I know there is a lot of discussion of using maiden names or other surnames as first names. Is it weird for people who are still living who have that as a last name? For example, I'd like to use my mother-in-law's maiden name as a boy's first name. However, her brothers, their wives and children (my husband's aunts, uncles, and cousins) still have that last name. How weird would it be for a child to go to a family reunion and have his first name be the same as other family members' last names? Is it best to use maiden names as first names only if the name is going to 'die out' and not be carried on my another generation?
I have a firstnamey surname in my own family tree, something like Jameson, and we considered using it as a child's first name. It's a little hard for me to tell if it would feel weird to my uncles and aunts and cousins who still the name (since I didn't have the name myself), but my GUESS is that if they thought it was weird, they'd think it was cool-weird rather than awkward-weird or unpleasant-weird.
An acquaintance of mine used her mother-in-law's maiden name as her child's name, and when she speaks of it, it's always about how happy and pleased everyone was; she hasn't mentioned anything about the other family members feeling weird---but of course she might not mention it, and/or they might not have mentioned it to her.
I SUSPECT, though, that it's not very weird, and that it's quite positive and flattering. I'm imagining going to a family reunion and seeing a little Jameson, and I think I'd feel happy about that. It seems like it would trigger feelings of family pride and also of family inclusion: like, even when one of our own marries out, our name perseveres---and even though this little guy doesn't have the same surname as we do, he has it anyway. Plus, it communicates strongly that not only do the parents feel favorably about that whole part of the family tree, they even like the sound of the family name!
But I think we need people who have actually experienced this to weigh in. Has someone in your family used your own surname as their baby's name? And was it weird? And if it was weird, was it bad-weird or good-weird?
And if you haven't experienced it, you can still make a guess as to how you and your relatives might feel about it if it were your family.
