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Grandchildren named after SIL side

(47 Posts)
trueblue22 Fri 03-Feb-17 17:19:15

My SIL insists on his children being named after deceased close relatives, which I respect. DD goes along with this.

I only have two GC, both from my DD and SIL. The first child was named after SIL male grandparents. The latest baby girl- born 2 days ago- has been named after SIL grandmother and only the second name after my late mother. So 3/4 of the children's names are after SIL side. My poor DH side of the family have been ignored.

I obviously wouldn't make an issue of this with DD or SIL, but it has hurt DH that his side has been overlooked.

SIL parents lives in Canada and can't be so hands on. So maybe SIL wanted to make them feel more included.

It seems such a petty issue when written down, but are we over reacting to this slight?

Bbnan Fri 03-Feb-17 23:52:28

We are a family of 13 ...Myself and twin were the only 2 not to have a family name...All nieces and nephews have them as second name and next generation also...James was my dad's name...I have a brother,brother in law nephews and Great nephews with this name..Mam was Mary...Have a sister...neice,,grand neice same name,,,loads as a second name....My fil was Edward...His bil..My husband ...Second name for our son...It still goes on...Our granddaughters second name is after great nan..Nan..mums second name.....It is nice to see it all go on...

BlueBelle Sat 04-Feb-17 05:58:21

Oh just love and enjoy them whatever they are called it's nothing to do with us what our children call our grandkids Chill out a bit and stop being irrational you had your turn when you had your kids it's no longer anything to do with you

PamelaJ1 Sat 04-Feb-17 06:52:50

Sugarpufffairy certainly is a very long name to put on official forms!?
I was just so relieved that my DGS has a name that, I think, can only be spelt one way and is unlikely to cause him any embarrassment.

f77ms Sat 04-Feb-17 08:52:42

sugarpuffery I get what you are saying . It is more about your DDs explanation of the names she has used. A friend of mine called her daughter my name which is very unusual then said she didn`t call her after me she just liked the name !! why say it ?

harrigran Sat 04-Feb-17 09:03:09

When I was expecting my first baby my DF wanted me to give the child a Scandinavian name, I resisted as I did not think Solveig went with our very common very British surname.
We had no input into GC's names but eldest has a first name that appears right through both DH's and my family tree.

grannypiper Sat 04-Feb-17 09:59:16

trueblue it hurts you so its real. Allow yourself today to feel hurt then tomorrow give yourself a shake and count your blessings and put yourself in his parents shoes, they are in Canada and must be hurting that they dont get the hugs, smiles and cuddles that you get.I am sure they would trade the name for time.Tomorrow is a new day.brew & cupcake

rosesarered Sat 04-Feb-17 10:06:51

I was just relieved that the DC chose normal names for the DGC!
However trueblue your DD probably felt that if her DH felt strongly about it then she would go along with it.Maybe being in Canada instead of living here impacted on it as well.

Sugarpufffairy Sat 04-Feb-17 10:14:15

My real life name is actually even longer than Sugarpufffairy. I have 17 letters in my name.
I have no idea why my dd always has to show a nasty side. She can be thoughtful.

thatbags Sat 04-Feb-17 10:18:27

Spot on, grannyben. The children, as people, individuals in their own right, are what matters, not their names or name traditions. Over-thinking is a kind way of putting it. I've been thinking more along the lines of "manufactured upset" and guessing those who are upset don't have any big worries so have to make the most of trivial ones. Yes, I know they don't feel trivial to those who are upset, but looking from a position of emotional detachment, or looking at the big picture, it looks trivial, relatively speaking.

thatbags Sat 04-Feb-17 10:19:36

"always has to show a nasty side"

I'd hate myself if I thought like that about any of my kids.

Stansgran Sat 04-Feb-17 10:46:48

My brother was" blessed" with a surname from each side of the family as his middle name. His first name was as fathers and grand fathers. I think it showed a distinct lack of imagination. And was very clunky.

Sugarpufffairy Sat 04-Feb-17 10:52:39

I really wish my DCs were not they way they are. It has only been since they grew up and got their own lives that things have changed. As youngsters they had the odd tiff but never like this. I wonder what they found outside the family? Thatbags you are the second gran to have a snipe at me on this thread. Maybe the DCs found they had to be stronger outside the house and family. I just dont do anything about anyone who is snipey.
I worry why DC is like this I wish I could find the cause and sort it. I am concerned she is unhappy deep down.
I hope you are pleased with making me worry all the more. I dont need snipey comments.
Love etc

LuckyDucky Sat 04-Feb-17 11:15:29

truB It could be far worse. Think of the ridiculous names
some poor children have been saddled with e.g. "the number
8 bus" and "chardonnay," yes really sad

The NZ government finally woke up and made it illegal to give a child a flippant or idiotic name. smile

grannypiper Sat 04-Feb-17 11:34:22

thatbags sometimes we have to be honest about our children, we cant always wear blinkers. Just because a child is our offspring it doenst make them perfect. I think most adults get away with awful behaviour because their Mummies could never admit their little darling was no angel

Mair Sun 05-Feb-17 12:19:24

Sugarpuff
In short it was the nasty comment and not who is called after whom which caused the problem.

Absolutely but this sounds to me like its a lot more about DD than the name. It's hurtful when ACs behave like this (my DS can be similar), but I think that for many people its all linked with transitioning to adulthood and becoming independent. As ACs are separating then some feel the need to cut the apron strings with some very sharp snips while others can deal with it more skilfully and calmly, and are less paranoid about being 'controlled' by a parent.

I think the best way to deal with it is backing off a bit, although hard for us parents of ACs as we naturally want to keep our ACs as close as possible, while they want to push us back, so that they do not have to be accountable. I can understand this feeling, as with an aged mother still alive who irritates the hell out of me when she wants to monitor what I am doing, I demand the same right to be unaccountable as my son!The tighter the bow the further the arrow flies.

I suspect your daughter feared that to acknowledge the name as coming from you would have been paying homage to your influence (and control) over her. The fact that she has used your name however rather than shunning it, is I think a hint that in reality this is what she did, albeit subconsciously (she just doesnt want you to realise it hence the spiteful lashing out!) wink

Elrel Sun 05-Feb-17 12:23:35

At least Chardonnay has a pretty sound, there is little attractive about our Inner Circle #8 bus!! Now the Outer Circle #11 is iconic and has had a novel and a wine (!) named after it!!
Ducks and runs after wilfully missing point of thread!

Shuffles back to say DGGD, born this morning is Effie, which makes me a proud GGM!

PS I taught a lovely girl named Cheyenne Tequila - what IS in a name in the long run?!

thatbags Sun 05-Feb-17 13:07:57

I accept your point, grannypiper, (up to a point–I'm not sure I agree that parents can be blamed for the bad behaviour of their adult offspring; at some point people do have to take responsibility for their own behaviour and not blame it on someone else), but one can acknowledge the imperfections of one's offspring without saying such negative things about them on public forums.

Starlady Sun 05-Feb-17 13:23:53

Let me guess... Dd put her foot down and said one name had to be for her family. She chose your mother because she was closer to her growing up than dh's mother.

Or whatever. Fact is you and dh don't know. Sure dh is disappointed. But he shouldn't waste his time being hurt over something that probably wasn't intended to be hurtful.

Really, if this is your only problem with dd and sil, you're doing good.

Jalima Sun 05-Feb-17 13:25:46

The old names which started to come back a while ago are still very popular Elrel - usually in the shortened version

Although I hear that Gertrude has dropped off the list completely. I don't even think there are any Gerts or Gerties these days.

Jalima Sun 05-Feb-17 13:28:00

I wouldn't worry about it trueblue, perhaps they just liked the names as well and some have come back into fashion whereas others have not (see my previous post).

Although I think that a Gertrude could be called 'Trudie' which is nice.

Jalima Sun 05-Feb-17 13:31:46

ps trueblue DGS's other DGP were really quite annoyed that DGS was not called after him until it was pointed out that it is an Anglicised and shortened version of his name (phew!).

Some nationalities and cultures still do have a tradition of using family names, others tend not to.