Naming little girls after their mothers.

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

I'm watching Intervention, and it sparked a question in my mind.

Often, we see little boys named after their fathers, and it is never questioned. What are your feelings on naming little girls after their mothers?

For instance, in this family on the show, the woman who is being interventioned-on, her name is Marie. Her mother's name is also Marie. She named one of her daughter's Clorinda. That daughter named her little girl Clorinda.

For some reason, it scrambles my brain a bit to see girls named after their mothers, and I don't know why! And yet, my middle child is named (first name) after his Father (different middle names, my exhusband is Christopher Paul, my child is Christopher Thomas Paul), and that doesn't seem odd to me at all.

ETA: To clear up any mix up, I meant solely referring to first names, not middle names! :)

Comments

[theljfromheck.livejournal.com]

My brother and nephew have the same name as my dad, so that kind of is "normal" to me. I can't say I care that other people do it but I wouldn't, I think it would be weird to call my kid by my own name and I don't like my name much anyway. :)

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

We call my exhusband "Chris" and my son "Topher" or "Tate" so here, they're different names. But I couldn't imagine calling my daughter Elizabeth or Liz or anything. Ha.

[shweetnettie13.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's as common since historically, it was the men that carried on the family's name. And while I don't see it as often, I think the tradition of naming a daughter after the mother is sweet, too.

I work with a girl who is the 5th girl on her mom's side to be named Katherine. Her, her mom, her grandma, great-grandma, and great-great grandma have all been named Katherine. And, chances are if she has a daughter, my co-worker will name her Katherine as well.

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

With a name like Katherine, it seems more idk, feasible, because there are SO many available nicknames. Katy, Kathy, Katherine, etc. :-p

[lisasimpsonfan.livejournal.com]

I think it's cool. But I'm bias. My daughter is the 4 generation to share a common name. She and I share a middle name. My middle name is a diminutive of my mother's first name. My mother was named after a family friend who my grandmother lived with overseas. I hope if my daughter chooses to have a child, she uses our middle name and keeps the tradition going.

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

You know, I've heard that before, doing the middle name with female children. I didn't even think of that. XD

My middle name isn't going anywhere NEAR my kids. I like them too much.

[crazybouncycrls.livejournal.com]

my daughters middle name is the same as mine, which was given to my by my mother after her sister's middle name, which is my great grandmothers middle name as well.

[b-gum.livejournal.com]

i'm not a good one to respond to this, because i'm not for naming kids the same name of parents anyway... be it after mom or after dad. just nsm, i guess. i know several kids who have the same first name as dad and then a different middle name, but they call the kid by the middle name... i often wonder why they didn't just name the kid the middle name?

but anyways, to answer the question, it doesn't phase me to hear a little girl named the same thing as her mom any more than it does to hear a little boy named the same thing as their dad :)

[sans-patrie.livejournal.com]

My Mom gave my littlest sister her name (Viktoria). In their case she had always gone by Vicki and my little sister has always gone by Tori. Actually, though, my little sister was named after both my parents (Viktoria Scott LastName) because my Dad knew she was the last kid and he wasn't going to have a son at that point.

I don't typically like the practice of naming kids after someone in the immediate or extended family, I think it's nice for people to have their own names. But I was named after both my grandmothers, and I actually like my name so much it came under consideration. Decided against it, but it was a possibility...

[buttonmoulder.livejournal.com]

No issues with it as long as it's a decent name! My daughter's middle name is the same as my grandmother's middle name, which is the same my great grandmother's middle name. But it didn't hurt that I happened to really like the name anyways (McGregor).

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I said in another thread, I totally understand middle names. But first names seem to mess with my brain a bit haha. Even despite the fact that one of my children is named after his father. :-p

[fellclutch.livejournal.com]

The only reason that it seems weird is that we've been "trained" to think it's weird. I have a cousin who has 6 kids, the first born son is named after him and the first born daughter is named after my cousin's wife. The subsequent kids have those names for their middles. I think that's excessive.

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

Excessive would me my uncle's first wife, my aunt Maria. Her, and her 5 sisters are all named Maria, after their mother. My aunt is the only one who goes by her first name, the rest go by their middle names. But apparently, that is more part of that culture (she's from Cuba).

[fellclutch.livejournal.com]

That's fascinating. I wonder why their culture does that.

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

I honestly have no idea. I do believe my aunt's aunts on her mother's side are also all Maria, and I know for a fact her mother and grandmother are.

Keep in mind, my aunt is in her 60s now. IDK how prevalent it is today.

[meeksnmeebs.livejournal.com]

That kinda reminds me of my great-grandma and grandma. My great-grandma was Mary Francis, and went by Mary. My grandma is Mary Elizabeth but goes by Libby.

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

ha! I have an aunt named Mary Elizabeth. She legally changed her name to Tia, though.

[stormqueen280.livejournal.com]

That's very common in all Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries. But there's a big difference: in Maria Something, the something is not a middle name. Maria Something is a double name. So, it's like the names are all different, you know. It's not naming all your kids the same.

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

Oooh, ok. Yeah, she's Maria Carmen, and the only one who goes by Maria. The other's all go by the second name. :)

[hoboheart.livejournal.com]

Yup. My Grandmother is Elena, my mother is Maria-Elena and her sister Ana Maria and I'm Malena.

[stormqueen280.livejournal.com]

I absolutely love Malena.

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

All of my aunts on my dad's side have the first name Marie. None of them go by Marie. My dad and his brother both have the first name Joseph, and neither of them go by Joseph, same with their father, and my mother's father. It's a Catholic thing (in some cultures).

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

That makes sense as well. Along with being Cuban, her family is also Catholic! :D

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

My best friend, her mother, and her daughter all share the same middle name, but that's all I've ever heard of in terms of women

I'm not a fan of giving the same first name to a parent and child. But all the middle names in my family are honouring another family member, so I definitely plan on doing that.

[feelslike-2day.livejournal.com]

it is strange that we don't see it and find it odd. However my mother named me after her mother (as she was named after her grandmother) and wanted to name me after herself (as my brother had my fathers name as a middle name) but it didn't flow so she chose to use part of it and hypenate my middle name.

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

I wish I had a hyphenated middle name. Meckenzie-Genette would be so much better than Meckenziegennette. :-p

[feelslike-2day.livejournal.com]

haha! Well it's two full names but not that long! My name is Jennifer and my mother's name is Joanne. She didn't think they flowed too well. So she kept the -anne and stuck in Rose.... the hyphen is more of a pain than anything else. Especially when you fill out those forms with the little boxes...

[hellacious.livejournal.com]

I really wanted to name my daughter, Helena, after myself but my husband wasn't a fan so we are using it as her middle. Her name will be Violet Helena. I was named after my great grandmother so I'm hoping Violet will pass on Helena too in some way.

[satunian.livejournal.com]

Well, my personal opinion on naming people after someone else is - I'm not for it. I like everyone to have their own name. I understand wanting to honor someone, but it's just not for me. I'd never name my son after his father because his father's name is his father's name, and he gets his own.
As for other people doing it though, it doesn't feel any different to me for a daughter to be named after her mom than a son named after his father. Or a son named after his mom or a daughter named after her father, ie, Daniel/Danielle, etc...
And I have no problem with other people doing it, it's just not for me.

[stormqueen280.livejournal.com]

I'm not for naming kids after any of the parents (at least for first names). I'd do it if it was really important to my SO and there were nicknames involved, so that father and son wouldn't be called the same (Chris and Topher, for example). But honestly? Naming a kid exactly like the parent shows an extreme lack of imagination IMO. It is one thing to want to honor the kid's grandparents, a favored aunt or uncle, or even a best friend. But naming your child after yourself is... I don't now, a bit too pretentious and pompous for my tastes.

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

It is one thing to want to honor the kid's grandparents, a favored aunt or uncle, or even a best friend

This is actually why my Topher is Christopher Thomas Paul. My brother's name was Thomas, and he died when he was 2, so I wanted his name to kinda live on a bit. :) Funnily enough, Topher actually looks a lot like TommyTom!

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

I don't find it odd. It was much more common historically than it is now.

[so-there.livejournal.com]

have you ever read "cheaper by the dozen"? the mother refused to name any of her daughters after herself until, like #4. the the dad talked her into it. their first son was named after the dad, though.

I know a family with a similar but opposite story (and they only have 9 kids). the mom wanted to name a baby after herself but by the time the dad agreed to it, they had a long string of boys... then right before they had their final girl, their oldest son and his girlfriend had a girl and originally were gonna name the baby after the girlfriend's mom, but last minute changed their minds and named it after his mom instead. she was livid that they "stole" the name and he was all like "but mom! I thought you'd be honored!"

sorry, all I have is anecdotes, no opinions.

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

I'd be DAMNED if a man told me what I was or wasn't going to name a kid I carried/pushed out of my vag/breastfed for a couple years. His opinions matters, but he so doesn't get final say haha.

[snoglobel.livejournal.com]

I know a family where the three generations are basically the same name:

Julie (pronounced Yulie)
Yulie
Yulissa (which I think just means little Yuli - she also goes by Yulie)

I think it's a little weird, you don't usually see Julie Jr. for example, but not any more weird than "Mr. Thompson and Daughter's Restaurant" or other business. (compared to "and sons")

I personally would only use the same initial or middle name for either male or female children, but that's just my preference. I have too strong an association with specific names and people to ever use the exact same name.

[calamitysxchild.livejournal.com]

I would LOVE to name a daughter after me. However, my name is Jocelyn, and I can't think of another nickname besides Josie (my nickname) that I like very much to call her by...

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

Lynn? :-p

[calamitysxchild.livejournal.com]

don't like it very much haha...plus my best friend's stepmom is named Lynn and I'd associate more with her than myself and that would be weird lol

[kitchen-poet.livejournal.com]

I have my mother's first name as my middle name, and I've always loved the connection.


In Jewish culture, though, all babies are named after family members, so I suppose it seems a pretty common thing to me. I wouldn't ever want to give a child a name that wasn't a family name, or a name somehow linked to our family. It would feel so impersonal and anonymous to me.

[pegasus2o5.livejournal.com]

I think somehow mother-daughter naming comes off as This Is My Little Clone while father-son naming usually comes off more as Carrying On The Family Tradition. I guess because there just is more of a longstanding tradition of father-son. I'm not a huge fan of straight junior-naming, I feel like each person deserves a separate name, but it does seem weirder mother-daughter. You could probably write a paper on the psychology behind it.

[brittmarie.livejournal.com]

I think it has a lot to do with that men don't change their last names & most women who marry do. So I think like you said, it's a lot about family tradition. (:

[brittmarie.livejournal.com]

My cousin is Rachel Rojas Forstall & her daughter is Reese Rachel Forstall. Both RRF. Also, Rachel's mother is Jenelle & her sister is Jennifer Jenelle. Personally, I'm not fond of it. I like giving kids their own name, I don't like Jr & Sr or anything.

[nandy-pandy.livejournal.com]

I think it's just as weird/normal as naming a son after their father. I intend to pass on my first name to my first daughter, if I ever have a daughter in the future.

[duckduckcaboose.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned this but:
In general, I think girls' names go in and out of style more quickly than boys' names do. My name is Melissa and I think it would sound weird on a baby born in the next 10 years.

My friend Sarah Lynn named her daughter Sarah Reese (her husband is David Reese), but they call her Reese. If Reese had been a boy, she probably would have been David Reese Jr., still going by Reese.

My middle name is my paternal grandmother's first name (Elena), and my sister Emily's middle name is my mom's first name (Ann).

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

For some girls names, I completely agree! There are some names though (Elizabeth, Maria, Marie, Ann, Cassandra, Michelle, etc) that seem to stick around, and I don't often hear mother's passing them on as first names either way. Middle names, as evidenced here, are often passed to daughters from the Mother's first or middle name. But when you see "Christopher Junior", there usually isn't an "Elizabeth Jr" as a sister (example: my middle child is named after his father, his younger sister has no part of my name at all).

[longlostblue.livejournal.com]

My niece is named after her mother, but they call her by her middle name.

[bambiblake007.livejournal.com]

my great great grandmother's were named Amanda (on my great grandmother's side) and Katherine (on my great grandfather's side), my great grandparents named my mamaw Amanda Katherine, after them. and my parents carried her name down to me, my name is Amanda Katherine, as well, spelled exactly the same as the hers, except my mamaw went by Mandy and i go by Katherine mostly irl. and since Katherine and Katelyn both mean "pure" (greek, gaelic) i plan to continue the tradition, but not the name, and call my 1st daughter Katelyn nn Kit (which is commonly a nn for Katherine)