A 'try-hard' dad has become a laughing stock for naming his son after his two favourite things in life. The 27-year-old revealed how he made up a "unique name" when combining fictional characters from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
Taking to Reddit, he said: "Ever since I was young, I have really loved books and literature. My favourite book series of all time is The Lord of the Rings. I also really love Shakespeare.
"So when my wife and I were thinking of names for our kid, I suggested a rather unique name - Benwise. It's a combination of Benvolio and Samwise.
"My wife and I both thought it was really clever and a perfect name for a boy, so that's what we named him."
He went on to explain how he "surprised" his family with the unique name after the child's birth - but was disappointed by their reaction toward it.
"As soon as we told them, most of our family berated us for giving our son a 'weird' name'," he added.
"They said that he would grow up being bullied for his name and would end up resenting us.
"I do agree that it's not a typical name, and he might be made fun of because of it.
"But in my opinion, If kids are going to make fun of you, they will make fun of you whether you have a funny name or not.
"If he really doesn't like the name, he can always go by Ben."
Justifying the name even more, he added: " I would rather my son have a unique name like Benwise than a boring name like Jack or Adam."
However, most social media users sided with his family, saying he's "trying too hard" and is "not mature enough to be having kids".
One user said: "It's just as stupid as the parents who called their daughter Khaleesi or whatever her name was instead of the title. [Daenerys from Game of Thrones].
Another user added: "Kids aren't for showing off your fandom. That's the burden pets are meant to carry.
"Too many people are naming their kids stuff that'll get them bullied just because they want to be special.
"Seriously, it's nothing about them wanting the kid to be 'unique', it's all about the parents."
A third user said: "The funny thing about this is that there's an easy fix - just name the kid Ben and call him Benwise as a nickname.
"The problem is [this dad] is so stuck up his own a***, it'll never occur to him."
One more user added: "Parents like this don’t get that kids look for openings to bully. Why would you give them one if you don’t have to?
"This is why kids who in any way stand out get bullied a lot. A weird name is just a low hanging fruit."
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