I burst into tears after my dad told me my baby son’s name is ‘terrible’ and ‘awful’ – they ruined a special moment
CHOOSING a name for your baby can be a tricky task, particularly when you start to consider other people’s opinions.
One mum was left “in tears” after sharing her name with her dad and he told her he thought it was “terrible.”
Taking to Reddit, the mum shared her heartbreak and asked people how they would handle the situation.
She wrote: “I’m mostly looking for some support and feeling curious to hear from others who may have experienced something similar.
“I’m 27 weeks pregnant and I was having a really lighthearted, sweet conversation on the phone with my dad last night.
“I mentioned that we have a new name we like for the baby and then told him the name.”
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The mum revealed that she is planning on naming her child Bennett if they are a boy, and will use the nickname of Ben.
However, it didn’t go down well at all with her father.
The pregnant woman continued: “He immediately, viscerally reacted negatively saying ‘oh god, that’s awful!’
“And then I replied ‘dad! We like it..’ and he went on in the similar shocked and upset voice ‘that’s a terrible name, I’m sorry.’
“I immediately burst into tears.
“He tried to backtrack and apologised, saying it was up to us whatever we chose.
“But it felt like the moment had been ruined.
“I’m not sure if I’m just hormonal, but this interaction left my heart hurting more than I expected.”
She asked if other parents had experienced someone rejecting their name and how they handled it.
The mum said: “I know at the end of the day it doesn’t matter if we like the name, but OUCH.”
One person replied to her saying: “My dad reacted like that when we told him the name when he visited in the hospital.
“Suggested a different name, even after I said that the paperwork was all done and submitted so no changing anyway.
“I was really mad, but we had a talk and I told him that he named two kids and his opinion on my son’s name counts for less than nothing with me.
“He eventually apologised.”
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When I was a child, all I wanted was one of those personalised keyrings with my name on it.
But no joy, the closest I could find was Rosie, Joseph (not great for a little girl) and Joanne.
Josie is short for Josephine, which is a French name, and I managed to reach my 20s without ever meeting anyone who shared it.
When I try to introduce myself to people, I get all sorts of random things - like Tracey and Stacey - which can be pretty annoying.
Although I have come into contact with a couple of Josies over the last year - there seems to be a few of us around my age - it’s still a much rarer name than most of my friends have.
On the whole I don’t mind it, at least it’s not rude or crazily spelt.
And it means I can get away with ‘doing a Cheryl’ and just referring to myself as Josie.
I’m getting married this year and some friends are shocked that I’m changing my surname, as it’s not seen as very cool or feminist to do so these days, but I explain to them that I’m not that attached to Griffiths as I’d always just say ‘hi it’s Josie’ when ringing a mate up.
I think it’s nice to be unique and I’ll definitely try and replicate this when naming my own kids.
It’s the rude names you’ve got to watch out for, so after nine years as a lifestyle journalist I’ll definitely be avoiding those.
Another person added: “We aren’t sharing our name at all.
“We don’t need opinions, if we like it we aren’t changing it because someone doesn’t like it.”
A third said: “Yes this happened to me, and I’m sorry to admit I ended up changing the name.
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“I really loved this particular name and told my mum and sister one afternoon, my mum screwed up her face and said ‘that’s bloody disgusting’. I was so taken aback!”
The pregnant mum replied: “Thanks for sharing this, and I’m sorry you had a similar reaction, helps to know we’re not the only ones.”