Is it okay to name my baby after my deceased aunt?

Question

My husband and I have a tradition of naming our kids after a family name of some sort. We want to pick a name that means something to us. We have a few boys names but almost no girls names. One of the names we are thinking of is that of my late aunt. Unfortunately she passed as a child and I never got the chance to know her. I was thinking of possibly naming our baby (if it’s a girl) after her. I’m just wondering if that would be too weird or hurtful to my grandparents (her parents). I would like to ask them if it is something they are comfortable with before going ahead but I also don’t won’t to bring up anything painful for them by asking. Unfortunately they don’t talk about her much so honestly I’m not sure how they would feel.
Do you think this is crossing a line or would this be okay? Obviously all this won’t matter if we have a boy lol but we aren’t finding out gender until birth.

Answer

Not weird at all. We try for familial names too. I’m struggling on a girl name but all the middle names for a girl are possibly Mary-Alice (our grandmas), Susan-Renee (our moms), or LeeAnn (my only two aunties). So far I’m thinking Emmy LeeAnn, but I don’t think my husband likes “Emmy” without it being short for something, but that was my great grandmas name.

Answer

If you’re using it as a middle name, I think it’d be a lovely tribute and not necessary to get permission. 
If you’re using it as a first name, then I think it could be lovely or could be very painful, and you’d need to ask permission in a way that made them comfortable taking time to think about it and giving you a truthful answer.

Answer

I think it’s strange in that you never personally met or knew her. But I do like that you’re following tradition and choosing a family name.

Answer

I would bring it up in conversation when talking about baby with them. I would say if it is a girl we really like the name ------. But we aren't sure yet. See how they react and how they respond. Simple easy way to bring it up without them maybe feeling put on the spot. Honest reaction. If something about your aunt comes up you can say yes I know that is one of the reasons we aren't sure. We didn't know how the family would feel about it.

Answer

Not weird at all! We have 2 boys, both with family names. Our first is Nathan Philip: Nathan after my husband’s best friend and Philip after his great-grandfather. Philip is also my husband’s and FIL’s middle name. Our second is Aaron Joshua: Aaron is a biblical name we liked and Joshua is my husband’s name. We will definitely continue with family names if we have another baby!

Answer

Not weird.  Our baby girl has my husband’s aunt’s name as her middle name.   I’m currently considering giving our new baby my sister’s name as a middle name.  Also considering giving her my grandmother’s first name.  All of these relatives are deceased.

Is it okay to name my baby after my deceased aunt?

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