Baby makes 5

[sing4th.livejournal.com]

We are expecting our 5th childin November, and knew this baby's name before we even had officially learned his gender.  What do you think of the name Spencer Owen P___?
I think it goes well with our family set.

Anthony Milton
Heather Jean (me)

Matthew Milton
Tyler James
Jason Ryan
Amelia Jean
Spencer Owen


We have been really big on naming our children after someone, almost in every case, a family member.  This came naturally to us, as I have my mom and grandma's middle name, Jean.  My husband has the same middle name as his father, grandfather, great-grandfather, which was the first name of his great great-grandfather, Milton.
My oldest got the name Matthew after my dad Robert Matthew who goes by Matthew.
Tyler and Jason are twins.  Tyler is my brother's middle name (Nathan Tyler)
Ryan is the name of my husband's childhood best friend.
Owen is the name of my husband's grandfather whom he never met.  He passed away when my father-in-law was only 12.

Which of you believe in giving family names, or being named after someone?
What are your family name sets?

Comments

[snoglobel.livejournal.com]

I believe in derivatives of family names. But only for people I actually know/knew and are close to.

For example: I'd like to use my grandpa's name, Jack, because he means so much to me. (Unfortunately it is extremely popular now.) I'd also like to use my husbands grandma's name, Pauline. Probably both as middle names. I'd also like to use my husband's grandpa: Donald.

I am named after my grandma with a name that rhymes with Lee and starts with L. She was Lieselotte, but went by Lee. My aunt is also named with an L and rhymes. I like the indirect naming idea. I didn't know my grandma Lee (she died when my mom was 8 months pregnant with me) so I don't feel a strong desire to continue naming after her. Instead I'd look for names that are similar to Donald, Pauline, and Jack. For example: Jacqueline or Jackson, Donna or Daniel, Paul or Polly or Paula.

[snoglobel.livejournal.com]

ha, I didn't reply to your names. Congrats on the 5th, by the way. That's awesome! How old are the other kids?

I generally like your names. I like Matthew Milton and Amelia Jean the best. My best friend is Jason and my husband is Ryan, so Jason Ryan is a great name to me. Spencer Owen is my least favorite, I think. I like Owen much more than Spencer and might switch the order around - but then it doesn't keep the pattern of middle for family that you have now.

What about?
Benjamin Owen
Noah Owen
Henry Owen
nathaniel owen
jacob owen

[sing4th.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your reply. I like Nathaniel and Jacob the best of your suggestions. We have considered Jacob in the past, but decided against it because our last name begins a P. The b and p seem to just blend together, making one longer less distinguishable name. I still like it, though!

[ealexsism.livejournal.com]

x2 on my grandfather's name being Jack, and we want to use it. And on how dissapointed I am that it's so dang popular now. About 2 years ago, I told my Grammy (his wife) that I wanted to name my first son Jack, and she was like "you know, that's a nickname for John, your grandfather is odd for not being John" lol. She said her family gave her a lot of trouble because she was dating a man with a nickname for a first name lol... things have changed :)

[nobodynomore.livejournal.com]

I like giving names after someone. My husband is named after his Grandfather, Anthony. I'd like to give our son, if we have one, the middle name Anthony, but my husband doesn't care too much for his own name (which happens to be one of my favorite boy names!).

I am considering using my grandmother's name, Fay, as a middle name for another daughter. Or, using my mom's maiden name, Findlay :)

[depeche810.livejournal.com]

I like all the names of your children! I think Spencer fits well. Amelia is a name I have considered for a future child.

I do like the idea of naming children after family members (especially ones that have passed away) I am named after my aunt, Mary, and it can get confusing when we're both in the same room. It doesn't happen often though.

I really like the idea of giving my future daughter the middle name Angelina after my grandmother. My hubby doesn't like the name though, so I've thought of using Alina as a compromise.

[breezy-boo.livejournal.com]

If my husband and I have children the first girl will get the middle name Elizabeth. Which was my grandmothers middle name and what she went by and is my moms middle name.
If we have a boy he will be elliott which is my mothers maiden name.
So yes I like naming kids after people, but I wouldn't do it with a person who is still alive and give a child the same first name. Too confusing.

[ninjanette.livejournal.com]

I am fine with naming children after someone else. If I have a son, his middle name will be John, which is a family named passed down for generations in my husbands family (his middle name is John, fathers first is John, many first born cousins have the middle name John, etc etc).

And if I have a daughter, I plan to use the middle name Beth, which is my moms middle name.

I think as long as you like the names you are giving your children, that's what matters. If I really didn't like any of the family names I probably wouldnt use them.

[duckduckcaboose.livejournal.com]

I like using family names as middles, I think first names should be unique to the family to prevent confusion. My boyfriend and I have discussed this, and have decided that when we start our family the first girl's middle name will be Katherine Ann (his mother's name, my mother's name- we couldn't decide which grandmother to honor first so we decided to just go for both) and the first boy's middle name will be David (which is his middle, my dad's middle, and his dad's name- SUPER easy).

[cremepuff.livejournal.com]

My family, and my husband's family, are both into naming after family members, especially when it comes to middle names. Some common names passed down:

Arthur
William
Owen
Frances
Joseph/Josephine
Wayne
Margaret
Katherine/Kathleen
Andrea
James
John
Thomas

My husband and I are considering passing down the names of our grandparents to our future children (as middle names). Our grandparents were:

William George
Margaret Mary

Elgin Wayne
Florence Josephine

Katherine
Anton

William
Theresa

[chillinbabejodi.livejournal.com]

I think its great when children are named after someone.

I like Matthew, Tyler James, Ryan, Amelia and Spencer Owen. For me, Jason doesn't seem to fit so well with the other names..

My family set

Jodie Marie - ME :)
Jonathan - no middle

Elsa Shauna Abigail - Shauna Abigail after my SO's sister who died when I was pregnant
Ashton Thomas Rhys - Ashton was the name of the street where my SO and I first lived; Thomas is the name of my best friend.
Lucy Madeleine - Madeleine was after my favourite childhood film Madeline; Lucy was to honor my SO's other sister Danielle Louise.
Bradley Jonathan - Jonathan after his daddy, and my father and grandfather, as well as a cousin who died as a baby.

[chillinbabejodi.livejournal.com]

and if it makes any difference, Lucy and Bradley are twins too! :)

[duck-deluxe.livejournal.com]

I don't like giving names directly from someone to my kids. It leaves a whole lot of room for whining and moaning by people who's names weren't chosen (and trust me, there's a LOT of people on both sides of our families who would whine!).

Instead, we do indirect things.
My oldest daughter is Norah Madeline. The Madeline comes from being a derivative of the name "Miriam" which is my mother's name.
My youngest daughter is Lucy Emilia - whose initials are the same (L.E.) as my favorite aunt, (Lisa Emily).
Our son will be Harrison Amos - Amos is a name given to him by my mother, who is dying and probably won't know him for long.

As for your names, I like them all, and think Spencer fits perfectly in the set. Congrats on #5!

[chillinbabejodi.livejournal.com]

I think thats a beautiful sentiment - letting your mother choose a name for him :) and Harrison Amos sounds great.

[galaxydazzle.livejournal.com]

Congratulations!

My parents gave me and my 3 younger brothers names that they simply liked, but our middle names are all linked to relatives. My middle name, Gisela, is after my dad's aunt and brother 1 has the middle name Björn - the same middle name as my dad. Brother 2 has the middle name Lars after my mothers biological father that passed away when she was 17. The youngest of my brothers is called Heinrich after our grandfather on my dads side. It's a nice way to link the family together and I do think I will try to pass Gisela on if I can... but again, only as a middle name. I suppose my parents were lucky there's 4 of us so they could go with 2 Swedish middle names and 2 German to make sure it's nice and fair haha!

[pleasure-past.livejournal.com]

I don't really like naming kids after other people, though I understand why some do it.

Fun story, though: My grandmother was born in August. Named June. My mother was born in May. Named June. I was born in June. Named Morgan.

[fleckerbug.livejournal.com]

I used to not be a fan, but I like the idea now and will probably use some family names.

My name is Meredith Catherine. My mother's is Catherine Elizabeth. My maternal great-grandmothers were Catherine and Elizabeth. We will likely use one or the other or both. I love the idea of Catherine as a first name with the nn Kitty and Elizabeth Catherine with the nn Eliza Cate.

My brother's name was Jeremy and my great-great-grandfather was Jeremiah. We're likely going to use Jeremiah for a boy.

My uncle's name was Patrick. I want to use it for a boy, possible paired with Jeremiah.

My husband is a III. If we have a IV, the baby's name will be Albert Edward and go by Edward (husband does by Ted; FIL goes by Albert).

My husband's mother's name is Susan and his great-grandmother's name was Ava. I like the name Suannah and also Ava, possibly paired together, possibly not.

Our family:

Meredith Catherine
Albert Edward "Ted"
Brenna Rose Sherman-- her first name was Brenna Rose; Sherman was her middle name. We unintentionally used his great-grandmother's name (Rose) and it totally slipped my mind that I have an Aunt Brenda and a Cousin Brennon. Sherman was after my cat.