Choosing a unique name for your child is always a gamble, with friends, family, and strangers all weighing in on your pick.
Love Island star Molly-Mae Hague and partner Tommy Fury recently welcomed their little girl into the world, and while many fans praised the Disney-inspired name, others scrutinised their choice.
"They've got to take it on the chin and just deal with it as is," said Soul Ki-Aries, a dad who also chose the unique name Bambi for his daughter four years ago.
Soul and his partner, Nicole Parker, have faced similar backlash as the Love Island star but stand by their choice of the unusual name.
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Nicole, 29, told The Mirror: "[When] Bambi started preschool, their names were on the window outside their classroom with a little picture of them. I was stood there and a lady, the parent of another child, said 'Ew, someone's named their child Bambi'.
"It infuriated me. I was so angry, but I didn't say anything because obviously we're at the school but it's just little comments. What's wrong with naming your child Bambi?"
For Nicole and Soul, Bambi is "just a name" and "irrelevant" to the child's wellbeing, personality or homelife - but they've found people are "quick to judge".
"People said we'd set her up to be bullied," added Nicole. "And that when she's an adult she wouldn't be valued as a professional person because she was named after a cartoon deer.
"She's our child we haven't set her up to fail or be bullied - who said Bambi can't be professional?"
For those other parents and acquaintances criticising the name, the couple believe it is "100 percent jealousy".
Soul argued: "People these days have opinions that they choose to voice, which is completely fine to a certain extent. But if it hurts people's feelings, it's best just to keep it to yourself."
Luckily, the couple from Bournemouth, Dorset, don't believe Bambi herself hasn't faced any of the name criticism - she is proud of her name and has lots of Bambi themed toys and bedding.
They're aware that this may change as she gets older but are also preparing for the Disney-inspired name to shoot up in popularity, thanks to Molly-Mae.
Soul joked: "By the end of this year, there's going to be umpteen Bambi around so if they're all going to get bullied, they'll be in the bullied club together."
"There's going to be a pandemic of Bambis," laughed Nicole.
Nicole was shocked to see that Molly-Mae had chosen the same baby name as her, especially as she's a big fan of the star. Since her appearance on Love Island in 2019, the mum-of-three had idolised the PLT Creative Director and followed all her updates on social media.
She even purchased Molly-Mae products that she admits she didn't need, as well as defending the influencer from naysayers and negative comments. However, Nicole's reaction to the news was less than celebratory.
"I felt like my best friend has stolen my baby's name, Molly was my idol and now I'm like she's stolen my baby's name", joked the mum-of-three. "It did annoy me a bit, probably more than it should have."
Adding to the already individual name, Bambi is actually called Bambi-Beau to match her two sisters with their double barrelled names. Lola-Sky, 10, and Harriet-Rose, eight, both helped choose parts of their new sibling's name before they even knew the gender.
Soul's family is full of unique names, even their last name Ki-Aries was chosen based on his dad's star sign and represents his parent's marriage.
"I wouldn't say [any name] is too far as such, it's your child," Soul added. "There are some names that I've seen in the past that [are] probably not the best idea but then I think well, they've got a reason why they wanted to name their child that."
Despite those outside the family saying the name was "unprofessional" or even that it was a "boy's name" since Disney's Bambi is a boy, the choice turned out to be perfect.
Soul shared that Bambi has incurable unilateral deafness, meaning she cannot hear through her left ear, due to a nerve issue. The couple believe this just adds to her uniqueness, which makes choosing a unique name even more meaningful.
Charmingly, young Bambi takes after her namesake and is "so clumsy" according to Nicole. "We're always saying if you were on ice you'd literally be Bambi," she joked.
Soul added: "It's so fitting, it just felt so right. It was one of those things you just know - you look at something and it's just perfect."
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