Parents take inspiration for baby names from all sorts of places, and it's not uncommon for people to name their child after a musician, actor, or character that inspires them. And while some names might raise a few eyebrows with how unconventional they are, many of them can hold significant meaning.
However, one couple has found themselves embroiled in a feud over names for the baby girl they have on the way, as one of them wants to name her after a character in a DC comic that helped them cope during a period of emotional difficulty - but the other thinks that's "ridiculous".
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In a post on Reddit, the parent-to-be explained they and their partner had endured a miscarriage several months ago, but they are now finally expecting a baby girl.
And when thinking of names for the impending arrival, their partner suggested calling her Safiyah Star after Safiyah Sohail, a character from the Batwoman comics and the subsequent TV series of the same name.
The poster's partner claims the TV show helped them "get through the miscarriage" so thinks the name would be a way of honouring their baby as well as the one they lost, but the poster says there's "no way in hell" they'll agree to that moniker.
They wrote in their post: "We are currently pregnant with our first child after trying for 2 years. Months ago we had a miscarriage. It was absolutely devastating, to say the least, so much so we stopped trying but got pregnant anyways. We were terrified and still are but it's going smoothly and has been healthy so far.
"After we found out it's a girl, we started thinking about names [and discussing] what we like, what we don't, who gets to pick, etc. Here's the problem, we have very different tastes in names. I like family names with lots of history; my partner doesn't want her to be named after anyone we know.
"My partner came to me the other day and told me they had found a name they thought we'd both like. I asked what it was and they said Safiyah Star. I started laughing hysterically, but they were serious. I wish I was kidding.
"I asked where they found a name that ridiculous and they said DC. I was confused and they said it helped them get through the miscarriage so they thought it was a great way to remember our miscarried child."
The parent-to-be admitted they "overreacted", but assumed things would blow over in time - although their partner has been staying at their parent's house to avoid them.
They added: "I will admit I overreacted here. I said there's no way in hell I'm naming my child after a f***ing comic book character. They didn't say anything, just started crying and locked me out of the bedroom. I figured it would blow over because they usually are dramatic when it comes to this stuff, but get over it quickly.
"The next day they said they are going to stay at their parent's house for a bit. I thought this was a massive overreaction but I apologised anyway, they said they just needed some time and they'll see me later.
"I called my friend and he told me I f***ed up big time so now I don't know what to do, but I really don't think I'm in the wrong here."
Commenters on the post were keen to tell the poster that their dislike for the name wasn't inherently wrong, but that their reaction and the way they treated their partner was.
One person said: "You're the a**hole for how you reacted, not for disliking the name. Based on your description of the event, they were serious and you laugh 'hysterically' and told them it was 'ridiculous'. How would you feel if they said that about the name you picked?"
While another added: "I mean, I'm with you, that's a terrible name. But wow, you could have handled that differently."
And a third wrote: "It's fine for you to veto names. It's fine for you to say that you don't want a name that is recognisably a reference to a fictional character. It's also fine for your partner to have different tastes than you and to suggest names that they think you might like. It's also fine for you to reject the names they suggest if you don't like them.
"It's not fine for you to respond to their suggestions - especially ones that are clearly meaningful to them - with anger and mockery. It sounds like you wanted to make them ashamed and embarrassed to even think about it. The way you've written your post suggests to me that you feel a lot of contempt for your partner and often react to them with cruelty."
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