Hope writes:
I’m about 3 1/2 weeks for my due date and we’ve pretty much nailed down a name, but I’m still apprehensive.
The name is Grace Louise. I love it, I do. In my head I think of her as Gracie. I have stopped looking for other names. But I am still worried that every time I introduce myself and her I’ll feel a tinge of (for lack of a better word) embarrassment. “Hi, I’m Hope and this is my daughter Grace.” I’ll be waiting for people to comment or assume they think it’s silly.
So, can you tell me if I’m being ridiculous? Or do you and the readers think it IS silly? Will I make us the butt of jokes? Will my teenage daughter roll her eyes that I named her something so similar to my own name? Help!
My guess is that people will definitely notice, and may very well comment on it—but that it is the sort of thing people in general LIKE. That is, my guess is that the feedback will be positive and sparkley-eyed with enjoyment, not negative and eye-rolly with scorn. The situation where you’re introducing yourselves at the same time (and only the two of you, with no other name to put between you) won’t come up very often, and on the occasions it does, you can minimize the effect by separating the introductions a bit: “Hi, I’m Hope Anderson! *shaking hands* Nice to meet you too! And this is Grace.”
If you DO get any feedback that seems negative (from your future teenaged daughter or from anyone else), you can shrug and say, “I know, and that almost made us not choose it—but Grace was just our hands-down favorite name.”
Name update! Hope writes:
Thank you so much for posting my question. I had not considered the name as a (sweet) link between myself and my daughter, and that was all I needed to hear to convince myself we were making the right choice. I so appreciate yours and the readers unbiased opinions. Grace Louise arrived October 21st (9 days late), and so far no one has commented to me on the virtue name connection.
Everything Swistle said AND if you are calling her Gracie (as you mentioned), that slightly softens the connection. Stick with the name you love!
Gracie DEFINITELY softens the connection (for me, anyways).
I met a friend of a friend recently named Joy who’s 20something daughter is named Faith. I noticed that they were both virtue names and thought it was sweet!
Remember, teenage daughters will manufacture reasons to roll their eyes – she may decide her name is one of those reasons, but that doesn’t mean Grace isn’t the perfect name for her =D
I totally agree with Swistle. It is a NICE connection.
I also love the name and think it’s a nice connection. I knew a Grace who went by Gray, which is another great nickname.
If it still doesn’t feel right, Louisa Grace is also lovely.
My family nickname is Gray, for Grace. Actually, we spell it Grey, not that it gets spelled that often.
It’s a lovely connection. My mother’s name ends in a -la like mine, and she still sometimes refers to us as “the la la girls”. When I was a teenager I of course found this mortifying, but that is a distant memory now. :) I love having that connection with her. I’ve considered a -la ending name for a future daughter of mine as well but there are few that I like besides my mother’s name itself (a variant of Lila). I hope to find one I like eventually because I would love to continue the connection.
I think Grace Louise is a beautiful name in every way, and the connection with your name only heightens the appeal. Maybe someday your daughter will continue the tradition with a Faith, Verity, Amity, or Honor…
Best of luck!
Once again, Swistle nails it :)
Grace Louise is beautiful! Go for it! Totally agree with Swistle!
I think the names are alright together, but I think you need to consider that if you have another daughter someday that you would probably need to use another virtue name. At least, I would! :)
I agree with Swistle. I would notice a mom/daughter pair named Hope & Grace, but I wouldn’t think much of it. Hope was a popular name for people who are currently mom-aged & Grace is a popular name now. I also agree with the other poster who said Gracie dilutes the connection a bit.
Now, if you you are Hope & already had a Grace, I would advise against something like Faith. That does seem a bit trying too hard to me. But just Hope & Grace is fine.
I wouldn’t have noticed, honestly. And if I had, it’s not a bad thing.
Agree with Swistle and above commenters. Especially the fact that, like Swistle said, it likely won’t come up very often when you are introducing both of you… And if you do, Gracie softens the combination. If you guys love the name, then you should go with it. It’s a sweet name and you would hate to regret it if you didn’t choose it.
I agree that it’s a lovely connection! Grace Louise is a name any girl would be proud of.
Also, another thing is that Grace is more commonly used as a middle name, making it seem particularly fresh and delightful as a first name.
Thank you so much for posting my question! You guys are making me feel so much better about it. I broke my silence and ran it by a couple family members too and they barely noticed the connection.
And to Erin M., I actually already have a 2 year-old named Mia, so they won’t all be virtue names.
I think the virtue name connection is a non-issue. Mia and Grace are a great sibset.
My name is Joy, my mother’s name is Grace. We get occasional comments, but they are always positive! I find it to be a nice connection between the two of us.
Like everyone else, I say use it.
Use it! I, as a name nerd and generally nosy person, would probably wonder if it was a family naming tradition (and would probably ask after a few times hanging out), but I like it. And if I knew you had an older daughter with a non-virtue name, I don’t think I would think anything of it at all.
I think it’s fine! In the pantheon of naming issues, this one strikes me as so very not worth worrying about.
The only time I’ve ever noticed a weird mother/child naming issue happened with my sister. One of her kids has a name that rhymes with her own. So that certainly sounds sing-songy if it’s just the two of them getting introduced and not the whole family.
I think it’s lovely! I love the connection and since Grace and Hope are both “normal” names I don’t think it’s apparent at all.
I don’t think the parents’ name should really influence the name of their kids. So “matchiness” is fine — after all, lots of people have the exact same name as their parents.
My only hesitation would be that I might mix up the mother’s and daughter’s names after I met them i.e. Which one was Grace and which one was Hope?
Congratulations on your beautiful and well-named daughter Grace Louise.