Compromise is key when you're naming a baby, and it's good to decide on a moniker that you both really like. But what happens if a family member isn't a fan of the name you've chosen?
That's what happened to one woman when she and her partner came to a compromise between monikers they both loved - but the woman's dad was "livid" when he found out what the planned name was. They thought it was "perfect" and didn't want to change it, but he has a history of trying to persuade her to change her baby name ideas.
She took to Reddit's 'Am I the a**hole' forum to ask whether she was in the wrong for sticking to her baby name idea, despite her dad's dislike of the name.
She wrote: "Me (21F) and my fiancé (20M) are expecting our first child together (I have a two-year-old from a previous relationship). I was super excited when I found out that we were going to be having a little girl, and the first thing that I did was talk to my fiancé about baby names.
"My fiancé wanted to name her Lilly because those were his late mother's favorite flowers. After some discussion between us, he agreed to the name Lilith (we are using Lilly as a nickname) because while I liked the name Lilly it just didn't seem like the right name for our daughter.
"My fiancé likes that Lilith sounds like Lilly and that Lilly can be used as a nickname for her. When I told my parents about the name we chose for the baby, they had quite a few choice words for me. For a bit of background, my parents are religious (not to the extreme but enough that it dictates a lot of things for them) and they are kind of traditional.
"My dad hated the name, saying that I was naming our daughter after a demon. I told him why I was naming her Lilith and he asked why I couldn't just name her Lilly since we were using it as a nickname anyways. I refused and just ended the conversation because I knew I wasn't going to get anywhere with him."
In Mesopotamian and Judaic mythology, Lilith is theorised to be the first wife of Adam and supposedly the 'primordial she-demon'. According to Kenyon College, in one story, Lilith refused to lay beneath Adam during sex. She believed they were created equal, both from the dust of the earth, thus she should not have to lay beneath him. After Adam disagreed, Lilith fled the Garden of Eden to gain her independence.
She continued: "I went a few weeks without bringing up the name again to my parents because I knew the conversation would just go the same way if I brought it up again. About two weeks went by and I officially made our gender reveal post on Facebook for our friends and family to see which included the name we chose. In those two weeks, we also decided on her middle name.
"We decided on Marie because my fiancé’s mother's name was Maria and I have an extremely close friend with the middle name Marie. Not even an hour later I got a phone call from my dad and he was livid. My dad had seen the post I made on Facebook and it wasn't even the first name he was mad about anymore. It was her middle name. For context, my mom adopted me and isn't my biological mother. My dad said that my biological mother's middle name was Marie and he couldn't stand being reminded of her.
"I never even knew her middle name, only her first name, so that was new to me. I told him again why we chose that name, and I even mentioned my best friend (he knows I've been friends with her since I was a little kid) saying that her middle name was also Marie. I told him to get over it because that was the name we chose and if he didn't like it then that was his problem.
"It's been about a month since the argument with me and my dad about the name, and with the baby almost here (I'm due in June) I feel like the name is still perfect, but my dad still resents it, though he's not making huge arguments anymore (mainly side comments about the name).
"He did the same thing for my son's name because he wanted me to name him Anakin (from Star Wars) and I said no. So Am I the a**hole for what I am going to name my daughter?"
People were shocked that her dad was trying to control the name of her baby, with one writing: "Not the a**hole. Your baby you get to pick the name.
"Also, he wanted you to name your son Anakin. A character who has fits of rage that lead him to slaughter and entire village, later slaughtering a room full of children (at the Jedi temple) and eventually is the epitome of evil in a fictional galaxy. All that and then being upset at you naming her Lilith which happens to be the name of an equally fictional character is just ludicrous."
Someone agreed, commenting: "Lilith was a freaking hero for ditching Adam, and rightly famous as the first woman ever (not a demon), Anakin was a genocidal monster. No contest!"
"Why does he act like he gets a say in your baby's name?", someone questioned. "Baby names are for the parents to decide. Anyone else can kick rocks."
What do you think of the name? Let us know in the comments.
