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Twins are two separate people, despite their common birth. No matter how similar they may be in appearance or interests, their individuality should be respected. Giving twins names which sound the same or begin with the same letter does not respect their unique personhood. It might be "cute" or "trendy," but naming twins similarly just ignores the fact that the two people are different. I think it's more insulting than cute.

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(However, I'm not a twin, so my opinion can't hold as much weight as one belonging to an actual twin)

No, twin names shouldn't be matchey. I hate when people do this. Twins are individuals and their names should reflect that. Im very picky when it comes to sibling names as well. I don't like repeating letters.

I don't mind if the meanings are similar (Faith and Hope) but when the names are one sound from being exactly the same, it's like you didn't even try to come up with two names.

Before I got pregnant with my twins, I never thought I would end up with overly matching names for my kids. My eldest son is Corbin Michael ("Corby") so I knew I was going to have to search a bit to find something to compliment his name. My husband and I took a long time to agree upon two names for both genders once we knew we had twins coming. And we did end up with a theme...

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Colin William & Gavin John

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But you know what? All of their names suit them. I think names that sound really similar (ie Michael & Micah or Jesse & Jessica) are difficult in any family set and should probably be avoided.

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Here's a few other twin sets I know:

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Brett David & Michael Keith (identical, my siblings)
John David & Marie Ellen (fraternal, my adopted siblings)
Sarah & Madeline "Maddie" (fraternal, my students)
Andrew & Zachary "Zach" (identical, one is my student)
Leo & Kate (fraternal, my mom is their nanny)
Thomas "Tom" & Kevin (identical, one is my student)
Evan & Dana (fraternal, one is my student)
Zachary Edward "Zach" & Erin Rose (fraternal, my friends' babies)

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I don't think they should match, but they should not be too different either. Braelyn & Edward are too different. Taylor & Tyler are too similar. Hope & Faith are cheesy.

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I don't mind subtle themes, though. Like Sarah & Rachel. They are not too matchy.

This message was edited 5/2/2009, 4:05 PM

I think obviously matchy themes like you've listed are some of the tackiest things parents can possibly name children. If there's a more subtle theme, cool.

I think they should have different names. It drives me crazy when people treat twins as a set. They are individual people, and deserve individual names. That's just my personal opinion, though.

Complementary but contrasting.

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For example:

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Benjamin and Samuel
Jude and Asa
Margaret and Elizabeth
Charlotte and Alice

This message was edited 5/2/2009, 12:00 PM

Also speaking as a twin...

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People should not give their twins matching names! It is not "cute" in the slightest. My sister and I are identical; our names aren't terribly similar, but I've still been called by her name as much as my own. Giving twins practically indistinguishable names would only add to this confusion.

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Also- twins are not alike in personality, and aren't necessarily best friends like people tend to think. Giving twins theme names sends the message that they're just halves of a set, which is not at all true. Twins have to work even harder than single children to be considered unique and independent, and certainly don't need matching names to set them back further. I'd know that it's extraordinarily frustrating to realize that half the people I run into can't recognize me, regardless of my thinking, acting, and dressing very, very differently from my sister.

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I also don't think siblings should have horribly clashing names, i.e. Taylor and Daphne, but that goes for any sibset, not necessarily twins.

I don't think twins or any other siblings for that matter should have names that rhyme or sound a like. Like I know a set of siblings (not twins) named Kayla and Caleb. There is no way in a million years that I would want to give my kids names that are that close.

My twins are due in August and we are giving them names that match in both style and substance, but do not have a "theme" or are overly cutesy together. The only twinset I've liked was a bit themey was Beatrice and Basil, but I don't know think we could do that. It is quite adorable...

I strongly dislike matchy themey names for twins. To me it's just too much emphasis on "hey, we're twins! we're part of a set!" when each twin has their own personality and they're not the same as the other twin. If I ever have twins I'll give them completely different names. But, of course, they still have to work together, I'm not naming one twin Bob and the other Clytemnestra.

Absolutely not. This is actually a major pet peeve of mine; twins are two different people, and should be given their own identities. I think when people give them rhyming names or matchy ones, they are taking away the individuality of each twin, if only a little. It really makes my eyes roll.

As a twin...

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I despise matching and/or cutesy names. I'm actually a little more lenient with siblings all starting with the same letter than twins because that's less cutesy. Name your twins/triplets etc. just like you'd name kids of separate births. Changing them because they're twins is silly.

I think the same thing about naming twins as about naming any siblings. They shouldn't be too matchey and themey, but they should complement one another. Like Taylor and Daphne aren't the same style at all, so I'd avoid that.

I've always thought they shouldn't be similar. They have to share pretty much everything as a child as it is. I think they would like to have their own 'unique' name.

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My twin boys names don't match. I love it that way.

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Everyone is different though. If someone wants to give their twins matching names, it wouldn't bother me in the least.

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:)

This message was edited 5/2/2009, 5:05 AM

I definitely think they shouldn't be matchy. I feel that they should have their own unique name while adhering to a similar style, so that they aren't mismatched...but I feel this way about any sibset, not just twins.

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Basically, Faith and Hope are far too matchy/cutesy/bleugh!, but at the same time, Taylor and Daphne seem horribly mismatched and random - like each parent chose a name by themselves instead of making it a collaboration. I guess I fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.

I like the idea of a "hidden theme" for twins, such as names that look and sound totally different but have similar meanings (eg: Malka and Regina, or Bianca and Livnat). Otherwise, I think it's totally fine to use totally unrelated names (that's the case of most of the twinsets I've encountered), though it helps if the names aren't totally jarring (such as one that's very classic and another super trendy).

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I can't stand rhymey or similar names, I feel it's depriving them of their individuality, and even matchey names like Faith and Hope or Summer and Winter are silly.

I think they should have different names. Not necessarily as different as possible, like Taylor and Daphne I would find kind of bizarre as the names have completely different feels to them, but definitely individual names. I think twins struggle enough to find their individuality and their niche and to not be "the twins" without the added similarity of having hugely similar names.

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I think subtle themes can be okay. Twins named Violet and Ione is a GP of mine. I don't think I would personally ever name twins that, but it is a cute idea. Most people wouldn't pick up on it so it wouldn't be confusing or anything.

I don't mind themes as long as they don't rhyme.

I don't think it matters either way they are still indiviudal people.

Unique. Twins are no different than any other children you would have, there's no need to get "cute" when naming them.

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Actually, there is no need to get "cute" when naming any on your kids. Twins or not, siblings names should not rhyme, fit into a noticeable theme, or be feminine/masculine forms of the same name.

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And there is my short little rant :)