It's Mother's Day today (Happy Mother's Day! 💐 to all the mothers out there) so I will be talking about mother / daughter names - specifically, the mothers who coolly choose to name their daughters after them!
We all know it is very common for fathers to name their sons (aka patronymics) after them but it is super rare for mothers to do the same and name their daughters after them (aka matronymics). And then if she does dare do so, it is even more rare if a Jr. follows the daughter's name. In the Washington City Paper article: Why Aren't Daughters Named For Their Mothers Called Juniors? it is all explained why matronymics is rare - basically because we live in a patriarchy ("in a male-dominated world, a son named after his father is commonplace"). Perhaps if the world at large were a matriarchy, there'd be more Olivia Jr.'s running around.
A great read via Atlantic is: The Women Naming Their Babies After Themselves. In it, one mother named Susannah, gave her daughter her name. She tells the story of at the hospital after giving birth, when she started to spell her baby's name, the record keeper interrupted her and was sure she was giving her own name instead. And when she corrected the record keeper, it was clear, "This lady couldn't comprehend that I would name my daughter after me." She added to Atlantic that, "I think there's something about that claiming of self that women haven't been encouraged to do," in regards to the weight that first names carry with identity (she interestingly brings up the reality that her own daughter may change her name when she's older and sees her name as a "working title").
I definitely am a very big fan of this very niche, important name trend. I have come across it personally twice in my life, starting with my own mother (RIP). Her middle name was Esther and she named (actually my late father made the suggestion) my oldest sister Esther as her first name. I always thought that was very, very sweet. Someone remarked (in a surprised manner) reading my mother's obituary and seeing two Esthers printed, that my sister and mother shared a name. I felt proud on behalf of my mother when I nodded in confirmation.
The second mother I knew who named their daughter after them was an acquaintance of my best friend at the time. Her name was Maybelline! (Yes, pronounced like the cosmetics brand. I'm not sure how she spelled it however.) I remember my bff saying how her daughter had the same name as her and I thought it was the coolest thing, especially with the unique name she has.
The only famous mother I knew of (prior to researching info for this post) that named her daughter after her is the rapper Remy Ma. Her real name is Reminisce (such a beautiful name!) and she said she named her daughter after herself because: "everybody always named their sons after their dads but I just feel like we need another Remy in the world."
📑I recently learned after publishing this post, that actress America Ferrera was named after her mother: “I’m named after my mother. In Latin America, April 14 is the Day of the Americas, and my mother was born on April 14, so my grandpa named her America”.
I don't have children but if I ever did, I don't think however I would have the guts to name a daughter directly after myself. For me, it would sound too strange saying my name as someone else's name too, especially since my name (Sidra) is very uncommon (honestly I selfishly would want to be the only Sidra I personally know. And actually I have met another Sidra (different pronunciation but same spelling) in passing, which was weird enough! I couldn't however imagine a household with two Sidras in it!). But I do really, really, really love the idea of it.
🏆Kudos to the bold women who have named daughters after themselves! 👏 I hope more and more mothers catch onto the fact it is okay to name your daughter after you. It should be as equally normal as when a father names his son after him. Perhaps, one day.
📃A LIST OF ⭐FAMOUS FEMALE Jr.'s:
1. 📛Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Jr.
2. 📛Winifred Sackville Stoner Jr.
3. 📛Dorothy Fuldheim Jr.
4. 📛Carolina Herrera Jr.
5. 📛Nancy Sinatra Jr.
📌👀Reddit 📛namenerds🤓 Community Thread: "Why are there kids named after their fathers, but not their mothers?" 🤔
https://www.reddit.com/r/namenerds/comments/d8ng60/why_are_there_kids_named_after_their_fathers_but/
