Naming a baby is no easy task. It has to sound nice and not outdated, but not so weird that the kid has to endure years and years of teasing and bullying. Many parents take this responsibility very seriously, but some forget to consider the consequences of an unusual name.
When this woman’s sister called her out for the unusual baby name she planned to give her baby, she got seriously offended. So, the sister asked for some unbiased opinions regarding the name: was it or was it not too weird and was she wrong to call her sister out on it?
A couple settled on an unusual name for their baby and got mixed reactions from family members
Image credits: Curated Lifestyle (not the actual photo)
The mom’s sister called her baby name “weird,” prompting a fight between them
Image credits: Kateryna Hliznitsova (not the actual photo)
Image credits: bokodi (not the actual photo)
The sister clarified that the mom was asking for opinions on the name
Image credits: hoosiergal107
In the past, parents named their children to fit in; nowadays, they want them to stand out
It can be tricky to navigate naming your baby. You don’t want it to be a boring or common name. After all, for every parent, their child is the most unique and important in the world. So, it’s understandable they sometimes might get a tad too overexcited and over-creative when it comes to naming their child.
Some people might think this is too trivial of a problem: you just slap a “Mike” or a “Jenny” on that birth certificate and that’s it. In the past, parents would give children such names so that they could fit in. But for this generation of parents, it’s not that easy.
As baby naming consultant Colleen Slagen suggests, many parents born in the ’80s and the ’90s don’t want their kids to have the same experience they had. “That was when you had a lot of duplicates and even triplets in the same class, like the Jennifers and Matthews,” Slagen explains.
So, they opt for some unconventional, sometimes even borderline absurd, names. Slagen says that there’s an emphasis on standing out in our culture at the moment. Parents might feel that a name defines what kind of person their child will be.
“It’s a reflection of your style,” she explains. “Just like how you decorate your home, and how you dress. Names come with a vibe and an aesthetic and people want that aesthetic to match their own personal style.”
A name is like a song: you may have to hear it quite a few times to like it
When thinking of a name for their baby, naming consultant Sherri Suzanne tells her clients to pay attention to the names around them. “Start paying attention in stores. Start paying attention on television. Listen to perhaps colleagues talk about their children and pay attention to the type of name style that seems pleasing,” she told NPR.
Then, she suggests trying it out “in the real world.” A name might look good on paper and in theory, but when you try calling it out and using it daily, you might gain more perspective.
Some people might adhere to traditions, whether in the family or in their culture. Then naming is easier: you might name children after your grandparents or parents, or, on the contrary, avoid the names that you associate with the bad people in your life.
In Suzanne’s experience, people usually avoid the names of their nieces, nephews, best friends’ children, or even the names of their exes. She invites parents to consider all of these things and not get discouraged if it seems like a long process.
And if someone tells you they don’t like your baby’s name, Suzanne says to think about naming as an art, not a science. “It’s not possible for all of us to see a movie the same way, to enjoy a book the same way, to like the same paintings, to like the same music,” she draws a comparison.
You can use the trusted people in your life as a barometer, according to Suzanne, but keep in mind that it might take a while for other people to get used to a name. “If they don’t have the relationship with it, sometimes it takes some time to grow on people,” she explains. “But two, three years later, you can’t imagine that little one with any other name.”
Many people agreed with the sister that the kid will probably get bullied when she grows up
Others told her to mind her business and let her sister name her baby whatever she wants
