diff --git a/src/ophydregistry/registry.py b/src/ophydregistry/registry.py
index e40a94a..b076d5a 100644
--- a/src/ophydregistry/registry.py
+++ b/src/ophydregistry/registry.py
@@ -519,7 +519,7 @@ def __new__wrapper(self, cls, *args, **kwargs):
         return obj
 
     def register(
-        self, component: ophydobj.OphydObject, labels: Optional[Sequence] = None
+            self, component: ophydobj.OphydObject, labels: Optional[Sequence] = None, warn_duplicates=True
     ) -> ophydobj.OphydObject:
         """Register a device, component, etc so that it can be retrieved later.
 
@@ -534,6 +534,9 @@ def register(
         labels
           Device labels to use for registration. If `None` (default),
           the devices *_ophyd_labels_* parameter will be used.
+        warn_duplicates
+          If true, a warning will be issued if this device is
+          overwriting a previous device with the same name.
 
         """
         # Determine how to register the device
@@ -552,7 +555,8 @@ def register(
             # Ignore any instances with the same name as a previous component
             # (Needed for some sub-components that are just readback
             # values of the parent)
-            # Check that we're not adding a duplicate component name
+            # Check if we're adding a duplicate component name
+            is_duplicate = False
             if name in self._objects_by_name.keys():
                 old_obj = self._objects_by_name[name]
                 is_readback = component in [
@@ -563,11 +567,15 @@ def register(
                 if is_readback:
                     msg = f"Ignoring readback with duplicate name: '{name}'"
                     log.debug(msg)
+                    return component
                 else:
                     msg = f"Ignoring component with duplicate name: '{name}'"
-                    log.warning(msg)
-                    warnings.warn(msg)
-                return component
+                    is_duplicate = True
+                    if warn_duplicates:
+                        log.warning(msg)
+                        warnings.warn(msg)
+                    else:
+                        log.debug(msg)
             # Register this component
             log.debug(f"Registering {name}")
             # Create a set for this device name if it doesn't exist
@@ -599,5 +607,5 @@ def register(
             else:
                 sub_signals = []
             for cpt_name, cpt in sub_signals:
-                self.register(cpt)
+                self.register(cpt, warn_duplicates=not is_duplicate and warn_duplicates)
         return component
diff --git a/src/ophydregistry/tests/test_instrument_registry.py b/src/ophydregistry/tests/test_instrument_registry.py
index 9bc0ae6..8f8e05e 100644
--- a/src/ophydregistry/tests/test_instrument_registry.py
+++ b/src/ophydregistry/tests/test_instrument_registry.py
@@ -390,11 +390,13 @@ def test_getitem(registry):
 
 def test_duplicate_device(caplog, registry):
     """Check that a device doesn't get added twice."""
-    motor = sim.motor
+    # Two devices with the same name
+    motor1 = sim.instantiate_fake_device(EpicsMotor, prefix="", name="motor")
+    motor2 = sim.instantiate_fake_device(EpicsMotor, prefix="", name="motor")
     # Set up logging so that we can know what
     caplog.clear()
     with caplog.at_level(logging.DEBUG):
-        registry.register(motor)
+        registry.register(motor1)
     # Check for the edge case where motor and motor.user_readback have the same name
     assert "Ignoring component with duplicate name" not in caplog.text
     assert "Ignoring readback with duplicate name" in caplog.text
@@ -402,9 +404,14 @@ def test_duplicate_device(caplog, registry):
     caplog.clear()
     with caplog.at_level(logging.WARNING):
         with pytest.warns(UserWarning):
-            registry.register(motor)
+            registry.register(motor2)
     # Check for the edge case where motor and motor.user_readback have the same name
     assert "Ignoring component with duplicate name" in caplog.text
+    print(caplog.text)
+    # Check that the warning is only issued for the top-level device, not all its children
+    assert "motor_user_setpoint" not in caplog.text
+    # Check that the correct second device is the one that wound up in the registry
+    assert registry['motor'] is motor2
 
 
 def test_delete_by_name(registry):
@@ -472,7 +479,7 @@ def test_weak_references():
 
     """
     motor = sim.SynAxis(name="weak_motor", labels={"motors"})
-    registry = Registry(keep_references=False)
+    registry = Registry(keep_references=False, auto_register=False)
     registry.register(motor)
     # Can we still find the object if the test has a reference?
     assert registry.find("weak_motor") is motor