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Help[Opinions] Naming dilemma (Hypothetical!)
Let's first say that I'm not expecting kids, and that I'd only get children through adoption/surrogacy (preferably adoption. Lol, I'm a homosexual man). Anyway, I have a dilemma- I have always loved the names Rachel and Hannah for girls. What's the catch with this, might you ask? Well, my mother has a cousin named Rachel, and a Rachael was married into that family side. My mother also has a cousin named Hannah. This family lives a state away, and I rarely ever see them at all. However...I'm just curious, do you think that it'd be strange (for me) to name a (potential) daughter Hannah or Rachel? Would this situation make it a bad idea?
This message was edited 7/20/2024, 10:17 AM
Replies
I don't think it's a bad idea to use names of people you never see.
No, I don not think this would be a "bad idea". It would only be a bad idea if the two people were growing up in exactly the same household.
It was very common in previous centuries for there to be two or more first cousins with the same given name, and people dealt with it fine. When the two people are at the same family gathering, they can usually be differentiated by adding the middle name when one is talking about them. My niece is name Ashleigh and her brother married a woman named Ashley. When we refer to them in the family when it might not be obvious which one we are talking about we say "Ashleigh Marie" or "Ashley Suzanne."
It was very common in previous centuries for there to be two or more first cousins with the same given name, and people dealt with it fine. When the two people are at the same family gathering, they can usually be differentiated by adding the middle name when one is talking about them. My niece is name Ashleigh and her brother married a woman named Ashley. When we refer to them in the family when it might not be obvious which one we are talking about we say "Ashleigh Marie" or "Ashley Suzanne."
If you do surrogacy please look into embryo adoption there are millions sitting in a freezer out there. I think surrogacy is only "good" for the parents but not so great for the baby. Adoption is another story. As for the names. Those are way too common of names and not super close relations for me to worry. If you are concerned you could always call and ask if it is OK. My mom got a call once asking if someone could use my sister's name because they loved it so much. Also I'm not sure how involved adopted parents are with children's names anyway. I know a couple that got to pick but I don't know how common that is...
I don’t think it’s a problem if you don’t see those cousins at all.
It wouldn't be strange. Rachel and Hannah are both incredibly common and popular names. Nobody will know or care about these family connections, except for you.
Rachel more so than Hannah, since you've got two of them in the family already.
I wouldn't want to use any relative's name for my own child, especially not a still-living one.
If it's bothering you enough to ask about it, I guess you maybe already know it would be a deal-breaker for you?
I wouldn't want to use any relative's name for my own child, especially not a still-living one.
If it's bothering you enough to ask about it, I guess you maybe already know it would be a deal-breaker for you?
I don't see a problem, both are lovely names
If you don’t see them often, I don’t think it would be an issue. You could call them Annie and Rae when the family is around. My grandaunt is Katie and I am Kate. I haven’t seen her in years, so my parents didn’t care that the name was close. To be fair, my dad has seventeen cousins, six aunts and an uncle so people in my family share names.
Rachel and Hannah are wonderful names!
Rachel and Hannah are wonderful names!
Hypothetically, you aren't likely to see the existing Rach(a)el and Hannah except by accident, so I wouldn't give it a thought.