View Message

[Opinions] Twins named Jack and John?
Hope this hasn't been discussed before...I was watching "Conception to Birth" on TLC and parents named their twin boys Jack and John.
Now, my opinion is that Jack is so far a name from John, that it isn't really a nickname anymore. HOWEVER, most people realize that at one time, it was fairly common for Jacks to be named John. So why on earth name your twins the EXACT same name? It would be like naming one kid Elizabeth and the other Libby. Margaret and Maggie. Margaret and Daisy. Joseph and Joe. Just....no!
Archived Thread - replies disabled
vote up1

Replies

I don't put Elizabeth and Libby together at all. Or Margaret and Daisy.And I think that Jack and John are perfect together just in sound alone. I mean, a lot of people use the same meanings for twins anyways. I would have never put them together as being the same name.
vote up1
Or Sean and John. Or Bill and Will.*sigh*
vote up1
I know a family with four boys-John, Ian, Jack and Sean (pr. like Shane). The daughter in the family is, happily, Ruth.sa
vote up1
I'm curious...Were their mns variations of the same name, too?
vote up1
Hmm. Jack's mn is Robert, but I don't know any of the others. They're all adults, so I'm not sure there's a subtle way of asking (somehow it's okay to ask a mom about her kids' names, but quizzing a co-worker on his siblings' mn seems more awkward...)
vote up1
LOLYes, it does seem awkward asking the father about mns, doesn't it? I wonder why that is?"I can't say I was ever lost, but I was bewildered once for three days." -Daniel Boone, American explorer
vote up1
Eww. Guess it could be worse. :-/ At least it seems like they were aware of the 'theme'. ~Heather~
vote up1
double post, sorry.John, Ian, Jack and Sean (pr. like Shane). The daughter in the family is, happily, Ruth.sa

This message was edited 3/8/2006, 9:51 AM

vote up1
I agree, it's goofy, but what's even worse, imo, is naming a child two forms of the same name. I've seen Lisa Beth and Liam William. I kid you not!
vote up1
I don't think having the same backround doesn't make Jack and John an impossible twin combo. I bet that no-one aside from people who are into names even know that they names are related, since they do sound fairly different.
vote up1
Same egg, same name?If they are identlical twins, they come from the same egg. So giving them the names Jack and John *could* be intentional.John and Ian or Elizabeth and Isabella would be the same thing.I would not do it, but I don't think other people will think about it. And probably the parents did not know it either. Since many boys are named Jack (or named Jackson but called Jack), I think people forget that Jack was orginally a nn for John."But it’s all right now.
I learned my lesson well.
You see you can’t please everyone
So you got to please yourself."
Rick Nelson, GardenParty"It does not become me to make myself smaller than I am." (Edith Södergran 1891-1923)
vote up1
I hate it because it's one of those cutsey twin names. I know a family with twins named Christopher and Christian, so even if the parents knew John and Jack were the same name, they still may have chosen it. People seem to think that twins need twin names. I have no idea why. I know Jack now is a popular given name, but for people in older generations, Jack is only a nickname for John, not a proper given name. I much prefer John nn Jack, and I bet that will become more popular considering how trendy Jack and Jackson are.
vote up1
I don't think it's that bad. I reckon if I asked ten of my friends what Jack used to be a nn for, I'd get blank looks from almost all of them. And in your other examples, most of them aee too close, but I think Margaret and Daisy would be fine. You have to remember the rest of the world aren't name nerds like us! And maybe the parents wanted to give Jack and John similar names, as a connection, in the same way that my sisters and I have the same middle name.
S xx--
The truth is, I have met the right person, only he's not in love with me, and until I stop loving him no-one else stands a chance
(Four Weddings and a Funeral)
vote up1
I don't think a lot of people know that Jack started out as a nickname for John. Just us namesnerds. So it definitely bugs the heck out of me, but if you asked any random person on the street, they probably wouldn't know they're the same name.
vote up1
Ugh. I guess Andie is right, that kind of thing only bothers us "namenerds," but BOY, does it ever! :b This came up the other day when I was watching "Walk the Line" on DVD with my sister. When Johnny Cash was younger, he went by J.R., but they showed his older brother in the movie, whose name was JACK. John & Jack. *rolls eyes* So I pointed this out to my sister, 'How stupid, they both have the same name.' She was bewildered, 'No they don't, one is John & one is Jack.' I replied: 'But Jack is a form of John.' She had no idea...or claimed not to. People, she's 43 years old! LOL. I pointed out the John/Jack Kennedy thing, and she was like 'oh.' *smacks forehead* I guess we're not just the only ones who know these things we're also the only ones who CARE. :b
~Heather~
vote up1

I dont find it bad at all.
TO be honest i love the names Seamus & Hamish and i would use them together 100% if Pierre actually liked Seamus~~~~~~~~~~ Bex ~~~~~~~~~~~
Lover of the book Sirius & Remus
Image hosted by Photobucket.com
Image hosted by Photobucket.com
vote up1
AgreeThere were twins in my local paper named Emma & Emily, what were the parents thinking? Twins are not just twins, they are individuals who deserved to be treated as such. This just annoys me to no end.
vote up1
ditto!I'm occasionally all right with the same first initial on twins, as long as they're not obviously theme-y, but I CAN'T STAND IT when parents give their kids variations of the same name, rhyming names, etc.
vote up1
Not many people know that Jack is a nn for John. When I told my mate that Johnny Depp's son was John Christopher III 'Jack' she didn't understand why he was called Jack.
vote up1
I really don't think the average person knows that.Along the same lines, my sister's given name is Sara. But she goes by the nn Sally. Most people don't get that at all!
vote up1
Unfortunately, I think the AVERAGE person does know that. Now, what that says about the parents...well, I wouldn't like to say :)
vote up1
Really? You think John F. (Jack) and Jackie Kennedy are that far removed from Americans' conciousness that most people don't make the connection anymore between John & Jack?
vote up1
Yes.I find the average American pretty darn ignorant of practically everything! What are those stats? 40% can't even name the Vice President? 32% don't know how many states there are? 50% voted for George Bush to be president for not one, but two terms? (haha) Yeah, the average American isn't too sharp.
vote up1
D'oh!You're right. That average American knows more about The Simpsons than goverment or American history (or world history, for that matter!). Oh, and btw, I did vote for GW, but, well, I'm regretting it. At least I'm learning from my mistakes, lol!"I can't say I was ever lost, but I was bewildered once for three days." -Daniel Boone, American explorer
vote up1
LOL! Glad to hear it! ; )
vote up1
Seeing as though my husband is John but goes by Jack, I think that's pretty bad. Even though not all connections between names are well known (Isabel and Elizabeth, Marguerite and Daisy, etc) the John Jack connection is pretty strong because of JFK choosing to go by Jack. It's funny you should mention atrocious twin combos because I was looking at the SSA site that lists the most popular twinsets in 2004. Among the worst were: Mia and Mya, Jada and Jaden, Brian and Brianna, Kayla and Kyla, Taylor and Tyler. Mind you these are not isolated incidents of bad naming--these are THE most popular twinsets!
Here's the link in case you're curious:
http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/twins2004.html----Betsy-----
vote up1
John and Jack... cute!! I think that nowadays John and Jack are viewed pretty much as seperate names and seldom assiciated with each other.
vote up1
I think this is the type of thing that would bother us namenerds, but to the rest of the world...they don't even know! I think it isn't that bad, it could be much worse! Such things like Jayden and Kayden, or Jack and Jake, or Ryan and Rylan, i'd take Jack and John, not that I would ever do that but noneless it could be worse.Proud Auntie to: Robert Joseph and Brady Lovander, Juliana Mae and Sophia Lee, Graham Joseph, and soon to be one more!
vote up1