History Main / NearAndDearBabyNaming

Compare DeadGuyJunior, WeNamedTheMonkeyJack, and ChildNamingRequest. Contrast NamedAfterSomebodyFamous. SubTrope to MeaningfulName and SignificantNameOverlap. It also serves well as a way of averting OneSteveLimit. If a creator decides to do this in a meta way, that is {{Tuckerisation}}.

** A minor sidequest in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'' involves getting an ingredient to cure a Gerudo's ill husband. She's so grateful that she rewards him with 300 rupees (the highest amount available in the game) and promises to name a child after him if she has one.

** Gilbert becomes such a beloved doctor that he loses count of babies named after him.

* ''Literature/TheShadowhunterChronicles'': Will and Tessa name their son James Herondale after their friend, James "Jem" Carstairs.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS32E16MangerThings Manger Things]]", Ned Flanders' younger son Todd's middle name is Homer, after Homer Simpson, who helped deliver him with Maude Flanders.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "Manger Things", Ned Flanders' younger son Todd's middle name is Homer, after Homer Simpson, who helped deliver him with Maude Flanders.

* Parodied in a Creator/ProZD [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoWCxoFl-d8 sketch]], where a father tells his son was named after two of the bravest men he knew. The son is rightfully upset with his name: [[Manga/DragonBall Goku]] Manga/{{Naruto}}.

** Ayla names her daughter Jonayla after both herself and her mate Jondalar. She does this partly out of love for Jondalar and partly to reaffirm to him her belief they both played a part in Jonayla's creation (Ayla being one of the few people who has noticed the link between insemination, pregnancy and heredity).

** Badgerfang is a PlayedWith example, since he named ''himself'' after his mentor.

* ''Series/JaneTheVirgin'': Jane's son Mateo is named for his dead great-grandfather, but one of his middle names is Rogelio, after his living grandfather. DotingGrandparent that he is, Rogelio promptly starts calling the baby "Matelio".

So you've just given birth to a child and are not sure what to call them. Well, why not those you consider near and dear for a name. Usually, this trope involves someone deciding to name their child after someone they admire, love, or are closely acquainted with. This usually comes in the form of a friend, admirer, living relative, co-worker, or similar. This is generally used to show that the person respects said person enough that they decide to name their child after them. However, this does have a tendency to frequently occur in response to them helping out with the delivery and afterwards as well. Additionally, it commonly comes about as a result of a LastMinuteBabyNaming.

* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'': Franklin Benjamin Richards (who is Reed and Sue's child) is this crossed over with DeadGuyJunior; he's partially named after Sue's dead mother, and partially from Reed and Sue's living teammate Ben Grimm.

** [=BadgerFang=] is a PlayedWith example, since he named ''himself'' after his mentor.

So you've just given birth to a child and are not sure what to call them. Well, why not those you consider near and dear for a name. Usually, this trope involves someone deciding to name their child after someone they admire, love, or are closely acquainted with. This usually comes in the form of a friend, admirer, living relative, co-worker, or similar. Usually, this is generally used to show that the person respects said person enough that they decide to name their child after them. However, this does have a tendency to frequently occur in response to them helping out with the delivery and afterwards as well. Additionally, it commonly comes about as a result of a LastMinuteBabyNaming.

Compare DeadGuyJunior, WeNamedTheMonkeyJack, and ChildNamingRequest. Contrast NamedAfterSomebodyFamous. SubTrope to MeaningfulName and SignificantNameOverlap. It also serves well as a way of averting OneSteveLimit. If a creator decides to do this in a meta way, that {{Tuckerisation}}.

** Filonia names her daughter Thonolia after Thonolan; they only had a brief relationship but she cared for him a lot and believes Thonolia to be a "child of his spirit" (her culture [[MissConception doesn't quite understand how reproduction works]] and so have a looser concept of fatherhood). It's strongly implied Thonolan is indeed Thonolia's biological father [[spoiler:though he unfortunately never met her as he left before Filonia learned she was pregnant and subsequently died, technically making this overlap with DeadGuyJunior, although Filonia didn't find out he died for several years]].

** Ayla names her daughter Jonayla after both herself and her mate Jondalar. She does this partly out of love for Jondalar and partly to reaffirm to him her belief they both played a part in Jonayla's creation (Ayla being one of the few people who has figured out how conception works).
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': In the epilogue, we learn Harry's three children have been largely named by DeadGuyJunior. However, his only daughter's middle name, Luna, is for his living close friend Luna Lovegood.

* Parodied in a WebVideo/ProZD [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoWCxoFl-d8 sketch]], where a father tells his son was named after two of the bravest men he knew. The son is rightfully upset with his name: [[Manga/DragonBall Goku]] Manga/{{Naruto}}.

* ''ComicBook/RiversOfLondon'': At the end of ''Action at a Distance'' Nightingale learns that Angus Strallen and his wife Jacqueline named their son Thomas, after him. During the course of the comic he helps them solve a crime and saves their lives.

* In ''Film/MoscowCassiopeia'', Mila names her children after her classmates Vitya (on whom she had a crush) and Varya, both of whom have gone on a many-year space mission and may not return during her lifetime.

** Alice herself is named as a feminine form of "Alex", since her parents thought she was going to be a boy and planned to name her after her grandfather. Her middle name is Enid, after her grandmother.

* ''Series/TheBrittasEmpire'': Gordon Colin Porter, who is the child which Julie gives birth to in "[[Recap/TheBrittasEmpireS7E1TheElephantsChild The Elephant's Child]]", is named for her colleague Colin Weatherby (who helped keep the baby warm) and her boss Gordon Brittas (who assisted in the birth).
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E8LetsKillHitler Let's Kill Hitler]]", it's revealed that Melody Pond, Amy Pond's daughter, is named after her best friend, Melody Zucker. [[spoiler:Later on in the episode, Melody Zucker is revealed to actually ''be'' Melody Pond, being a future version of her, making this example a StableTimeLoop.]]

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Gilly names her son Sam after Samwell Tarly, who helped her escape her abusive home and later became her love interest. When she gets pregnant with her second child, she plans to name it after her friend Jon Snow if its a boy.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Franklin}}'': Franklin's baby sister is named for his (apparently still living) great aunt Harriet, since she always brings the best gifts and the baby is sort of like a gift.

* ''Film/TheSantaClause3TheEscapeClause'': Santa/Scott names his and Mrs. Claus/Carol's new baby son Buddy, after Carol's father Bud.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E8LetsKillHitler "Let's Kill Hitler]], it's revealed that Melody Pond, Amy Pond's daughter, is named after her best friend, Melody Zucker. [[spoiler:Later on in the episode, Melody Zucker ''is'' revealed to actually be Melody Pond, being a future version of her.]]

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Gilly names her son Sam after Samwell Tarly, who helped her escape her abusive home and later became her love interest. When she gets pregnant with her second child, she plans to name it after her friend [[spoiler: Jon Snow]] if its a boy.

* ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'': In ''Breaking Dawn'' Bella comes up with two names for her unborn child depending on whether it's a boy or girl: for a boy she has Edward Jacob in honor of the baby's father and her close friend, respectively, and Renesmee for a girl in honor of both Bella?s mother Renee and Edward's adoptive mother Esme. Bella has a daughter, so Renesmee it is (although most people call her Nessie for convenience). Bella also states that Renesmee's middle name can be Carlie after Bella's father Charlie and her father-in-law Carlisle.

[[folder:Live-Action Films]]

[[folder:Web Video]]
* Parodied in a WebVideo/ProZD [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoWCxoFl-d8 sketch]], where a father tells his son was named after two of the bravest men he knew. The son is rightfully upset with his name: [[Manga/DragonBall Goku]] Manga/{{Naruto}}.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/DeathStranding'': In one of the storylines, [[PlayerCharacter Sam]] is tasked with delivering a medical machine that will help a neighbourhood doctor with assisting a woman and her husband living in a shelter in the high mountains with her difficult birth. In one of the emails the player receives later, the husband says that his wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy, who they plan on naming Sam out of gratitude.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', Link ends up becoming BloodBrothers with the Goron chief Darunia when he clears out the monsters in Dodongo's Cavern. Upon returning to Death Mountain after the TimeSkip, it's revealed that Darunia had a son in the intervening seven years and named him Link ([[HelloInsertNameHere or whatever the player happens to be named in that particular playthrough]]).
** A minor sidequest in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'' involves getting an ingredient to cure a Gerudo's ill husband. She's so grateful that she rewards him with 300 rupees (the highest amount available in the game) and promises to name a child after him if she has one.

!!Examples: