Questions about Jackson and Thomas

[epsilonindi]

We named our first son Andrew Thomas (Thomas being my wife's maiden name). Now working on names for our second boy, and two of our classic choices are Jackson and Thomas (I like the boyish sound of Tommy and the adult sound of Tom).

Our questions are:

1. How do people feel about using one child's middle name as another child's first name?

2. Would it be unwise to have two sons named Andrew and Jackson? (Presidential?)


Or would we be better off using one of our more unconventional names (such as Edmund, Edric, or Jasper).

-Thanks

[everwaiteing]

1. Normally, I do not care for the idea of using one child's middle name as another child's first name. However, in this case, since Thomas is both a classic boy's name AND your wife's maiden name, you have justification for doing so, in my opinion. It is understandable to me that that parents might like for each son to have this meaningful and versatile name that lends itself to being used as a first, middle, and last name. So, I think it is warranted in your case.

2. If your sons' first names were Andrew and Jackson, I do think the presidential reference would be very noticeable and people would probably assume that you and your wife were major Andrew Jackson fans. There is nothing wrong with it, but people would likely comment on it all the time, which could get old pretty fast.

I vote for Thomas for your second son. Andrew and Thomas make a great sibset.

[alzora]

I don't see a huge problem with using Thomas again as a first name. But I'd stay away from Jackson. Andrew and Jackson would never live it down, and neither would their parents. Have you considered Timothy? Instead of Tommy you get Timmy, and instead of Tom you get Tim.

[thetxbelle]

I'm not sure how I feel about it, I feel like the Presidential thing might not be a big deal or even an issue but then again it's Andrew Jackson people would think of if they did and he's probably the last President I would want someone to think I was honoring or was a fan of.

Maybe you should do a poll?

[stripedsocks]

Jasper and Edmund are both nicer than Jackson in any case and Andrew & Jackson is not a workable pairing IMO. And Andrew Jackson wasn't just *a* President but a pretty vile one, so there's real baggage there.

I don't think Jackson is nearly as classic as all that, either. It's popular at the moment - and has spawned Jaxon and similar - but it's not anything like Andrew or Thomas for longevity of historical use as a FN.

[epsilonindi]

Thanks everyone for your input. In the end, we steered clear of both Jackson and Thomas: Jackson for obvious reasons, and Thomas to avoid stepping on the first son's toes. In addition to Edmund, Edric, and Jasper listed above, our other final choices were Henry, Dylan, Zachary, Edward, and Caleb.

We decided to go with Edward, middle name Louis (family name). As much as I loved Edmund, I had a hard time picturing it in my head. I felt Zachary sounded too 1990s, and I couldn't convince my wife on Dylan and Caleb. Henry came in second. We liked the strength and sophistication of Edward, plus the fact it actually hasn't gotten any more popular after Twilight (perhaps even less so!). I'm a history nerd, so it's associated in my mind with Edward the Confessor, Edward the Bruce, and wonderful Edwardian England, and so on; especially fitting since my family's origin is Irish/Scotch and English. It's also got abundant nicknames, and it sounds good in combination with our first son's name, Andrew: Spelled with mostly the same letters, with a similar cadence, but yet a different sound and not rhyming.

Thanks again!

[southern.maple]

Edward Louis is a great name! Congratulations!

[catheyc]

Those are two very well-named little boys! Andrew Thomas and Edward Louis are such handsome names. Great job, and congratulations!

[katiedawn121]

Andrew and Jackson are definitely presidential together, but they sound fine together. I agree with you on the Thomas / Tommy / Tom feeling ... love the names! <3 Andrew and Thomas work well together, and if you look at Elvis Presley, his name was Elvis Aaron and he had a twin named Aaron Elvis.