Baby Name Poll Results

Not a fan at all. Knew too many kids growing up who were "Little" so and so or just plain "Junior" never getting to use "their" name. If you want to honor the dad put his name in the middle and give the kid a name of his own in front

I am not a fan of jrs. I think you can honor without using his exact name.

Please don’t do it. I did and we later split and now my child hates having the same name. He has decided to go by the middle name, but still hates it as his father is MIA. Please reconsider.

Lol both of your points are taken. We are discussing the possibility of a "Little Leonardo" or "Leo Minor". My main worry is the feeling of not having his "own" name. My partner thinks the historical ties to both Leonardo and any other name disregard that worry since everyone will share a name with someone at some point. I’m still just trying to figure out how I feel because one moment I love the thought and the next I want something fresh that WE have picked.... not his mother decades ago. Idk, I’m just ranting now. Thank you for your thoughts though!

Third poster, I’m afraid I may sound terribly naive but that thought has never occurred to me, even as a fatherless child myself. I do fully trust my partner, but you make a great point to think about and weigh heavily. I am sorry for what has been done to you and your son.

It’s a tradition in my family (and also my husband’s) to give the first boy his father’s name as his MIDDLE name. He gets his own personal first name to be called and the family heritage in the middle name slot. We don’t have a son but if we ever do, this is how we’ll approach it. Easy for me since my husband’s tradition is the same as mine. I think ultimately you and your partner need to agree on a name so there is no resentment down the road.

I can’t stand it. I think everyone needs to have their own identity. I also think it makes the father sound arrogant. If you want, use a name with the same meaning, same initials, or same middle name.

My brother is a Junior and he never liked it, but it got especially frustrating when he moved back in with my parents for half a year after college because my dad would continually open his private mail. Certain mail like magazines or things that might apply to both of them might have been a mistake, but my dad would deliberately open mail for my brother’s student loans, for medical info, personal mail from friends, and other private stuff, then talk to my brother condescendingly about those letters. He said it was because my brother was living under his roof, but my brother was paying rent/utilities, so that wasn’t much of an excuse. So anyway, very specific situation, but that definitely soured their relationship for a while afterward and it was because they shared the same name.

I agree, I think everyone should get their own name. Sure, share a middle perhaps with someone special, but not the full name, I really don’t get it.

I think honor names are better in the middle name spot. My partners first name is his grandfather’s name, his grandfather was a lovely man who many people adored but for my partners whole life his has had people constantly comparing him to his grandfather, who passed many years before he was even born. It’s never been bad comparisons he just feels like he is being judged based on him name rather than his personality or like they are praising his grandfather for his achievements rather than him if that makes sense?