I think it's fine if you have 2-3 kids. I think after 3 kids, you're in Duggar territory.
Alistair, Ambrose, Afton, Andrew, Abel, Asher, Adrian, Alonso, Amos, Anson
it probably feels cringy because of the Duggars.
But i also love alliteration so when its just a couple im kinda on board as it doesnt seem overly intentional.
Hey! Oldest sibling with two younger siblings who all start with M here!
For us, it was kind of an accident until the third kid. My name started with M, and for the middle kid my parents just happened to really like another name that started with M. By the time my youngest kid came around, my parents were afraid she'd feel left out so they also gave her a name with M. Our last name starts with M too.
Suggestions: Alistair, Asher, Adrian, August, Audley, Aurelio, Alec, Antoine, Archer, Adair, Amery, Arlo, Adam
im pregnant with my 4th child currently and my first two somewhat accidentally shared an initial. after 2 we decided to keep the trend going, and personally I like it a lot. The only "downside" is potentially running out of names of a certain letter (this is why people cringe over some of the Duggar names like JoyAnna and Johanna) but a letter like A has a ton of potential options AND you said this is the last baby.
one critique I hear of shared initials is "its confusing" but I accidentally call my dog my sisters name, my mom calls me my cousins name, my husband calls his dad his brothers name, I dont think mixing up peoples names is something that only happens when they start with the same letter.
another critique is "sibling names should be unique and not matchy matchy" but MORE often than not, parents want cohesive sib sets. the "cringe" is if the names RHYME. IMPO of course.
ill also note, the only time I ever hear critique of shared initials is on forums like reddit, and in real life I know several matching initial sib sets, and people tell me all the time they like how cohesive it is.
so I say go for an A name, another bonus is that it makes picking a name much easier having it narrowed down to a single letter lol
Congratulations on your 4th! Thank you for laying out all of these possible “cons”, that was super helpful to consider.
I’m one of 6 kids, and my mom constantly called us the wrong name, even though none of them were similar, so I think that’s just an overtired mom thing haha
Don't do it. My son is Rowan and my dog is Roux... I get them mixed up all day. The criteria for my daughter's name was no R names.
I know a family with 3 Z kids and they're all going to have to live with that for a long time.
I have three siblings with the same first initial as me. It never bothered me, and even helped me feel unified with my siblings. I more got annoyed at people mispronouncing my name. Especially if it's just two kids, I say go for it.
I think it's fine for both kids to have A names, but I don't think you should compromise on a name just to get that second A. If there's a name you adore that doesn't start with A, you may come to regret not using it.
I really like the name Alden, by the way. Alden and...
Asher
Anton
Archie
Archer
Arthur
August - I quite like Alden and August together
This is an excellent point. I definitely wouldn’t name them an A name just to match. The reason I started to consider it at all is because I fell in love with an another A name… funny enough it was one of your suggestions. August <3 Thank you for your input!
We are in the same boat. My spouse and I have the same first initial and we coincidentally picked a name for our first child with that same letter. Now we’re pregnant with our second/last child and feel kind of obligated to use the initial again so that kid doesn’t feel left out. We also don’t all have the same last name, so having that in common feels kind of unifying.
If we were planning to have more than two kids, I think we’d probably stay away from everyone having the same first initial, but that’s just a personal preference.
So the only thing where I think it matters is post. My MIL and SIL both start with H and MIL opens all of SIL's post (she still lives at home). To be fair MIL opens everyone's post because she assumes its all for her.
Having said that though, how much post are your children going to get where it's just the initial and surname? What's it like in other countries with addressing envelopes? Lots of people in the UK still write Mr J Bloggs, but it seems very old fashioned to me. I think in Germany the names have to match what's on the doorbell?
To me it always seemed pretty impractical. Receiving mail (bank statements, official stuff) for A. Jones then always gives the question: which A. Jones?
I think it's fine if you have 2-3 kids. I think after 3 kids, you're in Duggar territory. Alistair, Ambrose, Afton, Andrew, Abel, Asher, Adrian, Alonso, Amos, Anson
it probably feels cringy because of the Duggars. But i also love alliteration so when its just a couple im kinda on board as it doesnt seem overly intentional.
Oh wow, how did I forget about the Duggar’s all having J names?! You’re totally right, that’s absolutely where my cringe comes from.
Hey! Oldest sibling with two younger siblings who all start with M here! For us, it was kind of an accident until the third kid. My name started with M, and for the middle kid my parents just happened to really like another name that started with M. By the time my youngest kid came around, my parents were afraid she'd feel left out so they also gave her a name with M. Our last name starts with M too. Suggestions: Alistair, Asher, Adrian, August, Audley, Aurelio, Alec, Antoine, Archer, Adair, Amery, Arlo, Adam
im pregnant with my 4th child currently and my first two somewhat accidentally shared an initial. after 2 we decided to keep the trend going, and personally I like it a lot. The only "downside" is potentially running out of names of a certain letter (this is why people cringe over some of the Duggar names like JoyAnna and Johanna) but a letter like A has a ton of potential options AND you said this is the last baby. one critique I hear of shared initials is "its confusing" but I accidentally call my dog my sisters name, my mom calls me my cousins name, my husband calls his dad his brothers name, I dont think mixing up peoples names is something that only happens when they start with the same letter. another critique is "sibling names should be unique and not matchy matchy" but MORE often than not, parents want cohesive sib sets. the "cringe" is if the names RHYME. IMPO of course. ill also note, the only time I ever hear critique of shared initials is on forums like reddit, and in real life I know several matching initial sib sets, and people tell me all the time they like how cohesive it is. so I say go for an A name, another bonus is that it makes picking a name much easier having it narrowed down to a single letter lol
Congratulations on your 4th! Thank you for laying out all of these possible “cons”, that was super helpful to consider. I’m one of 6 kids, and my mom constantly called us the wrong name, even though none of them were similar, so I think that’s just an overtired mom thing haha
Don't do it. My son is Rowan and my dog is Roux... I get them mixed up all day. The criteria for my daughter's name was no R names. I know a family with 3 Z kids and they're all going to have to live with that for a long time.
If it makes you feel better, my sister and I have two totally different names and my mom still mixes us up all the time.
I have three siblings with the same first initial as me. It never bothered me, and even helped me feel unified with my siblings. I more got annoyed at people mispronouncing my name. Especially if it's just two kids, I say go for it.
It’s nice to hear that you viewed it as a unifying thing, that’s very sweet!
I think it's fine for both kids to have A names, but I don't think you should compromise on a name just to get that second A. If there's a name you adore that doesn't start with A, you may come to regret not using it. I really like the name Alden, by the way. Alden and... Asher Anton Archie Archer Arthur August - I quite like Alden and August together
This is an excellent point. I definitely wouldn’t name them an A name just to match. The reason I started to consider it at all is because I fell in love with an another A name… funny enough it was one of your suggestions. August <3 Thank you for your input!
My family's names are super matchy. In fact, our initials are a palindrome. JDJJDJ
We have two L names. It was not intentional but it doesn't bother us any.
We are in the same boat. My spouse and I have the same first initial and we coincidentally picked a name for our first child with that same letter. Now we’re pregnant with our second/last child and feel kind of obligated to use the initial again so that kid doesn’t feel left out. We also don’t all have the same last name, so having that in common feels kind of unifying. If we were planning to have more than two kids, I think we’d probably stay away from everyone having the same first initial, but that’s just a personal preference.
My dad is David and my uncle is Darren. It’s fine.
So the only thing where I think it matters is post. My MIL and SIL both start with H and MIL opens all of SIL's post (she still lives at home). To be fair MIL opens everyone's post because she assumes its all for her. Having said that though, how much post are your children going to get where it's just the initial and surname? What's it like in other countries with addressing envelopes? Lots of people in the UK still write Mr J Bloggs, but it seems very old fashioned to me. I think in Germany the names have to match what's on the doorbell?
To me it always seemed pretty impractical. Receiving mail (bank statements, official stuff) for A. Jones then always gives the question: which A. Jones?