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I absolutely love it. I love naming after people. It is probably on of the best traditions out there. I'm half Italian and my paternal grandparent's cousins and siblings are named after people.

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Audrey, Martha, Sibyl, Phoebe, Veronica, Jacqueline, Lorraine, Dahlia, Apolonia, Tracy, Cecilia, Nancy, Eulalia

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Anthony, Sergio, Alexander, Dominick, Vincent, Matthew, Christopher, Russell, Randall, Nicholas, Bogdan

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Rate my PNL: http://www.behindthename.com/pnl/166097/112886

I do not like using "juniors" and such at all because I feel like everyone should be given their own identity. However, I kind of like when someone uses a middle name or nickname to honor someone. It's sweet.

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I think everyone chooses their own life course and things like nature and environment determine one's personality and flaws so a name in itself isn't going to change anything for better or worse. However, I think the power you give to name can alter how the child feels about it. For example, if the general populous thinks the name Clarisse is "old and stuffy," but you have a great-aunt Clarisse who did wonderful things, you may be able to positively charge your child's thinking toward the name by telling them great things about your great-aunt.

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However, extreme social stigma related to a name is a different story (e.g. If your grandfather was named Adolf, you still wouldn't name your child that not because of anything to do with grandpa who may have been an absolutely wonderful man, but because of how others would perceive it.) I think there are some perceptions that could greatly influence the person your child turns out to be, but it's not because of the name itself. If the stigma/perceptions were removed, the name alone would be fine.

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I guess I'm trying to say that I don't think the letters and sound of a name hold any power over a person. They only have the power you give them.

This message was edited 4/27/2017, 10:48 PM

I have used a honoring name. My grandmothers name is HIlda, my daughters 2nd middle name is Hilda.

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I would not use a honoring name as a first name at all.

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Our next child will have the second middle name of Stewart after my grandfathers family, my brother and father (they have it as middle names, my brother has two). If we have a daughter there is a good chance she might be Edwina "Eddie" which is sorta an accidental honor since my grandfather is Edward and my husbands grandfather was Edmund (but went by another name)

Yes, I would and I have. My son is named after his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, and my daughter is named after my mother and my grandmother.

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I would never believe that the names mean that my daughter and son are destined to have any character flaws that our relatives did.

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I've seen it said that there are better ways of honoring someone than to use his or her name, but I disagree. I can't think of a better way. Maybe plant a tree in their honor? Well, unless you have the pull to have a plaque put in front of the tree, nobody is going to know that the tree is honor of the person. Maybe live like the other person does? Whatever character traits you are displaying, nobody is going to know what inspired them, unless you want to go around saying to everyone you meet, "Do you know why I'm so generous? It's because my mother was." Nobody would do that, and it sounds like insufferable bragging anyway. Maybe you could get a skyscraper or bridge named after the person? Yeah, right.

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But a name is personal and a name is permanent, and a name is instantly recognizable as a way of honoring. So when my daughter says, "My middle name is Zoe. It's after my grandmother and great-grandmother" or my son says, "I'm William James IV", that's all they need to say to convey to whomever they are talking to that there is a special love and recognition there. There is no better way.

This message was edited 4/27/2017, 12:46 PM

I think it's a nice idea to use and honoring name as a middle name. Either that or a variant of the name of the person you are honoring as a first name. I wouldn't use the exact same name as a first name because that might be confusing, especially if the surname is the same as well.

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I received a middle name that is a variant of my mom's first name, my grandma's first name and the actual name of my great grandma. They are all variants of Elizabeth. It is just my middle name but it is nice to have something from my family and I am not very similar to my mom and other relatives so I don't think it shapes the character or anything.

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Your grandma is named Rosa, right? So in your case I wouldn't use Rosa as a first name but I would use it as a middle name. Camille Rosa is so beautiful! Noemi Rosa is also cute. Serena Rosa works well too or Ginevra Rosa. Or you could use a variant as a first or middle name, for example Camille Rose, Luna Rose, Susanna Rosalie, Stella Rosemary, Cassandra Rosalind or Rosalia Noemi, Rosabel Serena etc etc Rosa is a nice name, there are many options!

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I think the most important thing is that the person was nice and good overall and that you loved her/him. Everyone has flaws and problems. As long as the person is good overall and you can tell your child why you wanted to name her after that person everything is fine :)

I gave my son my father's FN as his MN. My father's death was tragic but I'm not worried that the name is haunted by my father's death. It has almost nothing to do with who he was. By passing on his name, I honor my son by associating him with my father's good qualities that I loved, and I honor my memory of my father and deny that his death defined him (and also I honor my grandmother and grandfather, who chose my father's name because they liked it).

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When we say my son's full name I am reminded of what I loved about my father and how I hope my son will inherit those things. And because I'm into names, I also think of my grandparents and their lives - since the name they liked is unfashionable now, lol.

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Of course I do not worry about my son having the same "destiny" or flaws as my father because of the name... that would be a bit evil of me, IMHO. Everyone has misfortunes and weaknesses, but why would we remember our loved ones negatively for those things after they are gone? It might be better to forget they ever existed, than to do that. And if you're going to be superstitious and believe in magic, use it for good! To hell with fear.

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At the time my son was born I wanted very much to honor my father. It is painful that he and his grandkids will never know each other, and the connection of the name feels positive. But I would be just as happy, now, if I'd given my son a name that was "new" to me. I appreciate that others would prefer to do that and I think it's also a good way to name children.

This message was edited 4/27/2017, 11:06 AM

My children all got three names.
Son:
1st name honours a friend
2nd name is the fn form of my birth ln
3rd name honours two friends
Daughter 1:
1st name just seemed right for her; a good friend has that name with a spelling change, but that's coincidence
2nd name is my mother's fn
3rd name is a form of my MIL's mn
Daughter 2:
1st name is my mothers fn and her late sister's 2nd name
2nd name is my step-MIL's mn, used for its beauty more than its other owner(s)
3rd name is my mn, which was also my paternal grandmother's mn

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So, 8 out of 9 are honouring!

I think all it does is honnor, it doesn't indicate anything about the new child.

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My name doesn't honor anyone and that always bothered me growing up. I think having an honoring name adds more meaning to your name. It doesn't have to honor a person, but anything significant to the parents so that it's more than just "we liked the sound."

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My older 2 kids have honoring middle names. We tried to do the same with our 3rd, but the right name for him just wasn't one. Well, it is the same as a relative, but that's a coincidence.

The traditional use of middle names here is to use names that are honoring, almost always a parent's or grandparent's name. Pretty much no one I know has middle names that the parents gave them "just because they liked them".
I love the idea of having a connection to your past through your name/s. My middle names are from my mother and great-grandmother. My sister's middle names are from our two grandmothers. So all honoring. And now that my sister is expecting a girl one of her middle names will be Caroline after me.
I'm not superstitious when it comes to honoring names. I'm my own person. A name won't turn me into someone else or change my personality. I don't like the idea of using honoring names as first names but that's just me.

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To answer your question: Yes, I would most definitely use honoring names (as middle names).

I think people tend to choose honoring names for family members or friends that they like. It would be strange to choose the name of an Aunt that you hate or something.

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That said, I am not superstitious about this. I think honoring is the best naming tradition out there. I really do.

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I personally cannot understand giving your child a middle name at all if it doesn't mean something.

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That said, I DO love to choose new names so I think that middle names are the best place for honoring names.

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The exception to this would be legacy names. Such as 5 generations of elder daughters named Katherine, etc.

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RE: superstition. I DO believe that the meaning of a name ebbs into the child's personality.

This message was edited 4/27/2017, 7:31 AM

I think it's nice to make the connection, as long as you genuinely like the name. I wouldn't use a name I hated no much I loved the person! I'd also be hesitant to use a name from someone who had a terrible life, or did something really bad.

I wouldn't use an honour name I don't like and I don't like many family names. I tend to think outside of the box with honouring so I actually like the name. I have a combined meaning running through my favourite girls' combo, because my dad did the same with my name, to honour him. Albert sort of combines my dad and grandads' names. Georgiana combines my grandma's first and mum's middle. Amy has the same meaning as my mum's name.

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I see the sentiment behind honouring, but at the same time I feel like it's difficult to keep a balance. I know I'd feel bad not honouring from both my mum and dad's sides of the family, and that's without an SO to think about. I think it's sometimes not worth it since my family aren't big on honouring anyway (as far as I know), and wouldn't necessarily expect it. I don't hold it in as high esteem as others seem to. But I've also been very, very lucky not to have experienced a death in my immediate family, which I know is also a reason people use honour names.

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From my experience, I share a name with my dad and grandad, and I like that, but if I didn't have it, I wouldn't feel like I'd missed out or anything.

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I've never really thought about passing on bad traits through names. I guess if you are honouring someone, it's likely to be someone you love and admire, and who is overall a great person, so the bad stuff wouldn't matter.

For me, the only name that I would 100% use - that could be considered honouring - is Mary. I will not budge on this. Mary was my paternal grandmother's middle name (who has sadly past ten years since), it is my mother's middle name and my own. Therefore I see using Mary as the middle name for a future daughter more of a tradition than honouring - it would be my hope that if she chose to have children of her own and had a daughter that she would pass on Mary, and so on and so forth.

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I have many family members who I love, none more so than my gorgeous, younger sister Ellie. I would consider using Eleanore as a middle name to honour my sister.

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I have an Uncle Herbert who has been a massive influence in my life and the male role model I needed during my teen year when my biological father wasn't around. Although mostly everybody I meet dislikes or hates Herbert (as a name) I think it has some geeky, vintage charm - a bit like Eugene - and I wouldn't hesitate to use it as a middle name.

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My father has recently come back into my life and I would consider honouring him though I hate his first name, Keith, and I'm not wild about his middle name, Andrew. I would consider Drew as a middle name for a daughter or son but I don't know if this is too much of a stretch. Realistically, I think I would sit down with my partner and my dad and talk about our want to honour him, I would use Keith if that's what he really wanted, but I would also give him the choice to choose my baby's middle name as a different way of 'honouring'.

I am not superstitious at all. However, because I don't want a child to feel they have to live up to the person they are named after I would only ever put it in the middle name slot and give them a name of their own. This is also for ease of use when you have the whole family at a get together.

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I love using an honoring name because I feel it has far more importance than just "I thought it was pretty" which is how a lot of people choose names. I don't want to choose my kids based on "it looks nice" because our interests and style change as we age. I know I wouldn't name my kids the same today as I would have when I was 13.

Both my children have honoring names as their first and middle names.

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My daughters first name is after my great grandmother and her middle name is after both me and my husband's grandmother.

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My son's first name is after my dad, his middle name after my father in law.

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The names we picked are important to us. It really meant something special for us to be able to give our children these names. The people we named them after were important people to us. But we also loved the names themselves, not just the sentimental value they held.