When it comes to naming a baby, parents need to consider how their child's name is going to grow with them as they reach adulthood. That's exactly what one man tried to explain to his wife when shooting down her go-to option. He explained how his wife proudly shared how she wanted to name their son Bartholomew after her grandfather, who she was close with before he passed away.
The soon-to-be dad said on Reddit: "My wife is pregnant. She’s due in two weeks and I am beyond excited because this would be my first child and I’ve always wanted to be a dad. We were in bed together, talking about our baby. All of a sudden she jumps up excited with a huge smile on her face. She told me to stay on the bed because she had a surprise for me. She went into our closet and grabbed a box.
"It was decorated with ribbons and bows so I assumed it was a gift for me. She handed it to me with the same big grin on her face.
"It was obvious she was excited to see my reaction. I asked her what it was but she just kept on saying 'open it, open it!'."
Inside the box, he saw a blue onesie with the name Bartholomew written across the chest.
He went on to explain how he agreed to let his wife name their firstborn considering "she was the one giving birth" and he thought it would be "something really special for her".
He added: "I trusted she’d name my son something at least normal. I asked her what it meant and she said 'surprise - that’s going to be his name.'
"She sounded so happy and enthusiastic so I knew she was serious. I busted out laughing to the point of tears.
"I honestly could not believe she was going to name our son that. What the hell kind of name is Bartholomew?
"She got really silent and started tearing up. When I noticed this, I sat up and stopped laughing."
However, the damage had already been done - with her snatching the onesie out of his hand before storming out of the room.
"I asked her if she was serious and she said 'yes'," he added. "Apparently she’s decided to name our son after her grandfather who she was very close with before he died.
"I told her that she should think about this because it’s an outdated name. She started yelling at me saying I was judging my son before he even came out the womb.
"She stormed out and is now staying at her mum's [house]. I honestly can’t believe she’s serious. Her dad called me yelling at me because apparently she’s told on me. I’ve been called immature and a joke so far.
"I’ll probably just apologise but there is no way in hell I’m calling my son by that outrageous name."
With only days to go, the man is now brainstorming a nickname he could give his son if she goes through with calling him Bartholomew.
Commenting on his post, one user said: "Bartholomew is not my personal style, but it has history, substance and meaning, especially for your wife. Better than yet another tired, dated defunct-medieval-occupational-surname as a first name.
"It’s one thing to diplomatically express your dislike, but you had this poor woman in tears. You owe her an apology. Bartholomew is a fine name."
Another user added: "Both partners need to come up with the name for the baby together.
"This is a decision that requires two yesses, not something where one person can just pick because it's really unfair to have one person love the name and the other person detest what their child is called.
"I think the idea of honouring her grandfather with Bartholomew is lovely, but perhaps you should do so as a middle name."
A third user said: "Am I the only one who thinks Bart is going to be a fine name? In a classroom with 20 Liams, be the Bart. Maybe I’m biased because I find most of the current popular baby names atrocious."
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