Name etiquette

[bky]

OH and I aren't really discussing names until we know the sex (which is still a bit away), but I was wondering what kind of name use etiquette you follow?
As in, what names are ok with you to use and which ones make you a bit uncomfortable?
A friend's or friend's partners name?
A current co-worker?
A past co-worker?
An old pet? (Presuming it isn't Fido or Whiskers )
A relative- like a cousin or aunt/uncle by marriage? Or even more distant?
A relative like a grandparent or parent? Does living or dead matter to you?
Friend's kids names?
Ex- bf/gf/partners?

Of course it depends on if you like the name, but imagine a name you like and if it was in each of those situations.

Personally I feel a little funny about old co-worker names, but with no good reason. Current co-worker names seem right out to me, but old pet seems ok.
Some of my more long distance friend's kids and friend's names seem acceptable, but ones I saw all the time wouldn't be. Distant relatives seem ok, but closer ones...I just don't like the idea. If we came up with a name and OH said, oh, that was my ex-gf's name I don't actually think I'd be bothered unless he was. Same with any ex-bf names on my end.

Has anyone been in a situation where they liked a name but felt uncomfortable using it because of it's connection?

There's no rhyme reason or logic to the feelings I think, but I am curious what other people think.

 

[mrsadair]

personally the only one i'd be okay with, is a relative, whether close or distant i couldn't imagine ever naming my little one after an ex of either me or my DH no matter how much i liked that name.

 

[MUMOF5]

I dont think it matters too mmuch about any of them apart from the 'Ex' bit. No way would I name a child after an ex of mine or my DH's .

My daughters name is Sofia and I have a cousin called Sophie (she was 12 at the time), I called my aunt to ask her if she minded as the name was so similar and she was fine with it , but I thought it only right to ask.

I wouldnt ordinarily consider an old pets name, but when I was a little girl we had a beautiful dog called Beau, which is a name I love , but DH doesnt like it, otherwise I would deffo consider using it. xx

 

[skippy]

No way I could name me child after OH's ex. I swear to god if I had to repeat that bitch's name everyday I would kill the child.


But then again I'm the jealous type...

 

[mrsadair]

No way I could name me child after OH's ex. I swear to god if I had to repeat that bitch's name everyday I would kill the child.


But then again I'm the jealous type...

lol that's so wrong but it's funny

 

[RubyRainbows]

I think everyone def has their own comfort level with all of those categories. I know it's very common to give a child the name of a relative.... but i personally would never do that. I like the idea of my baby's (first & middle) name to be completely individual & unique to them.

As for past pets, i considered using the name Rocco which used to be my dog (my friend still currently has him).... i love the name.... but it just seemed weird since everyone knew that was my dog's name. My brother briefly considered the name Alayna, which was one of my parent's dogs names, and we were super-excited bc we all loved the name (and the dog) so much.... but his OH said no way!

If a distant relative or co-worker coincidentally has the same name i love... i would def still use it!

But if a close friend's child had the name.... i would say definately not!

 

[Floralaura]

I

 

[Seity]

For us we didn't want a living relative or any names used by close friends. Dead relative would be acceptable if there was a reason, IE close to them before they died, or we both really liked the name. We didn't want any name that hadn't existed for at least a couple hundred years either.
Everyone feels differently on these things, but luckily both me and my husband were 100% on the same page about these things and ended up finding we had nearly the same taste in names as well.

 

[JennTheMomma]

I don't like naming a baby after anyone, no matter who it is. I like to pick out a name that is unique to us. Our first son's name is Hunter, which at the time was a uncommon name (now it seems to be very common).

 

[bky]

One of the names I'm considering is my aunt and uncles dog's name.
I'm sure that could lead to some teasing.

I don't know why the ex names doesn't bother me. I guess as we've been together so long it would be like getting upset about a girlfriend he had when he was 8. It's all ancient history. I can appreciate that isn't a normal attitude though!

Some of the names I'm kind of thinking about happen to be names of old co-workers. It isn't like I'm naming them after an old co-worker (that would be strange), but I feel a bit odd considering the name all the same.

 

[NickyT75]

im not really bothered about any of these apart from the ex's & I probably wouldnt use the same name as any of our friends children

although saying that... id prob try to think of a name that wasnt as common so not likely to come across it in our immediate circle of friends but if I really loved a name it wouldnt stop me from using it xx

 

[girl friday]

Naming after relatives isn't an issue for us, or using similar names to distant friends. I would steer clear of names of close relatives, pets, ex bfs/gfs and co workers.

I guess that it is up to you though and if you find a name you really like you shouldn't have to say "we can't have that name bcause".

Having said that DH likes Miles (nephew's middle name) and Ben (my brother & SIL's dog's name)!

We were going to have DH's brother's name as a middle name for our little one (the brother died when DH was little), but as my due date is the anniversary of the brother's death it has put me off it iykwim.

 

[mrsraggle]

A friend's or friend's partners name? I'm comfortable with this and think our friend's would be honoured!
A current co-worker? Perhaps not, depends how much I loved the name.
A past co-worker? OK with this too.
An old pet? (Presuming it isn't Fido or Whiskers ) I struggle with this one because I have seen people call their children Molly (our cat) or Max (Mum's dog) and both are fab names but I can't get away from them being pet names! (No offense intended at all here - as I said, both fab names)
A relative- like a cousin or aunt/uncle by marriage? Or even more distant? This is fine for me.
A relative like a grandparent or parent? Does living or dead matter to you? This is fine for me.
Friend's kids names? I wouldn't do this unless I was in love with the name and had discussed it with my friend
Ex- bf/gf/partners? Not really an issue for us as we got together very young so gfs/bfs were fleeting.