Reuse name of dead child?

[golfer71]

I wondered if it was common for parents to name a new child
the same name as one that died a year or two before?
I have two apparent occurrences!
golfer71

[Edrubava]

Hello golfer71

Yes, I've come across this quite a few times now in my research 

[annaS]

Only two!

Anna

[PK-KTK]

I have at least half a dozen families that have done this - one family tried 3 times with the same name but sadly none survived past infancy/childhood
I think it was part of the naming traditions

[golfer71]

Thanks to all for your responses.
Because Christian/first names are so repetitive I didn't want to
verify an individual that may have belonged to another branch.
Thanks again
golfer71 

P.S. First Names - It reminds me of the Heavy Weight Champion
George Foreman, who named all of his male children "George"!

[joboy]

Yes it often happens and can be confusing if the second child was born soon after the first one died and you cant find a death record...... this has happened in my case a few times.
joboy

[Rena]

I too have many instances of that happening, plus a couple of families which had two surviving babies with the same given name; e.g. two sons named William and another family had two sons named John - all married and had their own families.

If you think about it.  They're not using the names of dead children; they're making sure that the family ancestral names lived on forever.

[Skoosh]

If they're following the naming patern and both grandfathers are William for example there would be pressure to keep on naming a son William.

Skoosh.

[Ermintrude46]

It could also be a practical thing, if a family held a cottage or lands from the Lord of the Manor there would usually be three 'names' on the documentation, including one or two children.  If they wanted to change any of the 'names' because a child had died this would require a fee to be paid to the Lord, so it made sense to just call another child by the same name and avoid the cost.
Ermy