Rules for Jr./Sr.

[THGL]

The wife and I are trying to #3. We have 2 beautiful daughters and another one would be great but deep down I'd really like a boy this time. Anywho, if it is a boy he'll be named after me... almost.

A little background:
My mother had the grand idea to name me after my grandfather, Thomas Henry ___, so I'm Thomas Henry ___ ___. Four names is certainly a mouthful and if we tack on Junior (and I adding Sr.) it would be leaning towards outrageous.

I have never used my 3rd name, any legal document has Thomas Henry ___. The only things that have my 3rd name are my H.S. diploma, Eagle Scout certif., and college diploma.

So would it be okay for me to name my son (if that's the case) Thomas Henry ___, Jr. and I become Sr.?

[pixelbend]

I don't really think there are any laws governing suffixes in names. I think you could probably name your son Sir Bingo III and no one could stop you.

So I say go for it.

[Redlemon]

Interesting question, I never thought about it. I can't imagine that people go back and change their information in order to put "Senior" after their names. Is "Junior" part of a legal name, or is it just added?

And, just to add my 2 cents, my first name is my dad's middle name, but he was known by his second name, so it was like being a junior. I disliked having to share my name.

[Charlatan]

Actually given that there already is a Jr. (you) and a Sr. (your grandfather) wouldn't that make your kid with the same name the III?

Thomas Henry ___ ____ III?

[ngdawg]

Jr's copy their dad's name all the way through. Once daddy is no more, they lose the Jr(although hoity-toities like to keep it, it isn't necessary). If your grandfather is Thomas Henry Smith and you are Thomas Henry Smith Jones, you just have 2 middle names in honor of the man ( II's and III's are also repeat names, but come either from skipping generations or successive ones, ie: Jr names his kid the same, so Jr is now the II, (though Jr normally keeps the Jr, not add II) and the kid is now the III.)
Although the president's dad is referred to as George, Sr in the news, it's just to differentiate between the two-sonnyboy has a different middle name, so he's not really a Jr.
Hope that clears it up a little!

[THGL]

I know that "technically" he wouldn't be a Jr. if we drop the 3rd name, but every legal document (aside from my birth certificate) has me as Thomas Henry ___ (including my Soc. Sec. card).

I think it would have to be done but I wasn't sure if would be any red tape to contend with since our names aren't exactly the same.

[ngdawg]

I used to work at the loan dept of a bank and one of my jobs was running credit checks through TRW. That is where the most problems occur with this scenario. You may come up as Thomas H. Smith and Thomas Henry Smith and later in life, your son would come up as those as well as Thomas Henry Smith Jr.(the primary reason I refused to name my son after his dad-doing credit checks for 5 years )
For birth certificate reasons, you can put whatever you want, really. The real red tape won't begin until he gets his first credit card.
George Foreman named every one of his sons George, then a number, up to six!!!
Putting a "II" after your son's name would work best, I should think and it's something he can carry into adulthood without being a 6'5", 200 lb 'Jr'

[analog]

Just to toss another idea in the mix:

My parents wanted me to have my dad's name, but not have a Jr/Sr thing going on, so I got my dad's first name as my middle name. So for example- my dad's first name is John, my middle name is John (not really, just an example). I think it's a great way to pass down the name without all the confusing jr/sr stuff.

Since i'm personally anti-offspring, my mom often jokes that eventually i'll get a dog and give it my first name as its middle name. lol... and she's right.

[Stiltzkin]

I have a friend who's dad's name is Miguel. My friend's first name is Miguel, and his two brothers are also called Miguel. They all have middle names though, and we only use those names to refer to them. The three brothers are Miguel Adrian, Miguel Esteban, and Miguel Andres (the father is Miguel Angel). Pretty nuts, eh? My friend is Miguel Esteban, who everyone just calls Steve. You could say that all of them are Jr, and their dad is Sr, but no one ever mentions any sort of suffixes.

[analog]

Originally Posted by Stiltzkin

I have a friend who's dad's name is Miguel. My friend's first name is Miguel, and his two brothers are also called Miguel. They all have middle names though, and we only use those names to refer to them. The three brothers are Miguel Adrian, Miguel Esteban, and Miguel Andres (the father is Miguel Angel). Pretty nuts, eh? My friend is Miguel Esteban, who everyone just calls Steve. You could say that all of them are Jr, and their dad is Sr, but no one ever mentions any sort of suffixes.

This is actually very common in many hispanic cultures, with all the males sharing a first name and then having different middle names that they then go by.