Kim writes:
Is it more, or less, acceptable to name a child June if she’s born in the month of June?
We are having a baby boy in August and two of the names we like for him are …
August nn Gus (his birth month)
Leonardo nn Leo (his star sign)
Neither were chosen FOR this reason – Gus and Leo are just names we both like and we prefer to have a formal name with nickname option. We have shelved both for now while we consider this coincidence, but I still really like them.
In the objective opinions of your readers and yourself… what do you think of names that match the month/season/star sign of a child’s birth? Is it corny or fine?
Oh, neat! I gave this some thought and…I’m not sure! I worked with a girl named April who used to say in a weary voice that no, she was not born in April—so maybe it would have been better if she could have said yes? or maybe she would have been answering wearily either way, just because of being sick of the question?
With holiday names, I’m in favor: I love Natalie and Holly and Noelle MORE at Christmastime. But I know other people who rule them out.
My mom and I read a book with sisters named May and June, and their mother considered their entire name-month special, giving that child fewer chores and more treats for the whole month. That seems like it would only work in a family where every child had an equivalent name.
For me, zodiac signs are a non-issue: Leo is the only one that makes a good name, and I don’t think it’s associated with the zodiac the way June is with the calendar. In your son’s case, it seems like it would just be something fun—the way I think it’s fun that my twins are Geminis. Same with birthstones: I think it’s cute if a girl named Ruby also has rubies as her birthstone, but I wouldn’t notice it unless she mentioned it.
What do you all think? Are month/holiday/zodiac/birthstone/etc. names BETTER when they match up with the birthdate? or do you think they SHOULDN’T match? Let’s have a poll, over to the right. [Poll closed; see results below.]
Poll results for “Your choice with month/season/zodiac names” (276 votes total):
BETTER when they match the birthdate: 32%
RULED OUT if they match the birthdate: 7%
I am as uncertain as Swistle!: 61%
For other people’s kids I like it better when it does match, but I have a daughter named June, born in March. It’s a family name, which was our reason for choosing it and we do get the “Was she born in June” question a lot. I don’t really mind, though. Sometimes I answer that she’s named for her great-grandmother, who was in fact born in June. That’s as close a connection to the real month as we can get.
Like what Swistle said about Ruby, I only notice if it’s mentioned. Otherwise, the names stand alone. That’s if it’s a common name already, though. I’d think it was pretty strange to name your August-born son October or Aquarius unless you had a really, really cool story behind it.
My daughter’s middle name (given by her birth parents, and not a big favorite of mine) is Summer. She was born in November. This bothers me a little. Obviously, not enough to choose to use a different name over one that her birth parentz chose for her. It also possibly just bothers me because I don’t really like the name so much to start with.
As for your questions, I would never make the Leo connection. Also, I might notice the August connection at first, but that will wane as he is older and birthdays are less of a big deal and even moreso if he becomes known as Gus.
At the end of the day, I would say choose the name that you like best – the potential “issues” in this case are very minor.
Congrats!
In general, I like it better when they match. I wouldn’t notice with Leo though.
It might be easier if they match…but quite frankly, I LOVE the names Gus and Leo and would use them no matter what! :)
My middle name is June, I was named after my paternal grandmother, but both she and I was born in November. I knew a woman named Summer who was born in December, but her mother loved the summertime, and I think that holds even more significance than just being born in June, July or August.
I don’t think month/holiday/zodiac/birthstone names are necessarily better when they correspond to the right time on the calendar. There can be other circumstances, be it a namesake or just that you LOVE a particular name, that trump something like not matching the season.
Good luck!!
I think I’m with the majority – I like it when they match, but I don’t object if they don’t.
I guess the exception might be a really unusual name – I’d be more likely to ask October if he was born in October, or Thursday if she was born on a Thursday.
August, Leo, Ruby, Summer … all so mainstream that I wouldn’t think anything of it.
Both of your names are great!
FYI, I worked with an April who was born in April (that’s why her parents named her April), and she used to answer just as wearily “Yes, I was born in April.” So, I think the weariness comes less from what the answer to the question is, and more from answering the same question over and over again :)
I think Leo is a non-issue – I don’t think many people would bat an eye whether you named him Leo and that was his Zodiac sign, or you named him Leo and it wasn’t.
August is a little trickier, but I think that since you plan to call him Gus, it won’t be that big of an issue either. Plus, I agree with Abby – I think August is now so mainstream that people wouldn’t think it strange at all.
Both are great names, btw!!
I’m with the others – it’s fun when it matches, it’s fine if it doesn’t, and there’s definitely no reason NOT to match. (My experience is that if children want to tease each other, they find something to use. It doesn’t really matter what. So I never consider that. I’m not sure that was really an issue, but I wanted to mention it.)
By the way, my daughter was born on a Tuesday, and we named her Grace. Tuesday’s child is full of grace! But we would have named her Grace on any other day of the week, too, and in fact did not consider it until days later.
Yeah I agree with everyone else. Since both August and Leo are not unusual names, I think it’s fine. It might be overkill to name him Leo August or August Leo though ;)
I love August nn Gus. Too cute!
Agree with others that Leo is a non issue (although can I put in a plug for Leopold as the full name? I LOVE that name). But either way, Leo is great and I don’t think it matters.
August is trickier, but I think only if you are planning to CALL him August. Gus can be a nickname for lots of things (Gustave, etc…actually maybe its just August and Gustave). But anyway, if you are calling him Gus I don’t see an issue.
We named our daughter April who was born in June. I personally don’t think it is an issue either way. Names like April, May, June, August, etc are common enough that they don’t have to match the month they are born in, yet it is not weird at all if they do match.
That said, I get asked if April was born in April ALOT! I don’t mind, because I know I would be curious too. So if you are okay with answering the question nearly everytime you introduce your son August, I say go for it!
My mom, April, was born in September, and I think she would not like her name so well if she were born in April (she likes her name).
I have a friend with a little boy Leo, who is born in August but is in fact a Virgo. People ASSUME he’s a Leo though, it’s neither good nor bad.
I had this same question, as we also like the name August (nn Gus) and are due with a boy the end of August (but could be September).
After reading the comments, I think I agree with the commenter that it’s fun when they match, but not irritating and also no big deal when they don’t match. It probably one of those instances where the parents are going to think about it way more than anyone else will.
For a data point, my husband has two cousins named May and June. They were the last daughters born in their family of four girls and 1 boy and they were born in May and June. It’s cute on them now, even as adults.
I go back and forth, depending on the name, I suppose. I don’t really associate August the name with the month, as it is also an adjective.
However, I only associate April with the month, so that might cause me to wonder. I have a cousin named April who was born in May, but due in April and they went with it anyway, I always found that strange.
I would never associate Leo or Ruby with the sign or the birthstone. They’re just names. Great names, at that.
If you get unusual and name a kid December, I might ask why, but I wouldn’t care if she wasn’t born in that month.
However, I do know of a family with three boys. The first two are 12 months and 1 day apart in age, both born in August. Third son is a few years younger, born in July. They NAMED him August. I always thought that was a little strange.
But not that extreme, I say go for it!
I generally think it’s better when they do match. I know a Holly born in May and it’s always seemed odd to me. I don’t really think of either August (although I see more Augustus and Augustine that August around here) or Leonardo as that tightly tied to the the month or sign. Most people wouldn’t even notice with Leo I bet. Both are great names :)
Steph
How about making it a side-issue and use Augustus?
I know a baby named Leo, whose zodiac sign is, in fact, Leo. I thought it was weird when brought up, but now I could care less.
I’ve known people named “April” and “June,” and it never crossed my mind to wonder if those were their birth months. I’m surprised that people with month names get asked that question, but since it looks like they do, that’s one thing I’d consider if I were going to use the name — whether I’d find it irritating to be asked that a lot. (For me, I think I’d find it fun, not irritating.)
My name is April May, and I was born in May. The doctors never gave my mom a due date, just said “April or May.” I did get teased a little, but it never really bothered me. I got more TMNT teasing than anything.
If our little one had been a boy we had both August (Gus) and Lionel (Leo) on our list – and he would have been born in August. I think it’s perfectly acceptable and, especially in the case of Leo, just plain cute.
I think its non-consequental … but on a side note I do want to add that when I hear gus I think angus
Both my sons were born under Leo in August, and both Leo and August were on our short lists. We ended up going with Augustin for one son, and another direction with the other. It seemed a little too matchy to name them completely after their zodiac sign, or their birth month. You have good taste in names! ;)
My middle name is May – but I am an early June baby and was supposed to be born in May. I love my middle name and am happy to answer the “were you born in May?” questions.