Traditional names tend to top the popular baby name lists every year as they continue to stand the test of time and resonate with parents that want a conventional and elegant choice for their child. And while that's all well and good, some parents don't want to embrace tradition, and instead, opt for a more unusual moniker for their little one.
But one new mum who rejected tradition when naming her baby has been slammed by her sister-in-law for the unique name she gave her daughter, as she was branded a "hippy freak" who is "setting her daughter up for a hard life".
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The mum explained she welcomed her first child with her husband in June, just a couple of weeks before her sister-in-law gave birth to her fifth. And as her husband's sibling has chosen conventional names for her brood - Edward, Martha, Dorothy, Lawrence and Susan - she was horrified to learn her brother and his wife had called their daughter Aura.
In a post on Reddit, the new mum said: "My sister-in-law and I gave birth to daughters around the same time. My daughter was born in early June, hers was born in mid-June. Her daughter marks her fifth child, our daughter marks mine and my husband's first child.
"A day after my daughter was born my husband posted the announcement on his social media and then my sister-in-law commented asking what her 'actual' name was, even though the name was mentioned in the post. When she gave birth to her daughter, she did her own announcement and went on a small tangent about naming children and how much pride she and her husband took in giving their children 'real people names'.
"For context, our daughter is called Aura and her kids are Edward, Martha, Dorothy, Lawrence and Susan.
"The other day we were at my husband's parent's house for a BBQ and she went all in on saying how our daughter's name is a 'hippy freak name' and how we passed up the chance to give her a legitimate, actual name. She said we could have used one of her kids' names since we were struggling so bad, clearly."
The woman and her husband have told their family they are "very happy" with their daughter's name, but her sister-in-law has not stopped criticising it - prompting the mum to hit back and label traditional monikers as "grandma names".
She added: "My husband told her we were very happy with our daughter's name and we were happy she was happy with the names of her children and we should all just be happy and move on.
"She told me that I was setting my daughter up for a hard life. How her name is going to label her forever. All kinds of stuff. She also went on about how traditional names were so handsome and beautiful, and could carry a child throughout the rest of their life. She followed up by accusing me of not caring about my daughter.
"I told her she could keep her grandma names and I would keep my hippy freak names and the conversation was over because I did not care to hear about it anymore. My husband and I left. She followed up with how dare I [call them] grandma names like there was something wrong with them.
"I was mad at first and now I am questioning my actions. The truth is I don't like the names she chose for her kids. They are not my taste and maybe my tone did relay that. I don't like how she behaved but two wrongs [don't make a right]."
Commenters on the post defended the new mum from her sister-in-law's comments, with many saying she's free to name her baby whatever she wants without family members judging the decision.
One person said: "She's quite judgmental and her persistent comment leads me to think she wanted you to rename your daughter. And Aura is a beautiful name!"
While another added: "Aura is a beautiful name, those others are old-fashioned. Your sister-in-law needs to mind her own business, people always want to inflict their opinions on others. That is an opinion, she is entitled to it, end of conversation."
And a third wrote: "Your daughter has a very pretty name, and it is quite different from the norm. Don't worry about what your sister-in-law thinks. You did nothing wrong."
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