Babies By the Bushel: Upcoming Babies 9

[hasunah]

4 hours ago, anjulibai said:

I'm still bothered that they used Grace twice for a middle name. 

Now I'm even more bothered by it since I now know Hannah means grace. 

That's nothing. Have a look at the names of princess Astrid of Belgium's children .

[Jana814]

It does seem odd that they used the same middle name for 2 of their kids. Although I know families who use the name middle name for all of they kids mostly because it's the name of a relative. 

[Mudgie]

7 hours ago, anjulibai said:

I'm still bothered that they used Grace twice for a middle name. 

Now I'm even more bothered by it since I now know Hannah means grace. 

My husband's stepmother used the middle name of her firstborn son from her first marriage as the first name of her son from her marriage to my Father in law. Her Mother was appalled.

[Aine]

11 hours ago, Bethella said:

Mark and Ali Corral are friends of the Maxwells; they have seven daughters. They have a FB page https://www.facebook.com/The-Corrals-1429344387361703/

1. Isabella "Bella" Rose b. May 2009
2. Joanna "Jojo" Lynn b. July 2010
3. Denver Grace b. February 2012
4. Dakota Ruth b. December 2013
5. Rebekah Wiley b. June 2015
6. Mary Elisabeth b. September 2016
7. Hannah Grace b. January 16, 2018

Denver and Dakota seem so out of place with the very traditional names of the other sisters. They stick out like sore thumbs.

3 hours ago, hasunah said:

That's nothing. Have a look at the names of princess Astrid of Belgium's children .

The repetition of Maria is very common in some cultures that are Catholic. I have a friend who is of Filipino background and she and her four sisters all have the same first name on their birth certificate (Maria) and all of four boys have the same first name (Rene). One brother actually goes by Rene but the others all go by their middle name. All of the girls go by their middle name. The mother's name is Maria and her sisters were all called Maria as well but her sisters went by their middle names. Her father's name is Rene but I believe the tradition in the naming came from the mother's side. They are from quite a wealthy family in the Philippines and have quite a bit of Spanish blood. 

Another friend of mine who is of Bolivian background, she and all her sisters have Maria as their middle name.

[Aine]

31 minutes ago, Mudgie said:

My husband's stepmother used the middle name of her firstborn son from her first marriage as the first name of her son from her marriage to my Father in law. Her Mother was appalled.

I kind of get this though. There are some names that I love and have a lot of meaning to me that I really want to use and I could see myself thinking I was done having kids or not wanting to take the chance that I'll never get to use it in the future and using it as a middle name...and then having another kid and still being in love with the name and want to use it as a first name. I know it seems odd when it's all written on paper but most people don't know other people's middle names and it seems kind of sad to not use a name you really love as a first name just because you used it as a middle name before- especially if it's one of the rare names that you and your partner actually agree on!

[SolomonFundy]

I think I've mentioned this bit of family drama in a post at some point in the past, but I have two first cousins with the same unusual first name. To make it even spicier, they are actually half-sisters to one another. (Names changed here for privacy.)

My crummy uncle Bob has been married four times. The first wife gave him a daughter and son; son named for Bob, and daughter was named Jennifer. Second wife had no kids. Third wife was a lunatic bitch with whom he cheated on the second wife, and married when the second divorce was finalized. Third wife quickly got pregnant, and when her child proved to be a girl, she insisted on naming it Jennifer as well. So Bob, Third Wife, and Bob jr. all lived in a house with Jennifer and "Little Jennifer" after that. 

The Jennifers have different middle names, but the same first and last name legally. Third Wife tried unsuccessfully to get everyone to start calling the first Jennifer a nickname so that her child could have the name to herself, but it just didn't catch on. Mainly because Jennifer 1.0 was nearly 13 when her little sister was born, and had used her full first name her entire life. 

 

5 hours ago, hasunah said:

That's nothing. Have a look at the names of princess Astrid of Belgium's children .

If you enjoy that sort of thing, have a gander sometime at the names Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa of Austria gave to her daughters. They ALL were named Maria, and their second names were used to differentiate them. Some names were later altered for diplomatic purposes when the girls married. For instance, Maria Antonia was called Marie Antoinette upon her marriage to the French crown prince. Maria Theresa enjoyed recycling names as well. She had THREE Maria Carolinas (two died in infancy, and she just kept using the name until one survived). All of the children had third and fourth names, and these were recycled heavily too. 

[Bethella]

2 hours ago, Mudgie said:

My husband's stepmother used the middle name of her firstborn son from her first marriage as the first name of her son from her marriage to my Father in law. Her Mother was appalled.

I knew someone (now deceased) who was named Richard Jr. after his father. Rich's dad divorced his mom to marry his pregnant girlfriend. That baby was a boy, also named Richard Jr. 

[Aine]

1 hour ago, SolomonFundy said:

She had THREE Maria Carolinas (two died in infancy, and she just kept using the name until one survived). All of the children had third and fourth names, and these were recycled heavily too. 

Reusing a name of a deceased sibling was really common back then. My family tree, especially the Irish Catholic line where they all had anywhere between 8-17 children for generations, is riddled with double or triple uses of names when the first child with that name died. The pool of names being used back then was so small and naming children after other family members was so important, I guess? I still find it strange but I know I'm looking through a modern lens. What weirds me out even more is there are some occasions in my family tree where let's say Patrick John died at 8 years old and then they call the next baby born after his death Patrick John. It's weird when they did it with babies who died very soon after birth but I find it very disconcerting that they would do it after the death of an older child, which I'm sure was very traumatic although not uncommon. These scenarios pop up a few times in my family. 

 

@SolomonFundy, that story about your cousins is one of the most bizarre ones that I have heard! Poor older Jennifer. How is her relationship with her father and same-named sister now? What an awful move by that step-mother...and it's dreadful that your uncle went along with it  I have some much younger half-siblings and I'm imagining going to school at 13 after the birth of one of them and telling people, "I have a new sister!"..."What did they call her?"..."Jennifer..." My current boyfriend has a son named one of my favorite names, which is also the name of a beloved great-uncle of mine, and I have always had in my mind that I may want to use it for a son one day. It's somewhat unusual so it's an odd coincidence. But you know what? If I do end up as that boy's step-mother, how awesome that he has a name that I adore and that reminds me of my uncle! I already enjoy that I get to say the name aloud so often these days  And it has already crossed my mind that if I have children with my current bf, that name is out of the running completely and that is totally and completely fine because I'll have a step-son with that name.

[anjulibai]

10 hours ago, hasunah said:

That's nothing. Have a look at the names of princess Astrid of Belgium's children .

Using Maria over and over doesn't bug me so much because that's a Catholic thing, but using Zita, Anna and Joachim more than once kind of does.  Yeah, I am weird. 

4 hours ago, Bethella said:

I knew someone (now deceased) who was named Richard Jr. after his father. Rich's dad divorced his mom to marry his pregnant girlfriend. That baby was a boy, also named Richard Jr. 

My college boyfriend's father had similar happen to him. Father was named after his own father, but then father's father left father's mother and had a bunch of kids with his new wife. New wife decided to name one of the boys the same as her husband, which was the same name as father. 

The big kick? The step-mother was father's older half-sister, by their mother. His father left his mother for his sister. His half-siblings are his nieces and nephews.  

[Bethella]

14 minutes ago, anjulibai said:

My college boyfriend's father had similar happen to him.

Families can be so messed up. 

[Kylolo]

6 hours ago, Aine said:

 

The repetition of Maria is very common in some cultures that are Catholic. 

This. I have a very Catholic friend from a very Catholic family. She and several sisters are all named Mary but only one goes by that. 

[adidas]

I can only think of George Foreman and his five sons, George Jr, George III, George IV, George V and George VI. 

[GeoBQn]

My dad has a first cousin who was 20 years older than him, but they both have the same first, middle, and last name.  We never understood why his parents did that, especially when Ashkenazi Jews have a custom of not naming children after living relatives.  Then I talked to a relative who revealed that my dad was named after a cousin of my grandfather's who was killed in action during WWII.  Hero Cousin had the same first name, different last name, but no middle name.  He knew Older Cousin and thought that middle name sounded really good with (the same) first name, so he adopted it as his own.  My grandparents then named my dad the same first and middle name as Hero Cousin, apparently not thinking about how this would give him an identical name to the still-living Older Cousin.  My dad stopped being embarrassed about his name after hearing that story.

[Jana814]

@GeoBQnThat story is actually really sweet. I have a client who's son is named Jack. Her sister's son is named Jake, they were named after the same relative. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

49 minutes ago, adidas said:

I can only think of George Foreman and his five sons, George Jr, George III, George IV, George V and George VI. 

Don't forget his daughter Georgetta! 

[Markie]

My friend is French Canadian and she and sisters all have their third names as Marie and the brothers all have Joseph for their third names. 

[singsingsing]

30 minutes ago, Markie said:

My friend is French Canadian and she and sisters all have their third names as Marie and the brothers all have Joseph for their third names. 

Same with my dad's family, except their first names are all Joseph or Marie. None of them actually go by Joseph or Marie, though.

[justmy2cents]

My dad's cousin and I have the same first and last name.  We were named after the same person, her uncle who was my grandfather.  I've never met her and didn't even know about her til about 10 years ago.  We live on different continents.

[SolomonFundy]

6 hours ago, Aine said:

Reusing a name of a deceased sibling was really common back then. My family tree, especially the Irish Catholic line where they all had anywhere between 8-17 children for generations, is riddled with double or triple uses of names when the first child with that name died. The pool of names being used back then was so small and naming children after other family members was so important, I guess? I still find it strange but I know I'm looking through a modern lens. What weirds me out even more is there are some occasions in my family tree where let's say Patrick John died at 8 years old and then they call the next baby born after his death Patrick John. It's weird when they did it with babies who died very soon after birth but I find it very disconcerting that they would do it after the death of an older child, which I'm sure was very traumatic although not uncommon. These scenarios pop up a few times in my family. 

 

@SolomonFundy, that story about your cousins is one of the most bizarre ones that I have heard! Poor older Jennifer. How is her relationship with her father and same-named sister now? What an awful move by that step-mother...and it's dreadful that your uncle went along with it  I have some much younger half-siblings and I'm imagining going to school at 13 after the birth of one of them and telling people, "I have a new sister!"..."What did they call her?"..."Jennifer..." My current boyfriend has a son named one of my favorite names, which is also the name of a beloved great-uncle of mine, and I have always had in my mind that I may want to use it for a son one day. It's somewhat unusual so it's an odd coincidence. But you know what? If I do end up as that boy's step-mother, how awesome that he has a name that I adore and that reminds me of my uncle! I already enjoy that I get to say the name aloud so often these days  And it has already crossed my mind that if I have children with my current bf, that name is out of the running completely and that is totally and completely fine because I'll have a step-son with that name.

We've got a few repurposed family names in the older branches of the family tree for the same reason. I agree; it's especially disconcerting to think of a name being reused for the infant sibling of a much older deceased child. Though I know that the new child wouldn't be considered a "replacement" by mourning parents, it still sort of looks that way from a modern perspective.

It's so awesome that you've got a living, breathing bearer of the cool family name in the form of your boyfriend's son! Your decision to rule out any future use of the name is both tasteful and admirable. As to your questions, my uncle is not purposefully mean to his children, but has a bad habit of treating his current wife/girlfriend/fiance with deference over his existing kids, even if he's only been with the person for a few weeks. The end result is that about half of his kids don't have much of a relationship with him anymore. The elder Jennifer has a good relationship with him, but she has really struggled in her own personal life.  My uncle was with Third Wife until Little Jennifer was about 10, and then they divorced as well. It was very, very acrimonious, and Third Wife ultimately left the state with Little Jennifer in order to make it more difficult for Bob to have any sort of a relationship with her. Bob is not Worlds Best Dad, but he was a better and more stable parent than Third Wife, so this wasn't a good move for the child's sake. Bob tried for about two years to pursue contact, but gave up due to limited funds and very little support from law enforcement. Little Jennifer is now an adult, and has recently established tentative contact with the family again. While they still shared a home, the sisters were fairly close, but the age difference was a big issue, and Original Jennifer moved out when Little Jennifer was 5. Unfortunately, they didn't get much of an opportunity to bond as kids. I hope they can now.

[Aine]

1 hour ago, SolomonFundy said:

We've got a few repurposed family names in the older branches of the family tree for the same reason. I agree; it's especially disconcerting to think of a name being reused for the infant sibling of a much older deceased child. Though I know that the new child wouldn't be considered a "replacement" by mourning parents, it still sort of looks that way from a modern perspective.

It's so awesome that you've got a living, breathing bearer of the cool family name in the form of your boyfriend's son! Your decision to rule out any future use of the name is both tasteful and admirable. As to your questions, my uncle is not purposefully mean to his children, but has a bad habit of treating his current wife/girlfriend/fiance with deference over his existing kids, even if he's only been with the person for a few weeks. The end result is that about half of his kids don't have much of a relationship with him anymore. The elder Jennifer has a good relationship with him, but she has really struggled in her own personal life.  My uncle was with Third Wife until Little Jennifer was about 10, and then they divorced as well. It was very, very acrimonious, and Third Wife ultimately left the state with Little Jennifer in order to make it more difficult for Bob to have any sort of a relationship with her. Bob is not Worlds Best Dad, but he was a better and more stable parent than Third Wife, so this wasn't a good move for the child's sake. Bob tried for about two years to pursue contact, but gave up due to limited funds and very little support from law enforcement. Little Jennifer is now an adult, and has recently established tentative contact with the family again. While they still shared a home, the sisters were fairly close, but the age difference was a big issue, and Original Jennifer moved out when Little Jennifer was 5. Unfortunately, they didn't get much of an opportunity to bond as kids. I hope they can now.

I very much hope they can now too- Little Jennifer's mother sounds like an absolutely heinous human being, unsurprising considering the name thing! It's difficult being a much older sibling. There is 26 years between myself and my mother's youngest (my mom was a teenage parent to me). I considered adopting this most recent child but the amazing foster family who ended up adopting my brother with FASD from foster care took in the baby as well and I knew that they would do a far better job than I could have and they have done so and now two of my mother's six younger children are being raised together. I have much younger half-sibs on my Dad's side too. I adore them but we have never bonded like my only close-in-age sibling who is a half-bro almost 3 years younger than me. Big age gaps bring a lot of gaps, even when trying hard not to let that happen in my experience although I know there to be exceptions. But it would have torn me apart to have a baby sibling with the same name as me.

[DutchGirl]

16 hours ago, hasunah said:

That's nothing. Have a look at the names of princess Astrid of Belgium's children .

I think these childrens middle names are the names of their godparents, not so much names chosen by their parents. I think it's a royal and/or Belgium tradition. That would also explain the use of male namens for girls and vice versa.

[CarrotCake]

My mother has the same three first names as her younger brother (of course the female/male version except for Maria). My mother was 'lucky' that the pope died prior to her birth so she got a fourth name to honor him. Also, they are both not called by their full name but by very different nicknames (only sharing the first letter).

Although both of them got named after relatives, they all got their names from different ones. Since there is a limited range of Catholic names, they had a lot of aunts and uncles with the same name on both sides, which lead to these weird similar names.

[lilith]

If my youngest had been a boy his middle name would have been my first sons first name. Partner wanted to use it for family reasons (it’s his middle name too) and I obviously like it. I think my son was slightly disappointed not to get a namesake sibling. 

My partber also has the exact same name as a stillborn baby boy born to his parents the year before he was born. He has no strong emotions about it - he doesn’t feel like a replacement child or anything like that. That said, he does tend to be logical to a fault and he isn’t given to emotional analysis.

[Iamhispurity]

Grace Pennington is expecting.

[Fascinated]

Reading all this gives me concern that my kids are on some forum somewhere commenting on their batshit crazy parents.

We gave our first son the same first name as one of my brothers. It was the only name my husband and I both liked at the time. About ten years later my brother and his wife gave the same name to their son.  By then our son had a nickname and it has never been a problem.

We gave a lovely family name on my dad’s side as a middle name to our third son, and, lo and behold, so did aforementioned brother with that same son.  Kinda weird.

Our last son was born on the third anniversary of the death of our second son.  We decided to give him that baby’s first name as his middle name.  It’s a really nice name. (Recently I asked him if it bothered him that we did that.  He assured me that he is honoured to carry the name and tells friends its provenance often.)

I feel like a weirdo.  Everything made sense at the time, and all my boys have very nice ‘normal’ names.  However, I recall being quite aghast (is it even possible to have levels of aghastness?  Probably not.) when a neighbour complimented us on choosing such strong biblical names.  Yikes.  Not what we were going for!