"Near and Dear" Baby Naming

Sharon: Before Little Sharon's born—

Tracey: You wish!

— Birds of a Feather, "Trouble and Strife"

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 a living person who 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 Last-Minute Baby Naming.

Compare Ancestral Name, Dead Guy Junior, We Named the Monkey "Jack", and Child Naming Request. Contrast Named After Somebody Famous. Sub-Trope to Meaningful Name and Significant Name Overlap. It also serves well as a way of averting One-Steve Limit. If a creator decides to do this in a meta way, that is Tuckerisation.

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Examples:

Anime & Manga

• A Flash Forward near the end of in Kaguya-sama: Love Is War reveals that Kashiwagi and Tsubasa name their firstborn son that arose from a Teen Pregnancy after the former's best friend Maki (though they opt for a more gender-neutral spelling, as naming a boy "princess" is just asking for a lifetime of bullying).

Comic Books

• Fantastic Four: Franklin Benjamin Richards (who is Reed and Sue's child) is this crossed over with Dead Guy Junior; he's partially named after Sue's dead father, and partially from Reed and Sue's living teammate Ben Grimm.
• Luke Cage and Jessica Jones named their daughter Danielle, after Luke's best friend Danny Rand, AKA Iron Fist.
• Marvel Comics 2: In this possible future, Peter Parker has named his daughter May after his aunt, and his son Benjamin after his uncle.
• Rivers of London: 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.
• Robin (1993): Jack Drake is rather egocentric, and thus his son's middle name is Jackson.
• Spider-Man: Played with in Marvel Comics #1000 where Spider-Man rescues a very pregnant woman, who then asks what his real name is - she wants to name the baby after him. After a moment's pause, he tells her "Ben." The last page then reveals that dozens of people have named their sons Ben.
• Superman: Clark's son with Lois, Jonathan Samuel (first introduced in Convergence) is named for his adoptive paternal grandfather, Jonathan Kent, and his maternal grandfather, Samuel Lane.
• The Flash: Wally West's kids are all named after people he's close to. His daughter Iris is named after his aunt Iris, who was married to Barry Allen. His son Jai is named after Jay Garrick, the first Flash. And his youngest son Wade is named after his uncle.
• Young Justice (2019): When Superboy was marooned on Gemworld, he posed as the husband of a pregnant widow. When the team finally finds him, his step-daughter is named Martha, after his adoptive mother, Martha Kent.

Fan Works

• A Better Word Than Humanity: Not only did Cassandra Jones literally name her son Casey after herself, his middle name is Splinter, in honor of the turtles' mentor.
• "The Case of Ichabod Crane and Dr. Frankenstein" features Ichabod Crane meeting the Frankenstein family, allowing him to clear their maid Justine of murder and later help Victor Frankenstein complete his work to create a female companion for his original creature that will nevertheless be unable to reproduce and potentially threaten the human race. After Crane's efforts to save the family, it is mentioned that after Victor married Elizabeth, their son was named Ichabod as a way of thanking Crane for everything he did to help them.
• Consequences And Control has Mary give her newborn daughter the middle name Anne, in honor of her maid Anna.
• In the Dangerverse, Meghan and Marcus got their middle names Lily and James from the Potters, courtesy of their father Sirius. Rodge and Selena named their son Zachary Cedric, and their great-granddaughter gets named after Selena. Maya and Lee also named their son Graham after her cousin.
• Everyday Craziness in Pontypandy: In "Lift Life", the Pontypandy Fire Service rescue a woman in labour from a stuck elevator. As thanks, the woman names her baby daughter Elsa Penrose, after the four firefighters who saved them; Elvis, Sam, Penny, and Briar (as in Briar Rose).
• In the Power Rangers fic Forever Yellow, when various Yellow Rangers join forces to oppose a new version of Venjix, Katie Walker is touched to learn that Danny Delgado explicitly named his daughter after her.
• Love's Journey: Gwen names her twins Anne and Tom, respectively, after Anna and Branson.
• Second Generation: Dick names his twins Amy and Bridget after his Friend on the Force and his landlady, respectively.
• In the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012) fic So Much for the Impossible, April and Donatello name their newborn son Hamato Yoshi O'Neill, after Splinter. The two observe that their son is a miracle and it's only fitting that they name him after the one they owe their lives to, April adding that Splinter's been like a second father to her as well.
• The Friends fic "This Charming Life" reveals that Monica and Chandler gave their adopted daughter Erica the middle name of Josephine after Joey. When the Bings have a biological son, they name the child William Charles Bing, with the middle name inspired by Chandler's father (before Charles became Helena).
• In the Team Fortress 2 fanfic Something New, Alice's middle name comes from her paternal grandmother Colleen, who is very much alive.

Films — Animation

• Bambi: Flower names his son after one of his best friends, Bambi.

Films — Live-Action

• Avengers: Age of Ultron: Clint Barton's youngest child was supposed to be named "Natasha" after his close friend, Natasha Romanoff. The baby's name is modified into Nathaniel when the Bartons learn they're having a son, to the Black Widow's annoyance.
• Bill & Ted Face the Music: Best friends William "Bill" Preston and Theodore "Ted" Logan named their daughters after each other, resulting in Theodora "Thea" Preston and Wilhelmina "Billie" Logan.
• In Doctor in the House (1954), Mrs. Cooper names her newborn "Simon" after Simon delivers him without the aid of a midwife.
• The Fast and the Furious:
  • In The Fate of the Furious, Dom names his son Brian, after Brian O'Connor, who retired from onscreen appearances in the series in the previous film due to Paul Walker's death.
  • Earlier, in Fast Five, Dominic's original best friend Vince was shown to have a son named Niko. On his deathbed, Vince clarified that "Niko" was short for "Nominic"
• In Moscow — Cassiopeia, Mila names her children after her classmates Vitya (who she had a crush on) and Varya, both of whom have gone on a many-year space mission and may not return during her lifetime.
• The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause: Santa/Scott names his and Mrs. Claus/Carol's new baby son Buddy, after Carol's father Bud.

Literature

• Anne of Green Gables:
  • All six of Anne and Gilbert's living children are named after loved ones. In order, there is James Matthew Blythe (named after family friend Captain Jim and Anne's foster father Matthew), Walter Cuthbert Blythe (named after Anne's biological father, and her foster parents), Anne "Nan" and Diana "Di" Blythe (named after Anne herself and her best friend Diana; Diana also has a daughter named after Anne), Shirley Blythe (Anne's maiden name), and Bertha Marilla Blythe (named after Anne's biological and foster mothers, respectively).
  • Gilbert becomes such a beloved doctor that he loses count of babies named after him. One of them is a girl named "Gilbertine."
• Chrysanthemum: At the end of the book, Mrs. Twinkle gives birth to a baby girl and names her Chrysanthemum after one of her students, the titular Chrysanthemum.
• In David Copperfield, before David is born, his great-aunt Betsey Trotwood insists that if the baby is a girl, she be named after herself. She's disappointed when a boy is born instead and named David after his late father. But when David has children of his own in the epilogue, one of his daughters is named Betsey Trotwood Copperfield, much to the elderly Betsey's pride.
• Earth's Children:
  • 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" (the novels take place in prehistory, so most cultures haven't figured out how reproduction works). It's strongly implied Thonolan is indeed Thonolia's biological father though he unfortunately never met her as he left before Filonia learned she was pregnant and subsequently died, technically making this overlap with Dead Guy Junior, although Filonia didn't find out he died for several years.
  • Yorga states that if her unborn child is a boy, she will suggest he be named after Jondalar out of gratitude for him having helped save her and her mate.
  • 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).
• Harry Potter: In the epilogue, we learn Harry's three children have been largely named by Dead Guy Junior: his first son is named after his father figures and his second after Hogwarts headmasters. However, his only daughter's middle name, Luna, is for his still-living close friend Luna Lovegood. Harry’s middle name is also James, after his father.
  • According to the author, George Weasley names his son after his dead twin brother Fred. Percy names one of his children Molly, after his mother.
  • Ginny Weasley’s middle name is Molly, after her mother
  • Remus and Tonks named their son Teddy Remus, after Tonks’s father Ted, and Teddy’s father Remus.
  • Bill’s middle name is Arthur, after his father
  • One of Albus Dumbledore’s middle names, Percival, is after his father, Percival Dumbledore.
  • Voldemort’s real name, Tom Marvolo Riddle, after his father Tom Riddle, and maternal grandfather Marvolo Gaunt
• InCryptid:
  • Verity's father wanted to name her Alice after his mother, but his wife balked since Alice is weird (even by their standards). They compromised by making Alice her middle name.
  • 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.
• At the end of Little Women, Jo and Professor Bhaer's two sons are named Rob, after Jo's father Robert March, and Teddy, after her close friend, former suitor, and now brother-in-law Theodore "Laurie" Laurence. In Little Men, Meg and John Brooke have a daughter named Josy after Jo, who in turn was named after Aunt Josephine March.
• In The Lord of the Rings Sam Gamgee wants to name his firstborn child after his beloved best friend and Master, Frodo. However, the child turns out to be a girl and he calls her Elanor at Frodo's suggestion. The Appendix reveals that he names his next child Frodo, and also goes on to name his later children after his wife Rosie, his friends Merry, Pippin, and Robin, his father Hamfast, his sister Daisy, his mentor Bilbo, and his father-in-law Tolman.
• In Mattimeo, Stryk Redkite plans to name her nestling after Sister May who nursed Stryk back to health after her injury. Sister May is flattered but would like the child to be called May rather than (as a result of Stryk's chronic Accidental Misnaming) Sissismay.
• In Pride and Prejudice, Lady Catherine de Bourgh's daughter Anne is named after her now-deceased sister, Lady Anne Darcy. (Not a case of Dead Guy Junior, since Lady Anne was still alive when Anne de Bourgh was born.)
• In the Ramona Quimby and Henry Huggins books, Beatrice "Beezus" Quimby is named after her mother's sister, Aunt Beatrice. Ironically, Beezus is more of a Generation Xerox of her mother Dorothy, the well-behaved, responsible older sister, while the older Beatrice's counterpart as the free-spirited Annoying Younger Sibling is Ramona.
• The Shadowhunter Chronicles:
  • Alec and Isabelle Lightwood's younger brother, Max, was named after their maternal uncle, Max Trueblood, who quit the Shadow World so he could be with his mundane girlfriend. Alec and Magnus later name their first son Max Michael, after Alec and Isabelle’s younger brother Max, and their father Robert’s parabatai Michael Wayland.
  • Alec and Magnus also name their second son Rafael Santiago Lightwood-Bane, after the vampire Raphael Santiago.
  • Isabelle Lightwood’s middle name is Sophia, probably after Sophia “Sophie” Collins, later Sophie Lightwood, her ancestor. Alec Lightwood’s middle name is Gideon, probably after Sophie’s husband Gideon Lightwood. Also, Alec shares a name with Gabriel and Cecily Lightwood’s youngest child, Alexander; it’s possible he was named after him, as the elder Alexander would have been an old man by the time Alec’s father Robert was born, so Robert may have known and liked him enough to name his son after him later on.
  • Clary Fairchild’s middle name is Adele, after her maternal grandmother Adele Fairchild née Nightshade.
  • Matthew Fairchild was named after his father’s great-aunt Matilda
  • Sophie and Gideon Lightwood’s daughter Barbara shares a name with Gideon’s mother, Barbara Lightwood née Pangborn; it’s possible she was named after her.
  • Will and Tessa name their son James Herondale after their friend, James "Jem" Carstairs. Tessa and Jem later name their daughter Wilhelmina, after Will.
  • Jocelyn Fairchild may have been named after Henry Fairchild, whose middle name is Jocelyn.
• A Song of Ice and Fire: Invoked. Nobles often name their children after their relatives, allies, and lieges as a public demonstration of respect and loyalty.
  • Jon Arryn fostered Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon, who became best friends and saw Jon as a father figure. Ned names one son Robb and another Jon, while Jon Arryn names his son Robert.
  • Davos helped the Baratheon garrison survive the Siege of Storm's End by smuggling them food, and Stannis Baratheon rewarded him with a knighthood. Davos later named one of his sons after Stannis.
  • Many of Walder Frey's children and grandchildren have named their kids after him in an attempt to win his favor, but he finds this annoying rather than flattering. Some Freys are named after members of the royal family for the same reason.
  • Oberyn Martell's four youngest daughters are a combination of this (Doreah, for his brother Doran), Dead Guy Junior (Elia and possibly Loreza, for his sister and a name commonly theorized to be his mother's), and just naming one after himself (Obella).
  • While names are frequently shared among Targaryens, some members are explicitly named in honor of still-living relatives:
    • Aenys I named his eldest son, Aegon, after his father, Aegon I, as did Viserys II with his eldest son, Aegon IV, named after his brother Aegon III.
    • Viserys II was named after his maternal grandfather/paternal uncle, Viserys I.
    • Baelor Breakspear was named after Baelor I, his first cousin twice removed and the namesake of the Sept of Baelor, who died a year after his birth.
  • Aegon V Targaryen squired for a hedge knight named Duncan the Tall when he was young, which greatly helped him understand the plight of the smallfolk. He later named his eldest son and heir apparent after him.
  • Rickard Karstark was named after his liege lord, Rickard Stark, and he would in turn name his second son, Eddard, after Rickard Stark's own second son.
  • Bronn names his stepson, the bastard of his wife, Lollys Stokeworth, after his former employer, Tyrion Lannister. Aside from honoring their relationship, it also doubles as a Take That! against Cersei, who has put a bounty on Tyrion's head since he was accused of killing Joffrey.
• The Twilight Saga: 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.
• Wagons West:
  • Ted Woods Taylor was named by his father Danny Taylor due to his friendship with Ted Woods.
  • Cindy Holt was named for her mother's friend and sister-in-law Cindy.
  • Midge Blake's real first name is Marjorie, named for her mother's close friend Marjorie White.
• Warrior Cats:
  • Leafstar has the tendency to name cats after living friends of hers. For example, two of her kits, Stormkit and Firekit, were named after Sandstorm and Firestar and her third kit, Harrykit, was named after Sol, whose kittypet name was Harry.
  • Sandstorm in turn named her daughter Leafkit (later Leafpool) after Leafstar. May double as a Dead Guy Junior, since the name reminds Firestar of Spottedleaf, whom he crushed on as an apprentice.
  • Badgerfang is a Played With example since he named himself after his mentor.
  • In Squirrelflight's Hope, two of Moonlight's kits are named Squirrel and Leaf, after Squirrelflight and Leafstar (and/or Leafpool).
  • In Daisy's Kin, Daisy helps Smoky with his newborn kits after his mate dies giving birth, and Smoky ends up naming one of them Daisy after her.

Live-Action TV

• AJ and the Queen: AJ considers her full name, Amber Jasmine, to be an Embarrassing First Name, and never uses it, complaining that it sounds like she was named after two strippers. A flashback reveals the actual origin of the name. AJ's mom, a single young woman struggling with addiction and finding stable housing, was utterly terrified and unprepared when her water broke, and stumbled into the nearest hospital begging for help. She was immediately assisted by two nurses, who treated her kindly and stuck by her side the whole time. Their names were Amber and Jasmine.
• The Brittas Empire: Gordon Colin Porter, who is the child which Julie gives birth to in "The Elephant's Child", is named after her colleague Colin Weatherby (who helped keep the baby warm) and her boss Gordon Brittas (who assisted in the birth).
• Criminal Minds:
  • When Hotch and his wife are expecting their son, she comes across the name Gideon in a baby name book and playfully suggests it in honor of Hotch's coworker Jason Gideon. They ultimately name him Jack.
  • A flashback in the episode "Nelson's Sparrow" reveals that Gideon's estranged son Stephen got his name from Gideon's partner David Stephen Rossi.
  • Morgan's son gets the middle name Spencer after Spencer Reid.
• Doctor Who: In "Let's Kill Hitler", it's revealed that Melody Pond, Amy's daughter, is named after her best friend Melody Zucker. Later on in the episode, Melody Zucker is revealed to actually be Melody Pond, being a future version of her, making this example a Stable Time Loop.
• Friends: Phoebe's brother Frank Jr and his wife Alice were having triplets, so each named one and decided to leave the third one's naming to Phoebe, who was carrying the triplets as a surrogate. After considering names like "The Hulk", Joey suggests that she names the third baby after him, and Chandler quickly jumps on the same track. After a bit of drama, Phoebe picks Chandler. They eventually go through with the name even after the birth when it turns out that the third baby is a girl.
  • In the same set of triplets, Frank Jr named the boy "Frank Junior Junior".
  • Subverted with Ross, Carol and Susan's son "Ben". The three parents couldn't agree on a name until after the birth, and the name Ben was only on Ross and Susan's minds because it was the name of the unseen janitor whose uniform Phoebe put on when the three of them were locked in a closet together earlier.
  • In the finale, Monica and Chandler name their twins "Erica" and "Jack", after their birth mother and Monica's father respectively.
• Game of Thrones: 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 it's a boy.
  • House of the Dragon: Rhaenyra Targaryen named her fifth son Viserys to honor her (then-still living) father.
• Jane the Virgin: Jane's son Mateo is named after his dead great-grandfather, but one of his middle names is Rogelio, after his living grandfather. Doting Grandparent that he is, Rogelio promptly starts calling the baby "Matelio".
• Law & Order: UK's Matt Devlin was killed on the same day his partner Ronnie's daughter gave birth to a boy. Several years later, while talking with his other daughter, it was revealed that the boy had been named Matthew.
• Played With in Murphy Brown: After Murphy's son is born, Jim suggests Murphy name the child after him, but Murphy shoots it down since despite being fond of Jim, she would never name her child "James Brown". After going through a lot of different names, she ultimately names her son Avery, after her recently deceased mother.
• Orphan Black: In the finale, Helena names her twin sons after her friend Art and her brother-in-law Donnie because they're "real men".
• In Roseanne, Darlene gives birth to a premature child and is inspired to name her Harris Conner-Healey (a combination of her mother Roseanne, aunt Jackie, grandmother Beverly, and sister Becky's surnames) after all four women rally around her baby when the child's life was in danger.
• In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, it's revealed that the legendary Klingon warrior Kang had named his son Dax after his friend Curzon Dax, the Federation Ambassador to the Klingon Empire.
• Supernatural: The final season reveals that Garth Fitzgerald names his children after Sam and Castiel.
• Young Sheldon: Mandy and Georgie name their new daughter Constance after Connie, the one who was most helpful during the pregnancy. Audrey feels insulted and asks if Mandy has decided on a middle name yet.

Theatre

• West Side Story: After Doc lets Tony hide from the police in his basement and gives him getaway money, Tony promises that when he and Maria have children, they'll name them all after him, "even the girls." Tragically, they never do have children, because this is a Romeo and Juliet retelling.

Video Games

• Death Stranding: In one of the storylines, 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.
• The Legend of Zelda:
  • In Ocarina of Time, Link ends up becoming blood brothers with the Goron chief Darunia when he clears out the monsters in Dodongo's Cavern. Upon returning to Death Mountain after the Time Skip, it's revealed that Darunia had a son in the intervening seven years and named him Link (or whatever the player happens to be named in that particular playthrough).
  • A minor sidequest in Breath of the Wild involves getting an ingredient to cure a Gerudo's ill husband. She's so grateful that she rewards Link with 300 rupees (the highest amount available in the game) and promises to name her daughter after him if she has one (even though she thinks "Link" sounds like a man's name).

Web Original

• In Brig Scarlet Flamingo, Amelia names her little son George after her mother Georgina.

Web Videos

• Parodied in a ProZD sketch, where a father tells his son he was named after two of the bravest men he knew. The son is rightfully upset with his name: Goku Naruto.
• The Stories of Sodor: In "Mainline", a Spanish refugee names her son "Thomas Eric" after the engines who brought her to the station while she was in labour.

Western Animation

• Avatar: The Last Airbender: Azula was named after her paternal grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon.
• 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.
• The Simpsons: In "Manger Things", Ned Flanders' younger son Todd's middle name is Homer, after Homer Simpson, who helped deliver him with Maude Flanders. It's also revealed that Maggie's middle name is Lenny, for similar reasons.

Real Life

• This is a fairly common trend amongst monarchy across the world. A good example of this is how often Queen Elizabeth's name has been used as a middle name amongst her family members, with three of her four granddaughters as well as one of her great-granddaughters having it as a middle name, while the other one's first name is Lilibet, after her childhood nickname. Additionally, both of those great-granddaughters have been given "Diana" as their middle name, after their paternal grandmother, while Charlotte, the older one, has also been given the feminine version of her paternal grandfather's name, whose name was also used as part of another grandson's (Prince Louis) and both of his sons.
• The world is full of Juniors and Thirds and Fourths. Plus babies named for favorite aunts and uncles.
• American lawyer Rachael Denhollander, the first survivor of serial child abuser Larry Nassar to publicly come forward, named her third daughter Elora Renee in tribute to Detective Andrea Renee Munford, "who fought for us and made redeeming so much evil, possible."
• Longtime friends and former college roomates Henry Gibson and Jon Voight seem to have done this: Gibson's eldest son is named Jonathan (Voight's full name) and called Jon, while Voight's only son (Angelina Jolie's brother) is named James, which was Gibson's real first name.
• Pretty widespread among generation born immediately after the Second World War in the Soviet Union. As surviving soldiers would name their children after their brother-in-arms.

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