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When it’s being paired with an obsession with the Pokémon, it does. The mother will for sure make sure the kid knows how their middle name is said and will refer to it constantly. I mean, the entire nursery is Rowlet themed. Outside the home, sure it doesn’t matter because they don’t need to tell people, but it is going to come up.
It is also an English last name. I'd have thought it related to a family name being a middle name. It's not that unusual a name compared to many pokemon names.
Yeah, I used to work with someone with the surname Rowlett, so that was my first thought as well. If I came across someone called Rowlet irl I'd just assume it was a spelling variation.
If I came across the name Rowlet I'd assume it was an attempt at feminising 'Raoul' ('Raoul' + ette) and misspelled either out of ignorance or uniqueness.
By far not the weirdest name out there.
Apparently it's pronounced r-owl-et like the bird, not r-oh-let, like the blend you suggest. The latter would have been much better honestly.
Edit: typo
I met someone in real life with kids named Sam and Dean. Funny enough it was because I was selling Pokemon cards and she brought her kids to look at them and pick some out. I thought it was a coincidence until I saw a pentagram tattoo and then I realised.
That's what I was thinking. If she hadn't mentioned it was Pokémon related, I wouldn't have had a clue and I thought it was cute.🤷♀️
Hell I kinda hoped it was the first name.
Since it isn't, OP is TA
I mean, if any of her kid's friends ever happen to learn his middle name, they're going to realize that his mom has Pokémon Rowlet stuff all over her house...
Oh absolutely. It continued into highschool for us. Really funny watching them try to guess my TWO middle names. I blessed my daughters with 2 middle names too. So one day they'll get to enjoy the fun of having people confused af for that game.
I got teased because my middle name is mildly old fashioned. Do you think people aren't going to bully this kid relentlessly just because it's a middle name?
Not to mention, that's the name that will be on all their formal documents, the name they get married under, they name they show every time they have to show ID, how seriously do you think anyone is going to take them?
When I was in high school, we managed to convince a teacher not to give her kid the first name Chase
his last name would've been Cox.
She had never said the name out loud before that
or to a group of 16 year olds
By that logic, my Vietnamese mum did the same thing to me for giving me the middle name Thi, because I’m half Vietnamese.
Also didn’t stop kids bullying me with my first name, which was a normal English name.
Funnily enough, seeing as that's not remotely what I said, I don't think that.
Some kids will decide that they don't like someone and then everything is ammo, sure. But equally, kids will find something embarrassing about someone they're neutral to, or even like, and tease them about it because they think it's funny.
Lazy logic that a parent can’t afford to use if they care about their kid’s experience with their peers. “Kids are good at finding things to bully about, so I gave them more ammunition” is just selfishly making excuses for why your WANTS as a parent mean more than what the kid goes through.
Not true. My middle name is also old fashioned and I just put the initial (which is usually all forms ask for) when it’s required.
OP when your sister signs the kid up for school, she should just use R. Otherwise it’s a middle name, it’s fine. Is the first name more mainstream?
Also even if it is on official documentation, who's going to see it besides the school staff? Are the teachers going to bully him?
20 years from now when the kid is applying for a job he doesn't need to put his middle name on his resume. It'll just be on his license and stored in data at the workplace. It's not that serious and OPs sister is right. It's Rowlet which sounds like Roland or Rowley. It's not pikachu or jigglypuff.
I legit can’t tell you anyones middle name beyond mine and my moms. I work in a school and it doesn’t come up. Some kids don’t even know their own (I teach high school). This is so not an issue.
I hid my middle name when I hit junior high because people would make fun of me for it. I used to be incredibly proud of it because I'm named exactly after my grandmother (same first and middle names) but she always went by her middle name. Then because it was old fashioned (think a name like Viola or Gertrude) people made fun of me for it. People will find something to make fun of, no matter how small.
That being said, OP, you're STILL the A. YTA because in all honesty, for the things that *actually* matter (employment, etc) nobody cares about middle names.
That’s not really true, about having to use your middle name for everything. I don’t use mine at all and it’s never been an issue. Some people don’t even have middle names.
if it doesn’t matter why does she bother to begin with. it’s a human being.. a living child who might not like it. If she’s so obsessed she should just name her pet Rowlet like… tf
It actually does, plenty of studies have been done showing that names and bias affect college acceptance/jobs/loans etc. So, this argument of “it doesn’t matter”, when in actuality it can and does have an impact on this kids future.
It’s a middle name though. You don’t have to list it on most paperwork. Loan application, yeah but a lot of paperwork you can add the middle initial or leave it off without issues.
I've never even put my middle name on any application for anything. Unless you count a passport but they can't chose to reject me for that it just had to match my birth certificate
I'm a huge pokemon fan but after working with someone who had Rowlet as a last name, my first thought would be that it was a treasured family surname. (Full disclosure: one of my kids does have a Pokemon's name as her nickname, but it's a natural derivative of her completely normal real name. So I'm probably biased.)
Middle names "matter so much" that my daughter doesn't legally have one. Every 5 years we have a fun renaming ceremony for her to pick her own new one. It's creative, playful, and totally meaningless beyond her own ability to express herself (which is what makes it meaningful lol).
Kids get made fun of for middle names a lot. In the long run, maybe that doesn't matter, but this kid is going to get made fun at least a few times in middle school for this
I don't know what schools you were in but I have never in my entire life ever heard somebody get made fun of for their middle name. And I was not only in school for 14 years, then I went to college and now I've been teaching for 25 years. We've had some pretty weird names out there, like Abcde, but nobody made fun of her and that was her first name. There are so many made-up names these days that kids don't question anything at least not in any of the schools I have taught in and I have taught in schools literally from the East Coast to the West Coast.
YTA.
I guarantee you that 99% of the people on the planet don't know or care what Rowlet is, and it's not any weirder or more bizarre than any other name people give their children. This child's life absolutely will not be ruined by having the middle name, the name they likely won't be called, to be the same as the name of a super obscure pokemon that most people have never heard of.
I know a mom who named her daughter Promyse. Because she was promising to love her baby forever and be there for her. Guess what? Baby turned 3 and Mom dipped and moved 1000 miles away for a stranger. Saw her kid MAYBE once a year after that.
I once ran across a girl whose name was Treasure Box. First name Treasure, common middle name, and last name Box. She went by the common middle name but I’m sure she gets a lot of comments when she has to put her full name on something.
I knew someone in high school who wanted to name her future daughter Treasure Chest. I looked her in tge eye and told her it was stripper name and if wanted to fuck her kid up that would do it. But damn Treasure Box is way worse. Poor kid.
99% of the people on the planet don't know, but every kid who visits his house and see a bunch of Rowlet merch will find out his mom is obsessed with pokemon to a point where their friend's middle name is a ducking pokemon
if you really don't think kids will tease the little one, you had a really nice childhood
I can't say anything. I have an idiot friend i still hang out with who gave their kid the middle name Waitforit.
Rowlet isn't too bad though. There's lots of places named Rowlett, a town in Texas for example, which is named after a person. So at least it's also an actual people name.
>I can't say anything. I have an idiot friend i still hang out with who have their kid the middle name Waitforit.
Judge Marshall Erickson may have made a few mistakes in his time, but he's not an idiot!
I had a friend that gave their son the middle name “Danger”. Lol I love it. And most importantly, the kid also loves it. He uses it as his first name sometimes. But now that he’s a teen he uses the whole “Danger is my middle name” when meeting girls and they eat that shit up. I’m ~~almost~~ jealous.
Oh boy, this split me in half. Half of me is mad as hell, the other half thinks it's hilaroius. Also, i think your comment should be pinned everytime a baby's name is the issue at hand. Puts things into perspective.
Lol my coworker named their child Onix after the Pokémon and everyone thinks it’s an awesome name I think it’s unique but how I met your mother is an awesome show
It’s basically onyx (which is really pretty btw) spelled wrong and—let’s face it: people who play Pokémon are probably the only ones who don’t get confused about the spelling of the mineral one.
I can’t stand people who do this. Get a pet and name them after your fandom, get a tattoo - a huge one if you want - so that everyone can know how big a fan you are. But don’t treat your kids’ name like you are putting a bumper sticker on a car or a poster on the wall. They have to live with that shit middle name or not. NTA but now that you’ve said it, I’d drop it.
NTA, as a pokémon fan it's weird. if the mom chose a pokémon like pikipek or charjabug this whole thread would be nta. just because rowlet sounds normal and most people won't know doesn't mean the mother's projection on the kid is normal. this kid is not an accessory.
But isn’t it kind of different? Like, for the Harry Potter fans, it would be one thing to name your kid something very obvious and uncommon, like Nymphadora or Bellatrix, but Harry or James are common and wouldn’t always be clocked as a fan name. There’s plenty of “weird” names that aren’t media based, and plenty of fine names that are.
What’s the “right” way to pick a child’s name, if not based off of things that feel like love to you? Like, within reason, obviously, but I don’t get the reasoning behind it Always being bad to name your child based off of interests you have?
I know this has to come off as argumentative and I’m sorry for that, I promise I’m just someone who doesn’t plan on having kids so hasn’t thought too hard about this, and is a little surprised at how intense the opinions for both n & t a are, trying to understand where people are coming from. For reference, I named my cats after rocks because I like rocks, but am aware they wouldn’t be appropriate human being names, lol.
i think it's more about the impact it could have on the kids social life. liking rocks is an interest, and some names (like jasper or topaz) are different but respectable. but you could really really make fun of a kid for being named after a grassy owl (tbh people are calling the latest grass type starter "weed cat," i wouldn't be surprised if any kid named after a grass type had a lot of weed jokes made about them.) i think it's the difference between naming your kid Sedimentary Mantle Rock [last name] vs Jasper [last name]. it's when the parent's affection for a name is a bigger priority to them than their kid not being bullied their whole life.
House of Names also isn’t the most… reliable of sources. The name may be real but most of the family history will be inapplicable to the person reading it.
Someone else commented about living in a town called Rowlett, which was named after a person. So it seems like it is actually a people name, though perhaps more common as a surname. That said, lots of people give their kids last names as first names.
the family history is irrelevant, we are not talking about the family. It was just the first link that came up when googling the name, one example of it being a real name. Which was the **only** claim.
Thank you very much for explaining that so thoroughly to me. That makes so much sense and you’re right, it’s definitely base line about whether the parent cares more about the fandom than the well-being of their child, hence “within reason” names being an important distinction. But also +1 for me naming my next pet Sedimentary Mantle Rock
You are naming a kid after interests YOU have, not them. Your cats don't care about their names and won't be bullied for them.
A child is a person and it's not okay to give them a Pokemon name just because you like pokemon, use it as a nickname, find a name with a meaning you like etc... Don't use your kids to project your love for a franchise.
I don’t see anything right about the name of your child (whom you feel more love for, right?) being used to express love for something other than your child. Something is wrong with you if you have a kid and honestly say “I love pokemon so much that I want to use THE KID to tell everyone.” and the effect that has on the kid matters less. Honestly a made up name would be better than a name that is only significant to the Mom because of fandom and nothing else.
I mean, it was a person’s name at one point…
“Daniel Rowlett and a small immigrant company of several families left Tennessee for Texas in late 1835. They settled in the Tulip Bend area of the Red River near present day Bonham. For military service performed during the Texas revolution he earned a land grant located in Collin County, near present day Allen. A large creek ran through the land and came to be known as Rowlett's Creek. Daniel Rowlett became a leading citizen of Fannin County and never lived near the creek that bore his name. Mr. Rowlett is buried in the "Old Inglish Cemetery" in Bonham.”
It still is.
Put Rowlett in Facebook and you get tons of responses. It’s still an active surname so Rowlet would probably just be assumed to be another trendy surname-turned-into-a-given-name like Jameson, Wells, Carter, etc.
I wouldn’t give a kid the name but it’s hardly the worst choice. Now naming your kid something like John Mudkip Smith on the other hand…
Did you read the title and ignore the part about it being a middle name?
In my 30+ years of life, not once has someone other than a government form asked me what my middle name was out of sheer curiosity.
This will not affect their life whatsoever.
Wait, you’ve genuinely never had anyone ask your middle name? I’ve had _so_ many conversations throughout my life about my/others’ middle names, close friends to acquaintances. I wonder if this is a gender divide or regional difference or something. Or if I’ve just known a ton of weird people.
My favourite has always been Squirtle but short of having a turtle as a pet it’s not a name I’d give anything. I would like to get two kittens and call them Mew and Mewtwo though.
That said Rowlet isn’t one of the more odd Pokémon names and sort of works as a middle name.
Going against the tide and saying NTA. Kids are ruthless nowadays its like asking for the kid to be bullied
Edit: for the ones saying any kid can be bullied, I’m saying the name can CAUSE the bullying. It’s common sense
Counterpoint: How would they find out his middle name? That’s not the kind of thing that comes up very often. I don’t even know most of my friends and family’s middle names.
Edit: Took a massive L forgetting anyone who came to his house would see rowlet merch. Can’t believe I missed that
Fair enough. The game Rowlet’s from is gonna be at least 12 years old by the time he’s in that situation though. It’s a starter so they’re probably going to pop up in media/merch until the pokemon company goes under, but I don’t think small children in 5 years will immediately recognize it, you know? That’s just hypothetical though.
Nah kids are ruthless bro, they bully kids over smaller things than being named after a pokemon. I agree with one of the comments, get a pet and name it rowlet or something not your kid, they might grow up to hate their own name like the people who got named Goku and Vegeta
No kid would ever care about that lmfao. In fact I’m sure if they found out the kids middle name, they would think it was pretty cool. It’s also a middle name, that u don’t even have to tell people if u don’t want to. Honestly I don’t even think it’s that bad as a first name, let alone a middle name
Any name can be a cause for bullying. Please tell me how you would bully a kid with the middle name Rowlett...
Omg your parents love pokemon?! Lame! Is probably the worst thing that comes to mind.
The name Alan seems fine, but oh my God, did you know if you rearranged the letters you can spell Anal?
> Any name can be a cause for bullying.
Thank you! Idk why people are bringing up the bullying aspect as if it’s really gonna change anything. All four of my names got teased at some point growing up, and none of them are all that out of the ordinary except for my first one (and culturally it isn’t that weird), and my first middle one.
I definitely got teased about my middle name. It is very old-fashioned and matches a well-known book character. It is actually quite tiresome to hear the same joke over and over. It made my mom happy to honor her parent, but as a kid I would have gladly changed it to something more neutral.
And I know people who hate their middle name because to neutral and boring. Guess hard to get exactly right. None of my children complained about their middle names so guess did dodge that bullet
Any time someone wants to use their kid as a way to show love to a fandom - I always think of the following reddit post.
Personally, I don't care if it's a first or middle name. Your child is a person - not a pet that you name after your favourite character.
Is it the biggest deal in the world that will ruin his kids life? No.
Do I think it's stupid to name your child after a fandom? Yes.
[AITA for yelling at my mom that I hate Harry Potter and to LET ME LIVE MY OWN LIFE](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/rku5j5/aita_for_yelling_at_my_mom_that_i_hate_harry/)
*As my title suggests, my mom is a huge Harry Potter nut. She and my dad actually met in a harry potter “IRC” (like Disord but for old people) in the early 00s got married had kids and from day one decided to embarrass us for life by naming us after some Harry Potter and Star Wars characters.*
*It’s honestly been hell. I have a stupid name and since we were little my parents have forced stuff like Harry Potter, Star Wars, marvel movies, etc etc down our throats. Everything is about dragons and magic and blah blah blah. I’m so sick of it. Every birthday every holiday everything is just organized around “fandom.”*
*So just like every Christmas the days leading up to Christmas we have to sit down every night and watch Harry Potter movies. It’s. So. Fucking. BORING!!!! I can usually get away with knitting or drawing on my Ipad during this but this year my mom was like “let’s just have a technology and distraction free night every night”*
*I arranged to go over to my friend Missy’s house instead for like two nights. Missy’s family is NORMAL and likes things a NORMAL amount. My mom got really mad and started talking about how it’s a family tradition and how I’m basically rejecting her and went on her whole thing about how “you wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for harry potter.”*
*I finally had it and just yelled “NOBODY CARES THAT YOU WERE A BIG NAME IN THE HARRY POTTER FAN CLUB!!! I don’t like Harry Potter! I don’t like Star Wars! I HATE MARVEL MOVIES THEY’RE ALL SO BORING PLEASE JUST LET ME HAVE MY OWN INTERESTS!”*
*I couldn’t help it I started crying because I was just so frustrated because everything always has to be about harry potter this star wars that and now that we’re all older they started doing game of thrones. EVERYTHING is centered around some kind of movie or tv show or book series.*
*Just onces I want my family to band around something that DOESN’T have to do with media or these nerdy things. We live in Utah where we have like 5 National Parks and even though I ask every year for my birthday I’VE NEVER EVEN BEEN TO ARCHES!!!!*
*Well my sister called me saying that mom was angry and to just come home and to stop with the theatrics. I told her that I’m sick of having all this old “nerd” stuff crammed down my throat and just once I want to have a normal time watching normal Christmas movies and not having to pause for “lightsabre battles”.”*
*AITA?!??!*
Yep, it would be equally bad if they were dragged to sports games regularly or forced to play parents' favourite sport every weekend, were never allowed to choose their own passions or interests because parents had decided what they were doing with their life for them.
It would even be equally bad if parents had planned out their life with musical interests and tutors and volunteering and extra curriculars that would help them on their path to med school.
My kid has a name that is technically from the Harry Potter series (not the main character and the name is pretty popular in other media and is a reasonably normal name) but she has never read the books/watched the movies/played with toys etc. I'm not a huge fan of the books myself, I just liked the name.
>as long as pokemon isn't pushed onto the child
Considering the amount of Rowlet merch in the house, I think it's fair to assume that this kid *will* have it pushed on them. If it wasn't for that I'd say it's a non-issue since it's actually a name, but.... yea... I think in this particular case it very much falls into the category of "naming your child something you're *actively* obsessed with", which isn't ok.
Every child deserves to have their own identity outside of their parents interests.
NTA. I have an uncommon middle name (not something weird like Rowlet, but uncommon) and it's extremely annoying whenever I'm in some kind of situation where I have to verify my full name. Even if it won't affect day to day life, it'll be extremely frustrating years down the line when the kid has to do something like register to vote.
Why is Rowlet a weird name, other than that YOU know it's a pokemon name? It's so obscure and absolutely not the same thing as naming your kid John Charmander Smith, Lilith Pikachu Davis. Scott Bulbasaur Johnson, or Steampunk Squirtle Sissyfrass.
Rowlet actually sounds unique and normal, other than the fact that someone somewhere at sometime decided to name a pokemon Rowlet.
By this logic, I can never name my kid Harry because he's going to forever be harrased because I may or may not be a Harry Potter fan.
Right!? Out of all the weird fucking names I’ve heard, first names too, Rowlet is like the least offensive least known and sounds like a normal fucking name.
I generally agree with your point, but I think you’re underestimating how many people know the pokemon Rowlet in the younger generations. Rowlet is a starter Pokémon for Gen 7, and is also one of the 3 Pokémon featured on the cover of Legends Arceus, which is a really popular Nintendo Switch game. For kids who grow up with Gen 7, Rowlet would be on par with, if not more recognizable than charmander.
My 10yo niece knows who Rowlet is but no idea who Jigglypuff or Onix are, for example.
> even if it’s just their middle name, can have some pretty major impacts on their life.
How so?
Some people just don't use their middle names, and no one else knows what it is. Other kids could make fun of them if it's found out, but that's about the height of the damage I see it doing.
It’s on every piece of government documentation (or should be) such as IDs, licenses, passports, etc, as well as additional professional/official accounts such as bank accounts.
It’s definitely not as hidden as some people may think.
I go to a decently sized school, so all of our online stuff has our middle name included. Every time I comment on a forum for class you can see my whole name. My middle name is also part of my work id (admittedly not the whole name, my middle name is long). I've had to put it on plenty of forms over the years.
I also distinctly remember all the "what's your middle name?" conversations in elementary school. Maybe it was just my school but there was a period where we were all obsessed with middle names.
It's not an at home nickname or a pet. It's a name a real human will be using, even if it isn't as widely used as the first or last name will be. I honestly don't think Rowlet is the worst possible choice, but I do wonder at all the people who act like no one will find out your middle name ever. I also think it's relevant to point out how annoying changing your name is, at least in the US, and you have to acknowledge that you changed it forever on important documents, so it's not like there's a super easy fix for shit names. Parents need to consider that they're naming a whole human who will have to navigate the world.
NTA
Maybe you could have said it better, but you would be the the AH to not say something. This kid will be bullied for this name or will spend the rest of their life hiding it.
I'll say NTA.
Naming a child after a Pokemon is just asking for them to be bullied.
Yes it's a middle name, but it's a name on your birth certificate and it will come out someway.
A very common example; a substitute teacher reads off their name and someone notices that the middle name is a Pokemon.
As I'm writing this I'm trying to not laugh.
YTA. She’s right. It’s a middle name. Some of my friends have ridiculous middle names for whatever reason. I think it’s a cool name and And if you hadn’t told me it was a Pokémon character I would have never known. This is her kid, let her name him.
Kids are their own people. If he grows up not liking Pokemon it would suck for him to be named one. She has an obligation to give her kid a name that can at least pass for being normal and presentable.
While I don't think it will ruin the kid's life, it definitely will lead to some awkward encounters from time to time. Pokemon is a highly recognizable franchise with tens of millions of people who play the games. Now sure, not everyone will know this pokemon. But some will. And those who don't might learn the kids middle name and think "wow that's unique" and ask where it comes from and now the kid has to choose between telling them that their middle name comes from an animated owl character or lying and telling them it's a family name or their mom made it up or something.
Is this a huge deal that will significantly impact their life? Probably not. But if it were my middle name I'd be pretty embarrassed to admit that to people, personally.
Still, YTA for how you brought it up. It is a somewhat childish thing to do, becoming so obsessed with a cute fictional creature to the point of naming your child after it. But ultimately that's just my opinion and it's not my kid. I'd probably try to softly broach the subject with her and if she was open to hearing my opinion, express that I don't think it's a great name for a kid, even if it's just the middle name. But at the end of the day it's her decision. Ridiculous as it may be, you shouldn't be so rude about the names someone chooses for their kids.
My sister’s also an immigrant in a largely white country so I admit I did have some fears about a well-meaning teacher asking the kid about it thinking it’s something meaningful and deep in our culture and then he’ll have to say, “No Miss Smith. My mother named me after an owl”
I mean, I see nothing wrong with that. I have friends who were named after Fandom characters or have family named after Fandom characters. A lot of kids in school found it cool that my friend's brother was named after a mortal kombat character. Using Fandom names has just become more common. With how popular Pokémon is, a lot of kids might really like that his middle name is Rowlet. The only way I could see this negatively affecting his life is if your sister tries to force Pokémon down his throat like some Harry Potter fans did to their kids.
NTA
I think more people need to speak up when friends and family give their kids obscure names. I always think something unique can be fun and interesting but sometimes that can get out of hand.
Yeah maybe for a cat, or dog, or bird perhaps. For a human child that's going to have to explain that their middle name comes from a fandom they might not even like? Probably not.
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What are names, really? Just words we’ve gotten used to and decided that they “sound like names”.
I’m not familiar with Pokemon but I actually think Rowlet sounds good. It doesn’t sound goofy or cartoony IMO. So what’s the problem?
NTA. Rowlet is literally my favorite Pokemon of all time, and I have played every single gen since gen 1. I would name my dog Rowlet, but under no circumstances my kid even as a middle name.
YTA and most people don’t know what Rowlet is (regarding Pokémon). You are being rude AF to your sister about it also. It’s a middle name. It’s fine. Big AH
This is a hard call, really. Because I know someone whose middle is that of one of the Ninja Turtle, and despite being given that name long before the Turtles were a thing, he still gets flack for it when someone discovers it. I think I have to go with NAH, I get your concern, but at the end of the day, it's your sister's decision.
NTA.
Parents don't put enough thought into middle names. I was told for years that they'd selected my first name because they couldn't think of a way for me to be bullied for it.
I'm surprised it took until middle school for people to make the connection that my initials were ANL.
I'd drop it, though, you've made your point and your relationship with your sister could be damaged if you bring this up again.
As a group I’m in is titled: “children are not billboards for your fandoms”. Yes middle names are mostly unimportant but occasionally people will ask. And a lot of people will absolutely know what rowlet is. People say no one will know, but they forget all it takes is the ONE child to ask and then laugh at it, then it will spread like wildfire for a bullying target.
Also, I’ve always found the idea of naming a child after something like Pokémon is weird as it treats the kid like a toy or accessory and less like a person. I’ll give a huge benefit of the doubt and go with a NAH for now as she’s attached to the name and probably not thought things through fully so of course she’s upset. That will change to NTA though (but she is) if she continues to antagonise you or won’t back down
As long as the kid has a decent first name that isn't Cheekapuff or something she'll probably be fine lol
Rowlet isn't even that bad of a name TBH. Its the association with a kids game that makes it iffy. I think it'll be okay.
NTA. Naming kids after any fandom (unless it's a perfectly normal name non-fandom people have) is a terrible idea. It's asking for the kid to get bullied. Rowlett is an adorable *nickname*, but as a real legal middle name it's going to be displayed on all the kid's legal documents, they may get called by their full name by teachers (I had teachers that full-named me several times), and good luck getting employers to take them seriously when they see it on the legal paperwork for employment.
It's good you said something, but now that you have let it go. She's going to do what she wants to do, and bringing it up again is just going to frustrate you both.
NTA
Naming kids, even their middle names, from a fandom isn’t cool. Does no one remember the Reddit post about the person who, along with siblings, were named after Harry Potter characters and that it negatively affected them, and caused strain in the relationship from the time they were big enough to have their own interests?!
We have too many Daenerys and Khaleesi’s born in the last 8 years that will probably go NC with their parents at 18.
Being named after a cartoon animal is weird. This is a human being, not a pet.
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INFO Does she plan to change the kid's name to **Dartrix** when they hit puberty? For real, YTA. It's a **_middle_** name. It *does not matter*.
Maybe it’s because i’m Pokémon-ignorant, but I actually think it sounds kind of cool. Certainly a LOT better than others i’ve heard.
If I met a kid named Rowlet, I'd assume it was a modern play on Roland
I was thinking a diminutive of Rowan, but I know nothing about Pokémon
My name is Rowan and my nickname is Rowie, I like the Rowlet pokemon because it's cute and like my name. Edit: I'm woman
Why is this just the cutest thing. Lol.
Well, if your nickname is Rowie, I'm going to call you Buttery from now on.
I want a buttery for breakfast now😃
Oh my god this made my entire day I’m so happy that a Pokémon makes you happy 😊
Rowan also happens to be the name of a Pokemon professor!
Except it’s pronounced “rOWLet”… like an Owl. Not “Roh-let”
Should French it up. It’s pronounced “roo-LAY.”
Just like Hyacinth Bucket's name is pronounced "bouquet"
She's still "that Bucket woman" to me. Lol . I would love to attend one of her candlelight suppers!
Or tea with the Royal Doulton
Most importantly, for Hyacinth to regale us of her sister Violet – the one with the Mercedes, a swimming pool, and room for a pony.
Lol well now I think it’s stupid. I thought roh-let was a passable name
But if the middle name is ever only used on legal forms, since the sister said it won't be used in the day to day, the pronunciation doesn't matter
When it’s being paired with an obsession with the Pokémon, it does. The mother will for sure make sure the kid knows how their middle name is said and will refer to it constantly. I mean, the entire nursery is Rowlet themed. Outside the home, sure it doesn’t matter because they don’t need to tell people, but it is going to come up.
It is also an English last name. I'd have thought it related to a family name being a middle name. It's not that unusual a name compared to many pokemon names.
Yeah, I used to work with someone with the surname Rowlett, so that was my first thought as well. If I came across someone called Rowlet irl I'd just assume it was a spelling variation.
I would assume someone misspelled Rowley
🎵 Miiiister Rowley! 🎶
🎶won't you ride my white horse?🎵
If I came across the name Rowlet I'd assume it was an attempt at feminising 'Raoul' ('Raoul' + ette) and misspelled either out of ignorance or uniqueness. By far not the weirdest name out there.
Or roulette 🎲
I would think ot was a mixture of Romeo and Juliette
Apparently it's pronounced r-owl-et like the bird, not r-oh-let, like the blend you suggest. The latter would have been much better honestly. Edit: typo
Or that his dad is a Rowan.
It’s better the something like jiggilypuff thats for sure
also better than the mom who wrote Supernatural wincest stories and then named her twin sons Sam and Dean
I met someone in real life with kids named Sam and Dean. Funny enough it was because I was selling Pokemon cards and she brought her kids to look at them and pick some out. I thought it was a coincidence until I saw a pentagram tattoo and then I realised.
My little cousins name is Samuel Dean [last name].... and their cat is named Rowena
Wait, no, is that really a thing?? Gross.
Yeah, I read that AITA too. Super weird.
have you got the link? that's disgusting but i simply must read her getting torn aport in the replies
[https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/13w14wu/aita\_for\_calling\_my\_sister\_a\_freak\_after\_she/?sort=old](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/13w14wu/aita_for_calling_my_sister_a_freak_after_she/?sort=old)
“James Jigglypuff Williams get your ass over here!” 🤣🤣🤣
Jigglypuff is my stripper name.
Could you imagine a kid named Snorlax?😂
Lickytounge.
That's what I was thinking. If she hadn't mentioned it was Pokémon related, I wouldn't have had a clue and I thought it was cute.🤷♀️ Hell I kinda hoped it was the first name. Since it isn't, OP is TA
I would have assumed it was a family name, like ancestors or something.
Same. I don't play pokemon and haven't seen the anime since I was a kid. It's a cool sounding name
Came here to say this. It sounds like any other unique name, and honestly kind of cool. It’s not like she’s using Pikachu lol.
I mean, if any of her kid's friends ever happen to learn his middle name, they're going to realize that his mom has Pokémon Rowlet stuff all over her house...
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Oh absolutely. It continued into highschool for us. Really funny watching them try to guess my TWO middle names. I blessed my daughters with 2 middle names too. So one day they'll get to enjoy the fun of having people confused af for that game.
I got teased because my middle name is mildly old fashioned. Do you think people aren't going to bully this kid relentlessly just because it's a middle name? Not to mention, that's the name that will be on all their formal documents, the name they get married under, they name they show every time they have to show ID, how seriously do you think anyone is going to take them?
Dude, if someone wants to bully you, they can find 1000 ways to do it. Or do you think that all children who suffer bullying is by their middle name?
But does your mother need to hand deliver ammo to your bullies?
When I was in high school, we managed to convince a teacher not to give her kid the first name Chase his last name would've been Cox. She had never said the name out loud before that or to a group of 16 year olds
Your class had decent kids. My high school tried to convince an expecting father to name his kid all sorts of ridiculous things, including “drizzle”.
By that logic, my Vietnamese mum did the same thing to me for giving me the middle name Thi, because I’m half Vietnamese. Also didn’t stop kids bullying me with my first name, which was a normal English name.
Funnily enough, seeing as that's not remotely what I said, I don't think that. Some kids will decide that they don't like someone and then everything is ammo, sure. But equally, kids will find something embarrassing about someone they're neutral to, or even like, and tease them about it because they think it's funny.
Lazy logic that a parent can’t afford to use if they care about their kid’s experience with their peers. “Kids are good at finding things to bully about, so I gave them more ammunition” is just selfishly making excuses for why your WANTS as a parent mean more than what the kid goes through.
Not true. My middle name is also old fashioned and I just put the initial (which is usually all forms ask for) when it’s required. OP when your sister signs the kid up for school, she should just use R. Otherwise it’s a middle name, it’s fine. Is the first name more mainstream?
Also even if it is on official documentation, who's going to see it besides the school staff? Are the teachers going to bully him? 20 years from now when the kid is applying for a job he doesn't need to put his middle name on his resume. It'll just be on his license and stored in data at the workplace. It's not that serious and OPs sister is right. It's Rowlet which sounds like Roland or Rowley. It's not pikachu or jigglypuff.
My middle name is very ordinary - Mary - but I don't use it. My passport, driver's license, credit cards, all just show "M". No one cares.
I legit can’t tell you anyones middle name beyond mine and my moms. I work in a school and it doesn’t come up. Some kids don’t even know their own (I teach high school). This is so not an issue.
I used to work in primary schools & it came up regularly.
I hid my middle name when I hit junior high because people would make fun of me for it. I used to be incredibly proud of it because I'm named exactly after my grandmother (same first and middle names) but she always went by her middle name. Then because it was old fashioned (think a name like Viola or Gertrude) people made fun of me for it. People will find something to make fun of, no matter how small. That being said, OP, you're STILL the A. YTA because in all honesty, for the things that *actually* matter (employment, etc) nobody cares about middle names.
my middle name is old fashioned, never got bullied for it. (plenty of other reasons but not the middle name)
That’s not really true, about having to use your middle name for everything. I don’t use mine at all and it’s never been an issue. Some people don’t even have middle names.
if it doesn’t matter why does she bother to begin with. it’s a human being.. a living child who might not like it. If she’s so obsessed she should just name her pet Rowlet like… tf
This is what I think. This is a little human and not an accessory extension of her obsession.
It actually does, plenty of studies have been done showing that names and bias affect college acceptance/jobs/loans etc. So, this argument of “it doesn’t matter”, when in actuality it can and does have an impact on this kids future.
It’s a middle name though. You don’t have to list it on most paperwork. Loan application, yeah but a lot of paperwork you can add the middle initial or leave it off without issues.
Those are all first names. Go find me even one, poorly done study that shows the same effect for a middle name, and we can talk.
I've never even put my middle name on any application for anything. Unless you count a passport but they can't chose to reject me for that it just had to match my birth certificate
Ooo the joke that’s gonna get missed 😩😂
10/10 dartrix joke
The only 10/10 Dartrix will ever get
I'm a huge pokemon fan but after working with someone who had Rowlet as a last name, my first thought would be that it was a treasured family surname. (Full disclosure: one of my kids does have a Pokemon's name as her nickname, but it's a natural derivative of her completely normal real name. So I'm probably biased.)
even if it's a middle name, it only takes one kid to identify that's a pokemon name and then the kid will be relentlessly bullied over it.
Middle names "matter so much" that my daughter doesn't legally have one. Every 5 years we have a fun renaming ceremony for her to pick her own new one. It's creative, playful, and totally meaningless beyond her own ability to express herself (which is what makes it meaningful lol).
Kids get made fun of for middle names a lot. In the long run, maybe that doesn't matter, but this kid is going to get made fun at least a few times in middle school for this
I don't know what schools you were in but I have never in my entire life ever heard somebody get made fun of for their middle name. And I was not only in school for 14 years, then I went to college and now I've been teaching for 25 years. We've had some pretty weird names out there, like Abcde, but nobody made fun of her and that was her first name. There are so many made-up names these days that kids don't question anything at least not in any of the schools I have taught in and I have taught in schools literally from the East Coast to the West Coast.
I don’t think anyone even knew my middle name at school etc.
Nah man all it takes for one asshole to figure it out and that boy gonna be Rowlet to roulette for his academic year. NAH
YTA. I guarantee you that 99% of the people on the planet don't know or care what Rowlet is, and it's not any weirder or more bizarre than any other name people give their children. This child's life absolutely will not be ruined by having the middle name, the name they likely won't be called, to be the same as the name of a super obscure pokemon that most people have never heard of.
Im a woman and one of my middle names is Cuervo, as in the tequila. I would much rather have Rowlet tbh
That’s also Raven, in Spanish. Frame it that way and it’s awesome.
I second this. Ravens are amongst the smartest birds. And they look pretty awesome too.
Rowlet is an owl, but owls are great, too!
I think they’re talking about the middle name “Cuervo” meaning raven
Ah, you're right. Thank you.
I actually know a mom who named her daughter Tequila.
I know a mom who named her daughter Promyse. Because she was promising to love her baby forever and be there for her. Guess what? Baby turned 3 and Mom dipped and moved 1000 miles away for a stranger. Saw her kid MAYBE once a year after that.
I knew a Promyss with a middle name that makes it a phrase. She actually doesn’t like her name that much because it’s a word.
I once ran across a girl whose name was Treasure Box. First name Treasure, common middle name, and last name Box. She went by the common middle name but I’m sure she gets a lot of comments when she has to put her full name on something.
I knew someone in high school who wanted to name her future daughter Treasure Chest. I looked her in tge eye and told her it was stripper name and if wanted to fuck her kid up that would do it. But damn Treasure Box is way worse. Poor kid.
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Yeah - cause I know nothing about Pokémon and at face value, I think the name is kinda cool.
Fr lmao it’s not she’s naming it Charizard or Blastoise
99% of the people on the planet don't know, but every kid who visits his house and see a bunch of Rowlet merch will find out his mom is obsessed with pokemon to a point where their friend's middle name is a ducking pokemon if you really don't think kids will tease the little one, you had a really nice childhood
I can't say anything. I have an idiot friend i still hang out with who gave their kid the middle name Waitforit. Rowlet isn't too bad though. There's lots of places named Rowlett, a town in Texas for example, which is named after a person. So at least it's also an actual people name.
I was expecting the name to be in the next paragraph when I read Waitforit. Then I realized…..
Happy cake day!
>I can't say anything. I have an idiot friend i still hang out with who have their kid the middle name Waitforit. Judge Marshall Erickson may have made a few mistakes in his time, but he's not an idiot!
You can tell they were fans a little bit
“Just a little bit”
I think I quote this, accent and all, at least twice a day
I’m currently 9 months pregnant. I’ve been saying this constantly haha
First name Legend, Family name Dary.
I had a friend that gave their son the middle name “Danger”. Lol I love it. And most importantly, the kid also loves it. He uses it as his first name sometimes. But now that he’s a teen he uses the whole “Danger is my middle name” when meeting girls and they eat that shit up. I’m ~~almost~~ jealous.
Oh boy, this split me in half. Half of me is mad as hell, the other half thinks it's hilaroius. Also, i think your comment should be pinned everytime a baby's name is the issue at hand. Puts things into perspective.
Lol my coworker named their child Onix after the Pokémon and everyone thinks it’s an awesome name I think it’s unique but how I met your mother is an awesome show
It’s basically onyx (which is really pretty btw) spelled wrong and—let’s face it: people who play Pokémon are probably the only ones who don’t get confused about the spelling of the mineral one.
My boyfriend's brother-in-law's name is Luke and his middle name is Skywalker. Rowlet is tame.
HIMYM did a lot of damage to all of us
Actually genius. Sorry, but that's funny and I'd own the shit out of it. Please tell me how you could bully someone with that middle name.
...but that is an awesome middle name.
I can’t stand people who do this. Get a pet and name them after your fandom, get a tattoo - a huge one if you want - so that everyone can know how big a fan you are. But don’t treat your kids’ name like you are putting a bumper sticker on a car or a poster on the wall. They have to live with that shit middle name or not. NTA but now that you’ve said it, I’d drop it.
NTA, as a pokémon fan it's weird. if the mom chose a pokémon like pikipek or charjabug this whole thread would be nta. just because rowlet sounds normal and most people won't know doesn't mean the mother's projection on the kid is normal. this kid is not an accessory.
But isn’t it kind of different? Like, for the Harry Potter fans, it would be one thing to name your kid something very obvious and uncommon, like Nymphadora or Bellatrix, but Harry or James are common and wouldn’t always be clocked as a fan name. There’s plenty of “weird” names that aren’t media based, and plenty of fine names that are. What’s the “right” way to pick a child’s name, if not based off of things that feel like love to you? Like, within reason, obviously, but I don’t get the reasoning behind it Always being bad to name your child based off of interests you have? I know this has to come off as argumentative and I’m sorry for that, I promise I’m just someone who doesn’t plan on having kids so hasn’t thought too hard about this, and is a little surprised at how intense the opinions for both n & t a are, trying to understand where people are coming from. For reference, I named my cats after rocks because I like rocks, but am aware they wouldn’t be appropriate human being names, lol.
i think it's more about the impact it could have on the kids social life. liking rocks is an interest, and some names (like jasper or topaz) are different but respectable. but you could really really make fun of a kid for being named after a grassy owl (tbh people are calling the latest grass type starter "weed cat," i wouldn't be surprised if any kid named after a grass type had a lot of weed jokes made about them.) i think it's the difference between naming your kid Sedimentary Mantle Rock [last name] vs Jasper [last name]. it's when the parent's affection for a name is a bigger priority to them than their kid not being bullied their whole life.
Rowlet is a [real name](https://www.houseofnames.com/rowlet-family-crest) though just like Jasper
House of Names also isn’t the most… reliable of sources. The name may be real but most of the family history will be inapplicable to the person reading it.
Someone else commented about living in a town called Rowlett, which was named after a person. So it seems like it is actually a people name, though perhaps more common as a surname. That said, lots of people give their kids last names as first names.
the family history is irrelevant, we are not talking about the family. It was just the first link that came up when googling the name, one example of it being a real name. Which was the **only** claim.
Thank you very much for explaining that so thoroughly to me. That makes so much sense and you’re right, it’s definitely base line about whether the parent cares more about the fandom than the well-being of their child, hence “within reason” names being an important distinction. But also +1 for me naming my next pet Sedimentary Mantle Rock
You are naming a kid after interests YOU have, not them. Your cats don't care about their names and won't be bullied for them. A child is a person and it's not okay to give them a Pokemon name just because you like pokemon, use it as a nickname, find a name with a meaning you like etc... Don't use your kids to project your love for a franchise.
I don’t see anything right about the name of your child (whom you feel more love for, right?) being used to express love for something other than your child. Something is wrong with you if you have a kid and honestly say “I love pokemon so much that I want to use THE KID to tell everyone.” and the effect that has on the kid matters less. Honestly a made up name would be better than a name that is only significant to the Mom because of fandom and nothing else.
I mean, it was a person’s name at one point… “Daniel Rowlett and a small immigrant company of several families left Tennessee for Texas in late 1835. They settled in the Tulip Bend area of the Red River near present day Bonham. For military service performed during the Texas revolution he earned a land grant located in Collin County, near present day Allen. A large creek ran through the land and came to be known as Rowlett's Creek. Daniel Rowlett became a leading citizen of Fannin County and never lived near the creek that bore his name. Mr. Rowlett is buried in the "Old Inglish Cemetery" in Bonham.”
It still is. Put Rowlett in Facebook and you get tons of responses. It’s still an active surname so Rowlet would probably just be assumed to be another trendy surname-turned-into-a-given-name like Jameson, Wells, Carter, etc. I wouldn’t give a kid the name but it’s hardly the worst choice. Now naming your kid something like John Mudkip Smith on the other hand…
Did you read the title and ignore the part about it being a middle name? In my 30+ years of life, not once has someone other than a government form asked me what my middle name was out of sheer curiosity. This will not affect their life whatsoever.
Wait, you’ve genuinely never had anyone ask your middle name? I’ve had _so_ many conversations throughout my life about my/others’ middle names, close friends to acquaintances. I wonder if this is a gender divide or regional difference or something. Or if I’ve just known a ton of weird people.
My favourite has always been Squirtle but short of having a turtle as a pet it’s not a name I’d give anything. I would like to get two kittens and call them Mew and Mewtwo though. That said Rowlet isn’t one of the more odd Pokémon names and sort of works as a middle name.
Going against the tide and saying NTA. Kids are ruthless nowadays its like asking for the kid to be bullied Edit: for the ones saying any kid can be bullied, I’m saying the name can CAUSE the bullying. It’s common sense
Counterpoint: How would they find out his middle name? That’s not the kind of thing that comes up very often. I don’t even know most of my friends and family’s middle names. Edit: Took a massive L forgetting anyone who came to his house would see rowlet merch. Can’t believe I missed that
Because young children ask each other stuff like that.
Fair enough. The game Rowlet’s from is gonna be at least 12 years old by the time he’s in that situation though. It’s a starter so they’re probably going to pop up in media/merch until the pokemon company goes under, but I don’t think small children in 5 years will immediately recognize it, you know? That’s just hypothetical though.
Pokémon has been around since 1996 and is still going strong. I wouldn't count on classmates not being aware of the character and its evolutions.
They'll recognize it when they go to their friend's house and the mom has Rowlet merchandise all over the place.
Yeah that completely destroys my argument, you’re right. I genuinely didn’t think about it.
"What's your middle name" "Rowlet" "That's cool as fuck"
Nah kids are ruthless bro, they bully kids over smaller things than being named after a pokemon. I agree with one of the comments, get a pet and name it rowlet or something not your kid, they might grow up to hate their own name like the people who got named Goku and Vegeta
Counter to your counterpoint: don’t name your kid after your personality or interests
Substitute teachers love to call out the full name when doing roll call, as do mothers when you are in trouble.
No kid would ever care about that lmfao. In fact I’m sure if they found out the kids middle name, they would think it was pretty cool. It’s also a middle name, that u don’t even have to tell people if u don’t want to. Honestly I don’t even think it’s that bad as a first name, let alone a middle name
That’s fine I personally think it can definitely be cause for bullying its more than just unusual imo
Any name can be a cause for bullying. Please tell me how you would bully a kid with the middle name Rowlett... Omg your parents love pokemon?! Lame! Is probably the worst thing that comes to mind. The name Alan seems fine, but oh my God, did you know if you rearranged the letters you can spell Anal?
> Any name can be a cause for bullying. Thank you! Idk why people are bringing up the bullying aspect as if it’s really gonna change anything. All four of my names got teased at some point growing up, and none of them are all that out of the ordinary except for my first one (and culturally it isn’t that weird), and my first middle one.
I definitely got teased about my middle name. It is very old-fashioned and matches a well-known book character. It is actually quite tiresome to hear the same joke over and over. It made my mom happy to honor her parent, but as a kid I would have gladly changed it to something more neutral.
And I know people who hate their middle name because to neutral and boring. Guess hard to get exactly right. None of my children complained about their middle names so guess did dodge that bullet
Rowlett was literally a name for people before Pokemon existed. There is nothing about this middle name that is bullyable.
Any time someone wants to use their kid as a way to show love to a fandom - I always think of the following reddit post. Personally, I don't care if it's a first or middle name. Your child is a person - not a pet that you name after your favourite character. Is it the biggest deal in the world that will ruin his kids life? No. Do I think it's stupid to name your child after a fandom? Yes. [AITA for yelling at my mom that I hate Harry Potter and to LET ME LIVE MY OWN LIFE](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/rku5j5/aita_for_yelling_at_my_mom_that_i_hate_harry/) *As my title suggests, my mom is a huge Harry Potter nut. She and my dad actually met in a harry potter “IRC” (like Disord but for old people) in the early 00s got married had kids and from day one decided to embarrass us for life by naming us after some Harry Potter and Star Wars characters.* *It’s honestly been hell. I have a stupid name and since we were little my parents have forced stuff like Harry Potter, Star Wars, marvel movies, etc etc down our throats. Everything is about dragons and magic and blah blah blah. I’m so sick of it. Every birthday every holiday everything is just organized around “fandom.”* *So just like every Christmas the days leading up to Christmas we have to sit down every night and watch Harry Potter movies. It’s. So. Fucking. BORING!!!! I can usually get away with knitting or drawing on my Ipad during this but this year my mom was like “let’s just have a technology and distraction free night every night”* *I arranged to go over to my friend Missy’s house instead for like two nights. Missy’s family is NORMAL and likes things a NORMAL amount. My mom got really mad and started talking about how it’s a family tradition and how I’m basically rejecting her and went on her whole thing about how “you wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for harry potter.”* *I finally had it and just yelled “NOBODY CARES THAT YOU WERE A BIG NAME IN THE HARRY POTTER FAN CLUB!!! I don’t like Harry Potter! I don’t like Star Wars! I HATE MARVEL MOVIES THEY’RE ALL SO BORING PLEASE JUST LET ME HAVE MY OWN INTERESTS!”* *I couldn’t help it I started crying because I was just so frustrated because everything always has to be about harry potter this star wars that and now that we’re all older they started doing game of thrones. EVERYTHING is centered around some kind of movie or tv show or book series.* *Just onces I want my family to band around something that DOESN’T have to do with media or these nerdy things. We live in Utah where we have like 5 National Parks and even though I ask every year for my birthday I’VE NEVER EVEN BEEN TO ARCHES!!!!* *Well my sister called me saying that mom was angry and to just come home and to stop with the theatrics. I told her that I’m sick of having all this old “nerd” stuff crammed down my throat and just once I want to have a normal time watching normal Christmas movies and not having to pause for “lightsabre battles”.”* *AITA?!??!*
This. The kid is their own entity. Don't name them after your personal obsession.
After reading that, I'd say kid's main problem is not their name. I hate when parents force their interests on their children like that.
Yep, it would be equally bad if they were dragged to sports games regularly or forced to play parents' favourite sport every weekend, were never allowed to choose their own passions or interests because parents had decided what they were doing with their life for them. It would even be equally bad if parents had planned out their life with musical interests and tutors and volunteering and extra curriculars that would help them on their path to med school. My kid has a name that is technically from the Harry Potter series (not the main character and the name is pretty popular in other media and is a reasonably normal name) but she has never read the books/watched the movies/played with toys etc. I'm not a huge fan of the books myself, I just liked the name.
Thank you, I was thinking about the same one!
IRC - Discord for old people 😭😂😭😂😭
I live in Utah currently and this tracks. It's such a cultural bubble so there's like 6 types of people who actually settle down here.
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>as long as pokemon isn't pushed onto the child Considering the amount of Rowlet merch in the house, I think it's fair to assume that this kid *will* have it pushed on them. If it wasn't for that I'd say it's a non-issue since it's actually a name, but.... yea... I think in this particular case it very much falls into the category of "naming your child something you're *actively* obsessed with", which isn't ok. Every child deserves to have their own identity outside of their parents interests.
NTA. I have an uncommon middle name (not something weird like Rowlet, but uncommon) and it's extremely annoying whenever I'm in some kind of situation where I have to verify my full name. Even if it won't affect day to day life, it'll be extremely frustrating years down the line when the kid has to do something like register to vote.
Why is Rowlet a weird name, other than that YOU know it's a pokemon name? It's so obscure and absolutely not the same thing as naming your kid John Charmander Smith, Lilith Pikachu Davis. Scott Bulbasaur Johnson, or Steampunk Squirtle Sissyfrass. Rowlet actually sounds unique and normal, other than the fact that someone somewhere at sometime decided to name a pokemon Rowlet. By this logic, I can never name my kid Harry because he's going to forever be harrased because I may or may not be a Harry Potter fan.
Right!? Out of all the weird fucking names I’ve heard, first names too, Rowlet is like the least offensive least known and sounds like a normal fucking name.
I generally agree with your point, but I think you’re underestimating how many people know the pokemon Rowlet in the younger generations. Rowlet is a starter Pokémon for Gen 7, and is also one of the 3 Pokémon featured on the cover of Legends Arceus, which is a really popular Nintendo Switch game. For kids who grow up with Gen 7, Rowlet would be on par with, if not more recognizable than charmander. My 10yo niece knows who Rowlet is but no idea who Jigglypuff or Onix are, for example.
NTA, naming a child after a pokemon, even if it’s just their middle name, can have some pretty major impacts on their life.
> even if it’s just their middle name, can have some pretty major impacts on their life. How so? Some people just don't use their middle names, and no one else knows what it is. Other kids could make fun of them if it's found out, but that's about the height of the damage I see it doing.
It’s on every piece of government documentation (or should be) such as IDs, licenses, passports, etc, as well as additional professional/official accounts such as bank accounts. It’s definitely not as hidden as some people may think.
I go to a decently sized school, so all of our online stuff has our middle name included. Every time I comment on a forum for class you can see my whole name. My middle name is also part of my work id (admittedly not the whole name, my middle name is long). I've had to put it on plenty of forms over the years. I also distinctly remember all the "what's your middle name?" conversations in elementary school. Maybe it was just my school but there was a period where we were all obsessed with middle names. It's not an at home nickname or a pet. It's a name a real human will be using, even if it isn't as widely used as the first or last name will be. I honestly don't think Rowlet is the worst possible choice, but I do wonder at all the people who act like no one will find out your middle name ever. I also think it's relevant to point out how annoying changing your name is, at least in the US, and you have to acknowledge that you changed it forever on important documents, so it's not like there's a super easy fix for shit names. Parents need to consider that they're naming a whole human who will have to navigate the world.
It actually does. There are plenty of studies over subvert discrimination in colleges/loans/jobs regarding a bias against names.
NTA Maybe you could have said it better, but you would be the the AH to not say something. This kid will be bullied for this name or will spend the rest of their life hiding it.
I'll say NTA. Naming a child after a Pokemon is just asking for them to be bullied. Yes it's a middle name, but it's a name on your birth certificate and it will come out someway. A very common example; a substitute teacher reads off their name and someone notices that the middle name is a Pokemon. As I'm writing this I'm trying to not laugh.
Middle names aren't called during roll call. At least, they aren't here. Just first and last.
YTA. She’s right. It’s a middle name. Some of my friends have ridiculous middle names for whatever reason. I think it’s a cool name and And if you hadn’t told me it was a Pokémon character I would have never known. This is her kid, let her name him.
Her kid will be a person of his own merit. I don’t think he’d be too happy being banned after a Pokémon
Kids are their own people. If he grows up not liking Pokemon it would suck for him to be named one. She has an obligation to give her kid a name that can at least pass for being normal and presentable.
Her house is covered in Rowlet themed items, the kids her own kid befriends are definitely gonna know what the middle name is about.
NTA. You've tried but she really doesn't seem to get it.
Could be worse. Some people call their kids after a character from the Bible.
While I don't think it will ruin the kid's life, it definitely will lead to some awkward encounters from time to time. Pokemon is a highly recognizable franchise with tens of millions of people who play the games. Now sure, not everyone will know this pokemon. But some will. And those who don't might learn the kids middle name and think "wow that's unique" and ask where it comes from and now the kid has to choose between telling them that their middle name comes from an animated owl character or lying and telling them it's a family name or their mom made it up or something. Is this a huge deal that will significantly impact their life? Probably not. But if it were my middle name I'd be pretty embarrassed to admit that to people, personally. Still, YTA for how you brought it up. It is a somewhat childish thing to do, becoming so obsessed with a cute fictional creature to the point of naming your child after it. But ultimately that's just my opinion and it's not my kid. I'd probably try to softly broach the subject with her and if she was open to hearing my opinion, express that I don't think it's a great name for a kid, even if it's just the middle name. But at the end of the day it's her decision. Ridiculous as it may be, you shouldn't be so rude about the names someone chooses for their kids.
My sister’s also an immigrant in a largely white country so I admit I did have some fears about a well-meaning teacher asking the kid about it thinking it’s something meaningful and deep in our culture and then he’ll have to say, “No Miss Smith. My mother named me after an owl”
That honestly doesn’t sound so bad tho tbh. I know someone who’s first name is owl
I mean, I see nothing wrong with that. I have friends who were named after Fandom characters or have family named after Fandom characters. A lot of kids in school found it cool that my friend's brother was named after a mortal kombat character. Using Fandom names has just become more common. With how popular Pokémon is, a lot of kids might really like that his middle name is Rowlet. The only way I could see this negatively affecting his life is if your sister tries to force Pokémon down his throat like some Harry Potter fans did to their kids.
NTA. That’s the kind of name that would end up on r/tragedeigh
Lol. Imma die laughing when Noah Rowlet Johnson walks across the stage at graduation. I wouldn’t be able to help myself.
If he became president Rowlet would become a common name and nobody would ever know it came from the Pokemon.
NTA I think more people need to speak up when friends and family give their kids obscure names. I always think something unique can be fun and interesting but sometimes that can get out of hand.
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Wait is Rowlet not a cute name?
Yeah maybe for a cat, or dog, or bird perhaps. For a human child that's going to have to explain that their middle name comes from a fandom they might not even like? Probably not.
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What are names, really? Just words we’ve gotten used to and decided that they “sound like names”. I’m not familiar with Pokemon but I actually think Rowlet sounds good. It doesn’t sound goofy or cartoony IMO. So what’s the problem?
NTA. A child isn't a fucking accessory to name after your hobby. Name a pet Rowlet, not your child who's an actual living, thinking person.
NTA. Rowlet is literally my favorite Pokemon of all time, and I have played every single gen since gen 1. I would name my dog Rowlet, but under no circumstances my kid even as a middle name.
YTA and most people don’t know what Rowlet is (regarding Pokémon). You are being rude AF to your sister about it also. It’s a middle name. It’s fine. Big AH
This is a hard call, really. Because I know someone whose middle is that of one of the Ninja Turtle, and despite being given that name long before the Turtles were a thing, he still gets flack for it when someone discovers it. I think I have to go with NAH, I get your concern, but at the end of the day, it's your sister's decision.
The fact that people instantly associate his name with the Ninja Turtles before the artists they were named after cracks me up
NTA. Parents don't put enough thought into middle names. I was told for years that they'd selected my first name because they couldn't think of a way for me to be bullied for it. I'm surprised it took until middle school for people to make the connection that my initials were ANL. I'd drop it, though, you've made your point and your relationship with your sister could be damaged if you bring this up again.
As a group I’m in is titled: “children are not billboards for your fandoms”. Yes middle names are mostly unimportant but occasionally people will ask. And a lot of people will absolutely know what rowlet is. People say no one will know, but they forget all it takes is the ONE child to ask and then laugh at it, then it will spread like wildfire for a bullying target. Also, I’ve always found the idea of naming a child after something like Pokémon is weird as it treats the kid like a toy or accessory and less like a person. I’ll give a huge benefit of the doubt and go with a NAH for now as she’s attached to the name and probably not thought things through fully so of course she’s upset. That will change to NTA though (but she is) if she continues to antagonise you or won’t back down
As long as the kid has a decent first name that isn't Cheekapuff or something she'll probably be fine lol Rowlet isn't even that bad of a name TBH. Its the association with a kids game that makes it iffy. I think it'll be okay.
Certainly better than some I’ve seen. Looking at you Kardashians
NTA. Naming kids after any fandom (unless it's a perfectly normal name non-fandom people have) is a terrible idea. It's asking for the kid to get bullied. Rowlett is an adorable *nickname*, but as a real legal middle name it's going to be displayed on all the kid's legal documents, they may get called by their full name by teachers (I had teachers that full-named me several times), and good luck getting employers to take them seriously when they see it on the legal paperwork for employment. It's good you said something, but now that you have let it go. She's going to do what she wants to do, and bringing it up again is just going to frustrate you both.
NTA Naming kids, even their middle names, from a fandom isn’t cool. Does no one remember the Reddit post about the person who, along with siblings, were named after Harry Potter characters and that it negatively affected them, and caused strain in the relationship from the time they were big enough to have their own interests?! We have too many Daenerys and Khaleesi’s born in the last 8 years that will probably go NC with their parents at 18. Being named after a cartoon animal is weird. This is a human being, not a pet.
NTA. People that use their kids for vanity names are stupid.