Giving all your kids the same name
Okay, giving all your kids variants of the same name. I ran into a college semi-friend at a cafe this morning and she had her husband and their five kids with her. The kids' names?
Paula, Paul, Pauly, Pauline, and Paulette
What the heck? I honestly didn't think this sort of thing happened in real life. Apparently her husband's father passed away when he was a little boy, and he was called Paul. So they named all their kids in his honor. It's sweet, yes, but...it's also weird. Very weird. I can't imagine a lot of people do this (didn't one celebrity name all his kids George or something?), but WDYT? Is it sweet for his dad, or should they have just left it be at Paula and maybe Paul and gone with other names for the rest of their kids?
Paula, Paul, Pauly, Pauline, and Paulette
What the heck? I honestly didn't think this sort of thing happened in real life. Apparently her husband's father passed away when he was a little boy, and he was called Paul. So they named all their kids in his honor. It's sweet, yes, but...it's also weird. Very weird. I can't imagine a lot of people do this (didn't one celebrity name all his kids George or something?), but WDYT? Is it sweet for his dad, or should they have just left it be at Paula and maybe Paul and gone with other names for the rest of their kids?
Replies
I know a family of 5 kids and there's a boy named Christopher and a girl named Chrisanthy. She goes by Santhy though so it's not too bad.
I agree with the others, it's not sweet, it's just silly. They could have named one child Paul or Paula, or they could have chosen Paul or forms of Paul for middle names. The celebrity you're thinking of is George Foreman. His sons are called George Jr, George III, George IV, George V and George VI. He also named two daughters Georgetta and Freeda George!
In Sweden we don't have the tradition of naming children after their parents, like being Paul Jr., for example. The most common tradition is to give your children their middle name(s) after grandparents or other people that are dear to you.
But there are exceptions.
Swedish tennis champion Stefan Edberg has a son called Stefan Jr, Swedish musician Mikael Rickfors has a daughter called Leakim (Mikael backwards!) and Swedish singer Mikael Samuelson has a daughter called Mikaela.
Also, Swedish actor/comedian Claes Malmberg has named his sons Nils, Nicholas and Nelson.
In Sweden we don't have the tradition of naming children after their parents, like being Paul Jr., for example. The most common tradition is to give your children their middle name(s) after grandparents or other people that are dear to you.
But there are exceptions.
Swedish tennis champion Stefan Edberg has a son called Stefan Jr, Swedish musician Mikael Rickfors has a daughter called Leakim (Mikael backwards!) and Swedish singer Mikael Samuelson has a daughter called Mikaela.
Also, Swedish actor/comedian Claes Malmberg has named his sons Nils, Nicholas and Nelson.
This message was edited 10/28/2014, 6:56 AM
I would hate this as a kid. I wouldn't feel unique or like an individual, I'd feel more like a unit. I'd dislike having to go by my mn. I don't feel this would be so bad if they were middle names instead.
My grandmothers brother named both his son's Jay after himself and they both went by their mn. I always got the sense they weren't happy about it.
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My grandmothers brother named both his son's Jay after himself and they both went by their mn. I always got the sense they weren't happy about it.
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Gah, that's too much. Sure, the sentiment is sweet, but yeesh. I can't imagine how confusing just Pauly and Pauline are. Yeah, I'd have stopped at Paula, or if they really wanted to honor with all of the kids, make all the Paul variations the middle names. Then you honor without giving your kids and yourself a headache.
There's an old custom in Catholic countries where some parents would name several daughters Maria _____ and call them by their middle names. It's especially bad in Spanish-speaking countries, where you can have sisters named Maria Teresa, Maria Cristina, Maria Magdalena, Maria Antonia, Maria del Carmen, Maria de Jesus, Maria Jose, etc.
This message was edited 10/27/2014, 11:07 AM
I think that's just silly. Like nice names but too similar even for multiples
I honestly would just name a son "Paul" and give the other kids seperate names!
I honestly would just name a son "Paul" and give the other kids seperate names!
Oh, is the celebrity you were thinking of John Lennon? Julian's full name is John Charles Julian, and Sean is the Irish form of John. John and Yoko miscarried a son they named John Ono Lennon II.
I think they should have stopped at Paula. It's sweet they wanted to honor a family member, but once is enough!
I think they should have stopped at Paula. It's sweet they wanted to honor a family member, but once is enough!
They should have stopped after Paula, but I can sort of understand wanting to use the exact name of the grandfather when they had a boy. And then maybe they didn't want the others to feel left out? Still very weird though.
This message was edited 10/25/2015, 2:26 PM
I know a brother and sister - Paul and Pauline
Or I knew them well when we were all kids. Their Dad's name was Paul too. I thought it was weird and confusing then, now I think it is both weird, redundant, and narcissistic.
Or I knew them well when we were all kids. Their Dad's name was Paul too. I thought it was weird and confusing then, now I think it is both weird, redundant, and narcissistic.
Not sweet at all. They are people with different identities, they deserve their own names too. I would've used Paul (once) as a middle name and that's it.
I would have named the older of the two boys Paul and that's it. Actually, I would have given him the middle name Paul and that's it. I can't believe your semi-friend went along with it. Some people are surprised that I went along with naming my son William James IV so easily, especially since William is not my favorite male name, but this I would have drawn the line at, once I had stopped laughing.
Terrible
It's not sweet, it's stupid.
It's not sweet, it's stupid.