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Naming Baby After Dad - Classic or Showy?
Filed under: Baby Names
My wife and I are considering naming our son after me and calling him EJ for Eric Junior.
What is the history of passing down the father's name to his son and is it considered pretentious today?
- Dad-to-be
Fifty years ago, no one would have even asked me this question. Boys named for their Dads were as common as meatloaf and green beans. A dad-to-be in 1959 knew that no one would second-guess his motives for giving his son his own name. How could anyone have a problem with tradition, family history, and an unbreakable bond spanning generations?
My, how times have changed! The culprit is our American emphasis on things new, daring, and individual. Parents today want to endow their offspring with an original, distinctive moniker that will inspire gasps of admiration and envy. So they have abandoned little Junior in favor of Brayden, Kayden, and Zayden. (How pretentious would they have sounded in a '50s schoolyard?)
Meanwhile expectant fathers, usually twenty- and thirty-somethings, have names like Jason, Kevin, and -- yes -- Eric. Not trendy and new, not so-out-they're-in; just familiar, solid, and maybe a little plain. So Juniors are becoming an endangered species, just a fraction as common as in past generations.
How's this for irony: In a sea of cookie-cutter "original, distinctive" names, your Junior is likely to be the only one in his kindergarten class. But more than symbolizing your freethinking inventiveness, your Junior's name will proclaim to the world his family connections. Little EJ's name says, "This is my dad. This is me. We're family." I can hardly think of a less pretentious statement than that.
One word of warning, though: A Junior has a unique naming status, and kids are absolute geniuses at sensing when parents are favoring their siblings. If you plan to have more kids, make sure they carry special family names too, boys and girls alike. (Because you're choosing Eric Jr. to to build family bonds, not to create a regal dynasty and one day look forward to Eric the VIII. Right?) And of course, prepare yourself for cases of mistaken identity -- in both directions.
But as long as you're cool with all that, naming a son after his father is a tradition with centuries of history behind it. Please, Junior away without fear.
Do you have Juniors in your family? Share your experiences! And if you have your own question to Ask the Name Lady, drop her a line!
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
3-23-2009 @ 10:31AM
Baron said...Might be a bit of a Southern thing, but we are pretty big on family names down here. Baron, my name, was my great grandfather's and Danzey, my middle name, was my grandfather's (the last member of his family carrying the Danzey last name as he and his siblings only had girls) last name. My daughter goes by CC, but that is short for Charlotte Colette where Charlotte is my sister in-law's name, mother in-law's name, and grandmother in-law's name and Colette is my mother's name. The next baby will also have family names and so on and so forth!
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3-23-2009 @ 11:17AM
E said...One thing you may not have thought of - I have a friend who is a junior and he has had a lot of problems with having items from his father's credit history ending up on his credit report and vice versa, even though they don't live at the same address anymore. This is even more of a problem because his father's credit isn't very good! But I imagine it would be a big pain in the neck to get this fixed even if both parties had good credit.
3-23-2009 @ 1:56PM
Jan Bay said...I like classic names and there is something about having a III or an IV behind your name that does come across as prestigious. So on one hand I like the tradition of naming baby boys after their dads but on the other hand, as a genealogist who has dealt with numerous generations of boys all having the exact same name, I have to say that a little variety can be a good thing.
Jan from http://www.unique-baby-gear-ideas.com/
3-23-2009 @ 3:54PM
khrystena said...I wouldn't think it was a big deal if I knew someone naming their child after them. I know my father in law and husbands eldest brother have the same name with the only difference with middle initial. but it helped them.
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3-23-2009 @ 11:48AM
Sarah in Georgia said...In my family, the first name is passed on, but the middle name is the one commonly used. So my grandfather is John, my dad is John Bob, called Bob, and my brother is John Billy, called Billy (names changed.) I expect my brother to continue the pattern if he ever has a son.
In my husband's family there is a Jr. and now a 3rd. Except all of the males in the family have the same initials, which to me seems unnecessarily confusing. And 3rd is called by a name which has nothing to do with his given name. Not my favorite, but not my kid, either. :)
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3-23-2009 @ 11:53AM
freebee said...My husband's family is big on passing names on. It gets confusing at family reunions. As long as you are not passing on a terrible name, I suppose it's OK. I prefer giving your kids their own identity though.
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3-23-2009 @ 6:57PM
MarMarOhio said...One of the more annoying trends in my West Virginia hometown was the naming of the DAUGHTERS after the fathers, when a son wasn't born. When I was growing up, Carl was the father of Carla, John was the father of Johnna, and Robert was the father of Roberta. Today the trend continues, as apparently some of the younger female citizens of my hometown are Davinia (daughter of David), Brianna (daughter of Brian), and Michaela (daughter of Michael.) Justina is a popular name in the area as well, although not just for daughters of men named Justin. (I have a cousin Justina, although her father's name is David. Apparently they hadn't heard of Davinia when she was born 17 years ago.)
I have no problems with Juniors, or girls named after their mothers or other women in the family, but making up names for daughters just so the FATHER'S name will be passed on is just pathetic. Either give it to your son or give it up already.
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3-23-2009 @ 1:17PM
Jasi said...My daughter (firstborn) was named after my husband for their striking similarities. My son (second) is named after me and looks a lot like me. The childrens' names are quite similar to our own but not exact. Occasional mistaken identity for nicknames but very fun. We're all a family and not only do we look like one, we sound like one. =)
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3-23-2009 @ 4:43PM
elena said...I think the Name Lady missed the boat on this one.
This question has nothing to do with whether the father's name is pretentious - it doesn't matter if it's Eric, or John or Zayden for that matter. It's just pretentious to think that you're so awesome that you want your child to be a little clone of you. It tells the child "the best case is that you will turn out exactly like me". I absolutely hate this tradition.
I also think it's sexist toward the mother - why should she carry someone's son for 9 months and then not have an opinion in naming him because of her husband's family "tradition"? It transforms the mother into a vessel for the male seed. Yuck.
Giving a child the same name as the father is as dated as shag carpets and split-level homes. Don't do it.
Reply
3-23-2009 @ 3:47PM
Karen said...Wow! Where the heck did that come from. While there may be some people that name their children after them because they want a clone, I wouldn't not say that is true for the vast majority of people.
And out of what logic did you find that if you name a child after the father that the mom has no say in the matter. Maybe she adores her husband and his name and wants to honor her child with the same name?
Jeez!
I actually don't like it when people name their children one name and call them by the middle name. I guess I don't like it because it is forever being corrected in schools and if you like the names, why not just reverse the order and solve the problem? I was substituting today and the first names and middle initials were on the roll. The first 5 boys all went by their middle names. Thankfully, I have subbed in this class before and was aware of the changes, but kids generally hate the mix-up.
But certainly, if you like your name and your wife agrees, go with the Junior thing. It is totally up to you.
3-23-2009 @ 3:39PM
Christa said...My husband and I are ttc #3. If this child happens to be a boy, we are planning on Junior. Not as a family tradition but because that is the name we are choosing for our son. We also have family names for both of our daughters. I don't see where Junior is a problem.
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3-23-2009 @ 7:23PM
Melissa said...I'm all about family names, just not the junior thing. I think if you want to use Dad's name, use it as a middle name. I also think that if there is more than one boy, what will that younger boy think? That he isn't important because he doesn't share Dad's name, right? I gave my daughter a middle name that was a combination of my momther and my grandmother's names, because they are the two most important women I know. I just don't agree with the whole jr. thing, I guess I'm silly.
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3-23-2009 @ 10:23PM
penny said...This isn't the only country with this tradition, I know a Greek family and all of there first born sons are named the same. It doesn't matter which son down the line has a son they are all named the same. Tony is the first born and Jake is the next but both Tony and Jake will have first born son's named Tony. Its bizarre, especially at family reunions but its life and these boys carry their names with pride.
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5-10-2009 @ 1:29PM
bridget said...what i want to know is can the youngest son of 3 sons be the juinor????
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