Naming a baby is always an extremely important task. The name the child is blessed (or cursed) with might shape their childhood and even adulthood. The parent’s responsibility is to give a child a name so that the child won’t be made fun of. It also must be a beautiful and meaningful name for both parents. So, the task is quite a significant one.
Recently, Reddit user u/Public-Praline-3691 found himself in a situation related to naming a child. And so, he turned to the r/AITA community to ask who was wrong - the wife, who wanted to name their child an odd name, or the author himself, who didn't.
More info: Reddit
Naming a child is always a huge responsibility - you must try to ensure that they won’t be made fun of because of their name
Image credits: Iurii Laimin (not the actual photo)
Man got into a fight with his wife because she wanted to name their child a peculiar name he didn’t like
Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Public-Praline-3691
After the wife sneakily announced the child’s name, the couple got into a serious fight, which resulted in his wife leaving to live with her mother for a while
A man and his wife are having their first child together. Currently, she is 9 months pregnant. And so, the couple must decide what to name the baby that is going to be born soon. That’s where the trouble started.
After the couple found out that they were having a son, they started brainstorming boy names. Almost all of them were normal. Until the husband read the one which caused him to write the post. The wife suggested naming the baby Mune. It is from the movie Mune: Guardian of the Moon (2014) that stuck with her after she watched it when she was younger.
The husband stated that the name was quite odd and that the child would be made fun of later in his life. The wife argued that he wouldn’t be. Eventually, after going back and forth, they decided to keep the name off the list.
But the story didn’t end there. The wife’s mother decided to throw a baby shower. The party itself seemed normal enough, most gifts were too. What the husband didn’t like was his mother-in-law’s gift. It was a blue handmade blanket. What shook him was that he saw the name Mune written on it. The man stayed quiet during the party just not to ruin the mood for everyone.
The fight started when the husband questioned his wife about the name after the party. She answered that he was overreacting and that the name was good. The OP expressed that this name is only fit for a dog. That made the wife extremely upset. She left to stay at her mom’s place for a while.
Everyone the OP has talked to has voiced that he wasn’t a jerk in this situation. But his wife not coming home made him question his judgment and go online to ask netizens’ opinions.
Image credits: Hollie Santos (not the actual photo)
Bored Panda managed to get an interview from Jennifer Moss, Founder & CEO of BabyNames.com, to talk about the topic of naming children.
When asked if there are any rules for naming children, she said that there are. More specifically, there are rules by state (in the United States Of America). “For example, in California, you cannot use numbers so Elon Musk had to change his baby’s name from XÆ-A12 to XAE-AXII.” There are also rules against such things as profanity.
Talking about best naming practices, she shared that “The most important guideline is to look at the name from the perspective of the child, not YOU. If you think it’s cute or funny, try going to the coffee shop and using that name. Introduce yourself by that name. That 'cute' or 'whimsical' name might not seem so hysterical if YOU have to bear it. Remember that your child has to live with this name - are you creating a burden for them?”
Jennifer also shared some advice for parents who are struggling to choose the perfect name for their baby. In her opinion, this struggle happens due to many things. It might be that only one person is coming up with names and the other is just vetoing. “Both parents have to come to the table with a list of possibilities and then set aside time for what we call 'name-storming sessions.' It has to be equal or it won’t work.”
The second thing might be that too much information from outside sources is confusing the parents. “Start locking down your name choices and make sure you choose something that’s important to you, not your yoga instructor.”
The third one Jennifer mentioned was being unprepared for a child and blocking the naming process psychologically. In this case, the interviewee advised to either wait for a little while or talk to someone about it.
Image credits: Amina Filkins (not the actual photo)
In the interview, Jennifer Moss also shared her insight on influences on parents’ decisions in choosing baby names. “From a survey we conducted with over 250,000 parents, we found that the sound of the name with the last name has a huge influence, then honoring a family member, then how unique or different a name is. People no longer want a name that’s trending or on the top of the charts.”
Lastly, Jennifer shared her thoughts on ethical and social considerations related to baby names that parents must be aware of. “Don't impose your beliefs, systems, or expectations on a child through their name. They might not have the same experiences, beliefs, and aesthetics as you do.” She advised everyone to stay away from politics, violence, and names that impose an expectation on my child (like Messiah, Legend, Chastity). Also, parents should strive to stay away from names that imply a body type, such as Hulk, Bruiser, or Pixie.
With all of this in mind, upcoming parents should look into the field of onomastics. To say it simply, it is the science of names. To say it in a slightly more complicated fashion, it is the field of linguistics which studies the names of people and places.
This subject is very broad - it encompasses all languages, all geographical and cultural regions, and all historical epochs. An onomastician might study place names, personal names, names of historical periods, and so on.
The original name for the subject was onomatology. The word was adopted from the French language around the mid-19th century. A century later, people started calling it onomastics. This one was based on a Greek word, which translated means “to name.”
Coming back to the Reddit story, it probably would be hard to find a commentator who didn’t agree that the jerk was the wife, not the OP. A lot of people mentioned that she and her mother power-played the husband into announcing the name he didn’t like. He thought they decided that was not the name! Others pointed out that maybe the woman is not even mature enough to be a mother if she throws such tantrums over a name.
Netizens decided - naming a baby behind your husband’s back is a jerk move
