How do you feel about naming children after family?

A friend of mine is going to have a little girl soon and they are going to name her Lola Pearl. Lola after her sister, and Pearl because that's my friend's middle name and has been the middle name of every 1st born daughter in her family for the last 7 generations. The funny thing is, she doesn't even like these two names, but she loves her little sister (who's alive by the way, it's not like she's memorilizing her). And she's always hated her middle name being Pearl. Even now. But she says it's "tradition."





So how do you feel about that? Would you name your child something you don't even like just for the sake of a family tradition? What if it was your spouse's family's tradition and not yours? Would you let him/her name your child something you hated?

How do you feel about naming children after family?
My son's middle name is Arthur. Its a family name from my husbands side. His father and grandfather are both named arthur and it is my husbands middle name. Although i'm not crazy about the name arthur I felt okay about it being his middle name...i NEVER would've agreed to do it as a first name though :)





If I was your friend I would consider doing two middle names (Pearl and Lola) and pick a first name I love. Or just make her sister the godmother of the baby and leave it at that. A name is forever!
Reply:I love the name Lola....I was just thinking about naming my kid that, when I have one. Lola Marie, so beautiful.





But maybe not Pearl. It's not a nice name, even if it's after someone.
Reply:i say whoevers child it is should be the one that names the child, although this will surely cause her family some problems, if she could live with it she should name the child what she wants, you know a friend of mine her family has a tradition that she started when she named her children and her brother and sisters followed suit, they all have named their children starting with the letter S her brothers wife was on her 3 child and decided to go outside tradition , you cant do anything the parents name their child not the whole family, tell friend good luck and i wish her well
Reply:Lord no I wouldn't. My children will have names that are unique to them and picked by me and my hubby.
Reply:the issue for me isn't alive versus not alive. my husband and i made a compromise and decided that if we had a boy, the middle name would be after my brother, and if it was a girl, the middle name would be after his sister. it was easy for us, though, because we each only had one sibling and we liked their names.


i named my middle child after my aunt. she's still alive and was absolutely thrilled. i think it's kind of cool to do it when someone IS still alive so they can be around to appreciate it.


my youngest has my husband's family's middle name. i wasn't thrilled with it, but i understood that it was important to him and that's what mattered.
Reply:I think following a "tradition" for a middle name is fine (we've done this in my family a bit), but first name is not fine and not really acceptable, especially generation after generation of juniors, III, IV, etc. I hate it. And no, if her sister is alive, no, they should not name the baby after her! If anything, drop the name Pearl and make Lola the middle name, and a more original first name just for the baby.
Reply:Deceased...ok


Still alive: Not ok.
Reply:Well if it was a tradition then I would only if it was middle name. As for the first name, if I liked it I would. If my little sisters name was that and I didn't like it. I would try like Lily. Something close to Lola.
Reply:I think it's fine if you like the name!God Bless!
Reply:None of my children will ever have the same name as anyone on either side of the family - first OR middle. Even if it was my husband's family tradition, I wouldn't do it.





I asked my now husband when we were only dating for a couple of months if he expected a son to be named after him, and luckily he gave the right answer - no. He mentioned he would like a son to have his first name as a middle name, and I've kinda put the kabosh on that one....
Reply:I feel it is a great way to honor my relatives. Each of my kids is named after a family member.





My grandmother is Jewish, and she told me that if you name your child after a living relative, you are wishing death on that person, so the baby can replace it. I think that's crazy, but people believe it.
Reply:I hate the idea of naming children after people in your family, unless you just really love the name or that person really means a lot to you. I guess what I hate the most is "juniors". Naming your baby is one of the most fun parts of having a baby, and having that taken away from you because of a tradition is ridiculous. I think that parents should give their children an original name, one that is all their own.
Reply:I think if Pearl has been used that often it is an honor to continue to use it. If it's Lola after her sister - and her sister's name is actually Lola (not something close to Lola) and her sister is still alive that's kind of odd. Usually you wouldn't want a child and their aunt to have the same name.
Reply:it should not be weahter u let ur spouse do it or not, they need t decide togerther. it can be nice to have a family tradition but u shouldnt stick ur kid with a name that they and u r gonna hate because it will be there for the rest of their lives.
Reply:Middle names are often tradition driven.. In your friends case, I wouldn't name the baby Lola if it's a name she doesn't really like. While it's a lovely way to show her sister how much she loves her, your friend, her sister and her daughter will forever have to clarify which Lola they are talking about.
Reply:I think is is far better to name children after family members than the people looking for odd stange wacko names that sound different.
Reply:My husbands family has a tradition of naming the boys in their family either Adam, Christopher, James, or Eric...particularly in some combination.


However, he and I decided not to follow that tradition with our twins, but rather to give them names that were all their own.


My family has a habit of naming the last-born child after my mother's father in some way (which is difficult because his name was Eugene, and there's only so many variations of that for girls).


Again, we chose not to follow that tradition either.





Personally, to me it's a question of what is more important to you...having a name for your child that you like and they won't hate (hopefully) or following a family tradition.


Each family should make their own traditions, but that doesn't mean those that are made should be set in stone.
Reply:I am having my first child, a boy. My bf's father and my bf share the same name my bf is the 2nd and now our baby is going to be the 3rd. At first i was not to thrilled about it i mean my bf dosent have some personal attachment to his name he is not inlove with it but he is so into naming our son after him, so after 9 long months i am finally getting used to it and im happy that we are going to do it i just wish that it was something more special to my bf and i wish i could see that he really wants it so then i would really want it more.
Reply:If it was someone really close to you then maybe. especially if they were old or deceased. However if i didnt like the name there would be no way. I would hate not liking my own childs name, im sure it would grow on her though once she see's her cute little baby.





I know from experience that it sux to be one of many names in your family in my family there is





my Great great grandma Augustine Josephina


Great Grandma Josephine Harriet


Grandma JoAnn


mom Rhonda JO


me Samantha Jo


Plus my grandpa's name is Daniel Joseph


I hate it. I hate being lost in a see of "jo" type namse


oh and my moms twin brothers name is randy jo and his son's name is shane joseph.
Reply:Family traditions are great, but only if you like them! No child should be given a name her parents do not like! I would just try to make a compromise... maybe use the middle name, but change the first.. or give the child two middle names!
Reply:only one of my children like i mean your family would kind of get mad at you if you didn't follow the tradition.


but yes i do think it is stupid but whatever that's just how families are and u know u can't change that family's tradition so just leave it alone and plus if it is the middle name your not gonna hear it all the time because it's not like everytime she introduces herself she gonna say her hole name.
Reply:No. The only way I would give the child a family name that I hated is if a great big cash present was going to be given by the family upon the arrival of another little Mini Pearl.


I am all for giving kids their own identity. In the Jewish religion, it is bad luck to name a new baby after a living relative. It is almost like hastening the death of the living relative. The Chinese do not name children after living or dead relatives and they are very family oriented people, too.


If your friend always hated the name Pearl, then she knows how her kid will feel. She could just tell everyone that the kid is named Pearl and go ahead and put whatever she and the father please on the official birth certificate. No offense, but Lola sounds like a stripper's name.
Reply:yes i would if you really love someone than you would do anything for them
Reply:I think following traditions is fine...my sister named her son Joseph john iv.....all the first males for 4 generations now have that name her husband is the 3rd and so on...she didnt care for the names, but her husband really wanted it so they did it.....my sons middle name is my husbands middle name and it wasnt my favorite, but it had meaning to it....anyway the point is that i like following traditions and the babies name will suit her when they start calling her that.....

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