Is it okay to name my 2nd son after my husband if I didn't name my first son after him?

Question

My first son we choose between Jamison and Cameron. (Husband is James, who goes by Jamie). We thought he looked like a Cam, so he is Cameron Ryan. My second son, is coming in March and the name we like is Jamison Brody. We will call him Brody. I don't want it to hurt my older son's feelings when they are older, is this silly?

By the way, Jamison means: Son of Jamie or James.

Answer 1

If you are going to call him Brody why create confusion - just name him Brody. Or Brody Jamison. Then he has the namesake as a middle name and it's not that big a deal. Plus that way he won't have to explain for the rest of his life that he is called by his middle name, or that yes my first name is Jamison but everyone calls me Brody.

Brody James is what I would go with, because after writing Jamison a few times, I realized it is a brand of whiskey.

BTW, my FIL is named after his grandfather, but his younger brother is a jr. and I think it has bothered him all these years. The truth is his father felt that it was more of an honor to name his first born after his own father than himself. Since you are not making the 2nd kid a jr it should be fine.

Answer 2

Normally I wouldn't do it, but I was assuming you were asking about a literal "junior." Jamison is actually being properly-used to indicate paternity, in this case (for lack of a better term LOL ... I hate to use the word "honor" when referring to a name FOR a parent chosen BY that same parent).

However, the simple solution seems obvious. If you plan on calling him Brody anyway, simply switch the order to Brody Jamison. I'm assuming it's the initials that are holding you back, but really, if you're worried your older son might one day feel slighted (and want to avoid the hassle of having "Brody" go by his middle name), it seems a secondary concern.

And no, I don't think it's at all "silly." We've avoided using the names of close family for that very reason. Not only to keep anyone in our large extended families from feeling left out, but also to keep our children from feeling equally slighted. After all, if one shares a name with Dad or Grandma, it makes sense that the other expect an equally meaningful moniker. Conversely, the child that doesn't have his "own" name might feel he got the short end of the stick, having gotten a "hand-me-down" name rather than just something his parents truly loved. It works both ways. Family names should ideally be an all or nothing sort of situation when it comes to children within the same family, so it makes sense you'd worry how EITHER of your sons might one day feel about the situation.

Good luck deciding, by the way! ;)

Answer 3

Why not call him Brody Jamison, since you're planning to call him Brody, anyway? Customarily, the first son takes the father's first name as a junior, but I really don't think there's anything wrong by naming the second son after the father. As long as you love both your sons equally and unconditionally, I see no reason why your older son will ever feel hurt. Hug both of them a lot and let them know they are loved in their own special way. Good luck!

Answer 4

No, it's not silly.. at least, not to me. Personally, I would like a unique name that wasn't named after anyone else, because I wouldn't like to be looked upon as a carbon-copy or replica of that person. I understand some people are into tradition, and some into status and family inheritance (thus the Jrs, III, and etc..), but that's not my style.

Plus, you'll be calling him Brody anyway, so it probably won't be as big of an issue as you think.

If the eldest son does seem to get upset, find cool people with the name Cameron .. lol. Or, if there is a lack of, that's good as well, because his name is unique and not out there in drones, like Matt or Seth or something.

I think the name is really cool :-)

Answer 5

Well this is interesting but I know you'll be fine. I actually know a guy who is named after his father altho he has an older brother BUT his older bro has a different father than he does. In your situation, at first I would think that it is a terrible idea but really, it will be ok in the long run bcuz the name is not exactly James & bcuz you guys will love them just the same. Names don't define us, we define them.

EDIT
I was looking over some of the other answers, and was reminded of a former classmate back in h.s. A boy named Frank P III has a brother named Frank P II and simlar to what I described b4 in my answer, these two boys have different MOTHERS and are both named after their father. The funny thing tho is that my friend Frank said that growing up, ppl referred to them as 'the good Frank' and 'the bad Frank;' he was the good one ..

Answer 6

how about name him Brody Jamison itll save a lot of confusion in the school years and your other son wont feel left out since its his middle name

Answer 7

I'm the 4th in the line of Frederick Williams, and I will only name my son Frederick William the 5th if he's the 1st born son. however, all 4 of us were the first born sons, so it could just be important to me for that reason.

George Forman named all 6 of his sons George forman.... so I guess there is no hard and set rule on the subject. In the end it boils down to what you and the father decide. Oh, and don't believe it when people say kids don't like being Jr.s While this may be true in elementary school, kids will make fun of each other for anything at that age; and as your son grows older it will help to boost a sense of family pride in him (at least it did to me)

Answer 8

He would get used to it and if you treat the situation OK the two would never have a problem because of the names but why would you want to name him the same thing as your husband? Give him his own name.They both have your husbands name anyway. Their last name. This is the one that counts because they will pass it on to their sons.Think about the grandfathers or even great grandfathers. He will appreciate this someday. Congratulations on your 1st and now your 2nd son.

Answer 9

I don't think it matters.

However, I do know a family in which there are heirlooms that are passed to all the men of the same name: John Doe Sr, Jr, III, IV, etc. If you don't have anything like that going on, I don't see an issue.

It's nice that you're considering the feelings of your older son as well.

Answer 10

We gave my second son his fathers first name, but a different middle name so he wouldn't be a junior. For the same reason, the first son looked more like another name we had chosen so that's what we did. You have to make the name fit the child,.. but its perfectly OK to name a second son after the father. When they grow up and ask? Just explain as you did here.