Would this bother you - using a family name that's also the name of an ex for a middle name?

We want to use our baby's middle name to honour a family member. Originally I wanted to use my grandfather's name (Robert) but my partner suggested using Ian which is my grandfather's middle name and his grandfather's first name which makes a lot of sense. My issue is, I once dated an Ian so I'm just not sure about using the name for our baby. For context - this was someone I dated for 6 months about 10 years ago so it's not like it was a really long term relationship, but it wasn't a great relationship and it gives me the ick every time I think about it 😅 Would this bother you? I feel conflicted, because I think it's a good middle name but I don't want to think back to an ex every time I say/write his name.

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There are 8.2 billion people on this planet 🌍 so you will always know Ian, Chris, Sarah, Karen etc… and pretty high chance you’d had dated one too. Unless you dated that person for years and they did you dirty just use the name, especially since it has a deeper meaning to both of you

Although Karolina makes a good point, honestly - I think the opposite - if you don’t like the name, you don’t need to use it

I think if it gives you the ick every time you think about it then don’t choose it. 👍

In my opinion I wouldn’t use a name I don’t like for whatever reason for my child, especially one from an ex, and especially from an unpleasant relationship. There are so many other name options and I’m sure more than a few that are meaningful to you! You don’t want to cringe at your sons name for years to come 😕

I think that especially with the family connections, your son will make the name his own and you’ll likely reassociate the name with him instead of the ex. You might ‘cringe’ for a very short period of time before it’s just your son. But like everyone else said, if you don’t like it, don’t use it

Honestly my son got Michael as a middle name and that was my exs dad name but at the end of the day my great uncle was called Michael and so is my grandad called Michael and my son uncle called Michael and my boy dad middle name Michael and Michelle is the female version of of Michael which is my middle name

My dad's name is Ian.. I wanted to honour my dad without using his name and fortunately Ian is a name that translates around the world.. John, Giovanni, Ivan, Johannes, Hann (and plenty more) are all variants of the name.. maybe do a bit of research and see if you like one of the variations instead x

Personally, I don't really care that much about middle names. They very rarely ever get used, typically just in documents. So I wouldn't overthink this. Having said that, only you can make the decision about whether a name has too strong negative connotations for you.

Use both for middle names My son has 3 middle names

I wouldn’t use it if it was the name of anyone I dated no matter how long ago it was. It would just remind me of that person

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