New Post
Search
HelpCarolyn and Caroline
My dad's sister's name is Carolyn. I've always loved the bame Caroline and would love to use it one day, but is it useable because it's so close to my aunt's name?
Archived Thread - replies disabled
1
Replies
I think it absolutely is. They're multiple generations removed from each other and -lyn and -line are quite distinct sounds. Go for it.
1
For me, it would depend on how close I was to this person. Then again, if I loved the name enough, I'd probably use it anyway.
Does your Aunt Carolyn go by her full name? Other than the spelling, I'm assuming the pronunciation will be different as well.
BTW, I have a niece named Emily. When she was around 3-4, my sister's SIL asked permission to name her dd Emma. It was considerate of her to ask and my sister easily agreed. Besides, the SIL and fam were on their way to Australia where they lived for around a decade. When they moved back to the States, they were still a long distance from my sister and her family and it hasn't been a huge deal. Sometimes, distance makes things so much simpler!
Does your Aunt Carolyn go by her full name? Other than the spelling, I'm assuming the pronunciation will be different as well.
BTW, I have a niece named Emily. When she was around 3-4, my sister's SIL asked permission to name her dd Emma. It was considerate of her to ask and my sister easily agreed. Besides, the SIL and fam were on their way to Australia where they lived for around a decade. When they moved back to the States, they were still a long distance from my sister and her family and it hasn't been a huge deal. Sometimes, distance makes things so much simpler!
1
I think it'd be too close for my taste, unless I wanted to have some connection with Aunt Carolyn's name without actually naming after her. I think it would be fine to use Caroline as a middle name though.
I have very occasionally heard some people pronounce Caroline like it was Carolyn, rather than Care-a-Lyne. But I don't think this is the norm.
That said, I don't care for Caroline, it feels downbeat and glum. I do like Carolyn much better.
I have very occasionally heard some people pronounce Caroline like it was Carolyn, rather than Care-a-Lyne. But I don't think this is the norm.
That said, I don't care for Caroline, it feels downbeat and glum. I do like Carolyn much better.
1
I don't see any issue naming a kid the same name as a family member if they are different generations. So while I wouldn't use Caroline if my brother's had a daughter Carolyn, I would use it if it was just my aunt's name.
Closeness, how often you see each other, that wouldn't matter. However I'd probably be ready with a different nn if needed if we were close. (My family doesn't add in the "aunt" "uncle" titles, we just use first names.) One of my ex boyfriends, John. Everyone in the family was John. It was a family name given to every generation. They used first-middle name combos when talking about them so it was clear. A bit much but families figure it out.
Closeness, how often you see each other, that wouldn't matter. However I'd probably be ready with a different nn if needed if we were close. (My family doesn't add in the "aunt" "uncle" titles, we just use first names.) One of my ex boyfriends, John. Everyone in the family was John. It was a family name given to every generation. They used first-middle name combos when talking about them so it was clear. A bit much but families figure it out.
1
It depends on how close you are to your aunt.
My sister and my first cousin have the same name, Patricia, and the same nickname, with just a slight spelling variation, Patty and Patti. To be honest, growing up, I never gave this a second thought. It was only upon becoming an adult that I found it odd, knowing I would never use a name that one of my siblings had used. But I think that the reason I never found it that odd growing up was that my mother and her brother were not close and we weren't close to our cousins. We usually saw them only about twice a year, in spite of living only 15 miles apart.
So if you aren't close to your aunt and don't see her frequently, I'd say it's okay. Otherwise, probably not.
Also, my sister used a name the spelling of which is only one letter different from my name. My niece is named Janine and my name is Janice. However, the pronunciations are so different that it didn't seem that odd.
My sister and my first cousin have the same name, Patricia, and the same nickname, with just a slight spelling variation, Patty and Patti. To be honest, growing up, I never gave this a second thought. It was only upon becoming an adult that I found it odd, knowing I would never use a name that one of my siblings had used. But I think that the reason I never found it that odd growing up was that my mother and her brother were not close and we weren't close to our cousins. We usually saw them only about twice a year, in spite of living only 15 miles apart.
So if you aren't close to your aunt and don't see her frequently, I'd say it's okay. Otherwise, probably not.
Also, my sister used a name the spelling of which is only one letter different from my name. My niece is named Janine and my name is Janice. However, the pronunciations are so different that it didn't seem that odd.
1