Hi Jennifer!

First, I have to thank you for this amazing site! I’m always on here looking for inspiring baby names. I have read nearly every Q&A so I am familiar with your “rules for baby naming”. One thing I have always wondered about, and have never really seen you talk about (forgive me if you have and I missed it!) is if you have an opinion on the cohesiveness of sibling names. Does it matter to anyone out there that all their children have names that mesh well? Or would you have a “Fifi”, a “Zion”, a “Shantel” and a “Keoni” all in the same family?

Thanks!
Casey

Dear Casey,

Thank you for being a loyal reader!

My opinion is that every child in a household should have his/her own identity. I therefore advise against naming children after parents, “matching” twins names or even creating sibling patterns, such as all names starting with the same letter. I understand that parents like to show the cohesiveness of the family unit through naming patterns. It’s sort of like doling out uniforms for a team. However I believe sharing a surname is cohesive enough. Don’t box your children (or you) in with unnecessary name rules! I would love it if I met a family with a Fifi, Zion, Shantel and Keoni! Those are fascinating name choices.

Sincerely,
Jennifer

Headshot of Jennifer Moss

Jennifer Moss (she/her) is the founder of BabyNames.com, author of The Baby Names Workbook, and Producer of The Baby Names Podcast. Jennifer is widely regarded as the leading expert on popular baby name trends and the naming process, serving as the authoritative source on the subject for national and international media.

Jennifer entered the tech arena in the 80s as a software developer and database architect, and became a pioneer in the Internet industry. In addition to operating BabyNames.com, Jennifer owns a web development agency in central California.