Reply To: In Advent of Sunday Evening: the Lesson of Chanukkah

Or they were Ashkenazim. Some say that the reason not to name after a living grandparent is so as not to appear that they are calling the parent by his name. In fact, one of the interpretations as to why Abaye was called Abaye is that his name was Nachmani, which was his grandfather’s (and Rabba’s father’s) name.