The benefits and challenges of naming babies after relatives 18 Articles

by Roberta Martone

Who's Afraid of Emma? My husband and I had tried so long to get pregnant that when it finally happened we realized we hadn't given much thought to what came next. As we were basking in the news of my pregnancy, it hit u...read more

by Pam Hilts

Naming your baby: A time-honored tradition examined When naming children it is often customary to name the male child after another family member. The same is true for girls, but to a lesser extent. I though...read more

by Nikko Palmario

Thinking of a name for your baby can be one of the most challenging parts of parenthood, especially for first time parents. This is because naming your baby can be a pretty huge deal-after all, for most of their lives, oth...read more

by Nadean C

While pregnant we were unsure if we were having a boy or girl and we played with millions of names some so crazy I wouldn't wish them upon my worst enemy. Well after she was born her father suggested giving her my first ...read more

by Meghann Vance

Oh, but did we get ourselves in a pickle here! My son is named Aidan Patrick - my husband and I love this name, Aidan for himself (and a little for his dad, who's name is Daniel) and Patrick for my father, who passed a...read more

by Kim Sharpe

I'm currently pregnant with my son. It will be my second child. My first was a girl. Her name is uniquely her own. I named her after no one in the family. But with the upcoming birth of a son in the family I feel as ...read more

by Tucker Lieberman

The Ashkenazim-the Jews from Eastern Europe who comprise the majority influence on U.S. Jewish culture-name babies after deceased relatives only. Babies can be named "after" a deceased relative in a variety of...read more

by Jennifer Young

I have three children and they are all named after someone or another. My oldest, Gabrielle Elizabeth was inadvertanly named after my great aunt whom I was never that close to . I didn't even know Elizabeth was my great ...read more

by Lyn Dee

Every baby is a unique individual. There never has been, and never will be, another human being exactly the same as your new family member. Even identical twins will develop different personalities. In an ideal world we w...read more

by Sophia Paradeisi

As I lay in the delivery room, having just given birth to my second son, I heard the midwife ask my husband for a name. I heard my husband say Tommy. Oh how nice, I thought, he hasn't buckled under family pressure, who wer...read more

by Mariann H

Both of my children have family names. My 7 year old son is Thomas Albert, Albert is my father, my grandfather, his father was Umberto and all down the line, I was told to name him Albert since i had him at 17 and he ...read more

by Farmer Bob

This is a puzzler, because most of the benefits may also be challenges. Family tradition: Traditions like this are important for many reasons and should be honored if possible. However, some of those old nam...read more

by Brandie Long

Naming my children was almost as hard as pushing them out of my body. I was having a boy all three times! There are a lot of men in my family. When a divorce happens in my family typically, only the woman remarries, whic...read more

by Mabel Godwin

I have three children and all of them are named after someone in the family. Naming the first two was no problem. Everyone loved the names and the fact that they were named after family. The third one came along years l...read more

by Pam Stushnoff

Your baby's name is something s/he will have to live with for many years. It requires considerable thought. Here are some things to think about before you name your child after a relative: 1. Can the name be easily pro...read more

by Apple Trenton

The decision on whether or not to name your baby after a relative depends purely on your family situation, as it may be for the best, or the worst. Imagine this situation: A relative close to you passed away and you mis...read more

by Celia Craske

Fancy naming your baby son Daisy? This was the acronym that Dick Van Dyke came up with on his show to keep the various members of the family happy. It also underlines one of the main problems when you name a child after a ...read more

by Earl Darrington

My great, great grandfather's name was Earl. He fought in World War one and my grandmother still has a box of his old letters. Earl was a hero, all right, and one heck of a writer. But I still don't want to be named after ...read more