dillon (fn and ln).IIRC, his mom's maiden name was Dillon, and she gave him that as his fn when he was born, but after she passed away, he was raised by his uncle and aunt, who had that as their last name, this making him Dillon Dillon when he was adopted by them.
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