Name Stealing!!

Ok, here is my dilemma at the moment and please feel free to tell me if im being silly here,

When i was about 12 weeks pregnant DF and i found out that friends of ours (not close friends but they do live near us in a small town) were pregnant too, and due the day after me. they came over a couple of weeks later and we were talking about baby names etc as you do. i told her that i had my girls name sorted and told her what it was and she told me some names that she had thought of too. DF wasnt too keen on my girls name to start off with but has come around now (didnt have much choice ha ha)

Last night she called DF to see if he had agreed on the girls name that i had chosen and its really stressing me out because i think that she wants to use it. I am sooooo worried that im now going to have a boy and she will have a girl and use my name, that way i wont be able to use it if i ever do have a girl.

I know i probably sound really petty and there are more important things to worry about and its only a name but we do live in a pretty small town and the name really isnt a common one so it will look silly if we both have daughters called that.

Has anyone else ever had this happen? im so stressed about it and i dont know if im just being silly!

I have had it happen - friends of DH's parents, who we see occasionally and who were at our wedding called their last baby Harrison, which is our DS's name. It is slightly annoying, but we don't see them very often so it is ok. Plus I realise that this is a fairly common name these days. But I don't think you are being silly at all, considering that you know these people and you do live close together - it is not fair of this woman to want your name, and it wouldn't be right even if you have a boy, because you thought of it first! Perhaps you could ask her straight out if she intends to use the name and maybe tell her how you feel about that and ask her not to - you cannot force her not to use the name but if she knows you are not happy about it then that might change her mind - especially if she doesn't want to cause friction between you.

Bon

I come from a large extended family and after my daughter was born and named my parents received a Christmas card from my cousin telling them about the birth of her grand-daughter .... Caitlyn Louise!!! Freaky considering we didn't even discuss our name selection prior to Caitlyn's birth. Within the extended family there are a number of name double-ups so I guess they had no concerns about the selection of names. On the other hand, I personally would be devastated if someone close to me named their child my favourite name selection.

If you are close - talk to her. If not, name your baby whatever you want. The name lasts forever but your address may not!!! :)

Also remember that each child and their personility is unique, they do not need a unique or different name to be special. Does the name you have chosen have one or more nicknames? Even if they choose the same name, in day to day life their child may end up being called something different anyway.

Good luck

My cousin called his son Lachlan James, not long after our Lachlan was born ](*,) Mum was more ****ty about it than I was as she seems him more, and when she talks about Lachlan now I sometimes have to ask her which Lachlan she is referring too. My Cousins g/friend is pregnant again and I said she had better not steal Kameron Andrew as well.

Love

Not that I'm supporting this at all....I would be upset too, but it could be seen as a form of flattery. She might think you have great taste!!

Scrappyfish - I am with you - I don't support it but unless they are really good friends of yours that you are going to see for the rest of your life then i would be a little bit upset - but really you might not live in the same town all your life - and there were 4 Jacci's in my class at school, I didn't mind

This is a good reason for not sharing your chosen names till after the birth - I have had heaps of friends and family asking if we have chosen names yet and I say yes it's a surprise - that way if anyone uses the name it is a co-incidence not because they copied.

I wouldnt worry too much about it she prolly just likes the name as much as you do and she really prolly rang to see if it was okay, Id just let her know that at some stage you are going to call your future baby that name so if she doesnt mind two of the same go ahead? (Maybe call her bluff a little!!!) But at the moment lots of names are really popular so lots of babies ATM has similar names? But still prolly just those bloody preggy hormones on attack :p

Lindie

I would hate if one of our friends used the name we had picked.
I have had a girls name picked since i was pregnant with Nick, we have not told any of our friends or family because i don't want them to use it, whenever they ask what names i have picked, i tell them totally different names so that they don't critisize or steal our name.