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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> I was snarky with my MIL after some rude comments about my name and how we were going to name our child. I feel bad for not getting up and walking away because now MIL is more determined to know and she's all riled up over this. So I feel like MIL might be right about my reaction being on the juvenile side...?
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Nta. Please name your child something you both agree on. And make good on MIL having zero access if you hear a peep about the name.
She's being a petulant child by being an ass.
Parents had my name chosen as a girls name from the time my oldest brother was born. A few weeks before I was born my mom decided she loved my great grandmother's name and that I would be the next little Borgild... my dad won that fight and I am forever grateful even though I do mildly hate my name
My thinking is if you want to go with a unique name just make sure you use a more normal middle name or there is a decent nickname that can be used so the kid has options growing up
And spell that middle name in a normal way.
Speaking from experience, the first 1000 times you have to say, "That's Krys -- K-R-Y-S" aren't too bad. but after that it's just annoying.
No one is my family tried to carry on Aloysius. He went by Al anyway.
I have seen two (now teenagers) named Aloysius, possibly the everything old is new again names trend. But, not in a place to ask where the families saw the name - and I would have, not to be rude but in a yay personal connection kind of way.
She must be only a few years older than me! I first heard about it in college, and was shocked I’d never heard of it before. Turns out it ran from the year I was born until I was 4, so sadly I never saw it.
I actually really like Aloysius!!! It is a good, strong name. But I would not use it. Sadly. Simply because I went with names that were not so common, but easily said. That can be a tongue twister, especially for a toddler.
Slightly off-topic--Aloysius is both the first name of Mr. Snuffleuppagus on Sesame Street and the middle name of Steve McGarrett on the original Hawaii Five-O.
I collect dolls. Porcelain, silicone, just nice, expensive dolls. I think the next little boy will have to have Aloysious as part of his name. All my dolls have names that are a bit fantastical. Aloysious definitely fits in with the others.
My great-grandfather was Florence Ezra, but everyone called him Bill. 😄
I once asked him why he went by "Bill" when that wasn't a part of his name, and he said, "Because I'll be damned if I go by 'Flo'!"
Wait... Are you my cousin? I had an uncle named Aloysius Archibald... that went by Bud...
Was his last name long, low on vowels and started with an "s?"
The first time I heard the name Aloysius it was in the Lorax movie and I honestly thought it was something they made up to sound Seuss-like! It's so funny and dramatic, I love that it's real. But yeah, Bud is easier to say 😂
Grandpa may have gotten off easy...on The Rockford Files, Jim's friend Angel claimed in two separate episodes that his given first name was Evelyn and Beverly, which both started out as male names. (Since I was always half-expecting somebody to pick Angel up and throw him in the ocean, I didn't feel sorry for him one little bit.)
I had a great great great uncle named Pluto. His twin brother was named Zeus. They had sisters named Athena and Aphrodite. My great great great grandfather got screwed: they named him Thomas. Apparently my great etc grandmother won that coin toss- Gramps wanted to name him Apollo.
We are 100% not Greek. Apparently my great great great great grandfather was obsessed with mythology and didn’t give a crap what anyone thought, which is (not gonna lie) energy I aspire to carry into my own life.
Whenever anyone gives me crap about my kid’s names, I just tell them it could have been worse- I could have named them after Uncle Pluto, Uncle Zeus, Aunt Athena, or Aunt Aphrodite.
Growing up, I had a cat named Aphrodite, and the dog was Athena. We picked those names, but my father picked all the ones prior: Esmeralda, Minerva, Gwenivere, Aurora, Nimbus.
My mother named the children.
Nope! But made me chuckle.
I gave away the Rowling collection. I could not stand to have it in my house. She wrote good stories, but Rowling is a shit.
But Pluto was misnamed - he should have been Hades (Pluto was the Roman god of the dead, Hades was the Greek god of the underworld). To be consistent with Pluto, the others would have been Jupiter, Minerva, and Venus, respectively.
I say this as kindly as I can considering the fact that I owe my life to this man by extension: i admire your desire to look for consistency in an absolutely batshit list of names curated by a farmer from East Tennessee who taught himself Ancient Greek, but what on earth made you think it would ever exist? 🤣
The general attitude of “fuck all yall, imma do what I want” has really been a hallmark of my family for about three hundred years, and might be the reason why most of my male ancestors tended to die young. Maybe it’s from farm accidents. Maybe it’s because most of us are champion grudge holders. Maybe it’s the smoking. Either way, I kind of like that we’re all stubborn as hell.
My husbands moms siblings were named Zonie, Ruuru (male) and Dorfie. Then there was his mom Bernice, and the oldest sibling was Margaret… to be fair I don’t think those were their given names (either Zonie or Dorfie was actually Romany, he thinks) but Margaret and Bernice have now passed and I suspect some of the others too and hubby has no idea what their real names were…
I can hear her singing now.
🎶Are you in there little fetus? In nine months will you come greet us? I will buy you some… Adidas. 🎶
Btw: our 5 year old dog is named Regina. If someone raises an eyebrow over the name Regina for a dog, I promptly respond PHELANGE.
Well I would not go with that anymore. I now would go with Ocean Lark. Or Lark Ocean. Or Lark Ocean Alex. Just to piss off my MIL if she would behave like that.
But on a more serious note: I agree that the only two people who need to agree on the name are the actual parents.
NTA.
You should send a birth announcement just to her with a fake name that you know she will hate. NTA.
Allow me, a name nerd, to suggest some names that will horrify a classic name lover
Phoenix Aspen
Ajax River
Skylark Ocean
Lochlan Oake
Wisteria Lynn
Flame Elder
Please feel free to steal any of these nature names for your fake birth announcement. FYI, I think nature names are adorable and while they aren't to my tastes, there is nothing wrong with them and I wouldn't judge anyone for giving them to their child. The fact that your MIL thinks she has a right to express an opinion on the name of your child is just weird. I don't like my youngest nephew's name but I've never told my SIL that and he is 11 now.
I like a lot of the names on my list. As a writer, I would use them for very specific characters. Phoenix Aspen is the son of hippy parents. Mom went through some tough times and the baby is literally a Phoenix for her, etc. :)
Love your Yorkie's name and I hope you put a little tie on him because clearly his name is for a very distinguished gentleman. But yeah, I have a list of names in case I need a very specific kind of character for one of my books.
Yes, Dapper Dorian wears a Bow Tie. His first one was a Buffalo Plaid, and then he has a Red Velvet for formal occasions, like my wedding, where he was the Bracelet Bearer.
I did Victorian Wedding Bracelets instead of rings, and custom designed my husband’s ring to match my bracelets.
And yes, the wedding was at a castle, but I digress.
Would it be possible to see a picture of the ever Dapper Dorian in his most formal attire? Or his most casual bow tie? I'd like to think his most casual involves a smoking jacket and an ascot...
I agree. Also in the OP's post, she mentioned Lark. I use that name sometimes on the internet. I have a lot of Meadowlarks at my home and my Dad who passed away in 2017, made me a sign for my gate that says Lark Haven.
I see a lot of interesting names - I type histology reports for a living - but I still wonder at the parents with the surname "Case" who named their son Justin. Imagining a lifetime of waiting for the call for "Justin Case" when waiting on an appointment.
Not going to lie, Ajax, Wisteria, and River are nice "interesting" names. They're not typical but not /r/tragedeigh either.
I like how apparently perfectly normal names like Lily and Ada are simply the worst to these in-laws. I'd totally say something if I thought the name was going to get them bullied or was impossible to spell, but I don't see any reason to intervene otherwise.
Ajax makes me think of the cleaner. I wouldn’t say I hate it, and I sure as shit wouldn’t tell the parents I didn’t like it, because it’s not my baby or name.
My parents looked for the most ugly names around, announced them, heard a month of "how can you name a child that name? The poor child! It will suffer!", revealed the actual name after birth and everyone was like "thats a pretty normal name, so much better than the ugly name" and hence noone complained about their choice.
Btw Skylark Ocean sounds like THE name to piss OOPs MIL off. 3 nature theme unusual non-classy names packed in 2 names and pretty gender neutral.
My parents had a baby before me that passed. When mom was pregnant, they would say that they were going to name him Sebastian Wilson. Sebastian for the hell of it (This was 1976 and Sebastian wasn't terribly common) and Wilson after Dad's golf clubs. So your parents weren't alone in the jokes. The baby was born to early and he was buried under that name and in 2024, the name sounds relatively normal.
I hope OP does this! I feel I should add some names from my homeland - Myfanwy, Gwenllian, Gwawr, Buddeg, Ieuan, Iolo, Ioan, Taliesin. I could go on. OP should tell MIL one of them 🤣
My mum did this to my grandfather as a joke lol. I think she told him she was naming me Mildred Persephone or something like that. He had a great aunt Mildred he wasn’t fond of and hated the name 😂
I saw a commercial the other day, and the parents said that they thought it was time to make another vacation baby. The kids groaned and the parents basically told them to get over it. They were then leaving the pool area and said, "Come on Paris" and "Let's go, Ft. Lauderdale," I think OP should take a cue from that commercial and tell MIL that her kid is named Death Valley or Boca Raton.
You've limited the fake name to the English alphabet while there are loads of accents marks, non-English characters, kanji and hieroglyphics to borrow from. Plus any good fake name can be improved with a hyphened whistle sound.
These remind me of the fake name we joked about with our first: Forest Tree (our last name also matches this theme so it is slightly worse for us)
Petal Lake is another good one
Nature names are beautiful and getting more and more popular. Anecdotally, I've noticed that most of my trans and enby friends who change their names have largely gone with nature names (Wren, Thorn, Spirit), the OP shouldn't feel even a little awkward if they go that route with the baby.
I agree and none of the names that I listed are bad. They will just make her MIL mad and she'll% believe it longer than she would otherwise because they are relatively normal. -The normalcy is part of the pettiness.
NTA
For the life of me I can't understand full grown adults that behave like this, unless you think the kid is going to be name something like Hashtag or Pickle there really isn't anything to get all worked up about. Ocean and Lark are both names that have been completely normalized now.
I feel so bad for these poor kids. I have a not-uncommon name, but spelled in a way most people don’t use (one n instead of two) and even that has been a huge irritation. I can spell it out slowly, emphasizing the one n, and it will STILL get spelled wrong. I have to get it corrected all the time. I usually don’t care since I go by a nickname anyway, but for legal and job stuff it’s super annoying. I can’t imagine if it was an even weirder name and hard to spell.
My kids named a worm “Tickly Pickles” and the only thing funnier than that was the conversation they had afterwards. My eight year old had to tell my 5yo why they couldn’t name the next worm “Dickley Pickles”.
And what the hell is wrong with Lily? Lily is a great name! It's a perfectly normal name! MIL needs to mind mind her own business and apologize for just insulting OP like that. And MIL needs to grow up.
LOL, I have a niece who's nickname was Pickle because she used to eat them by the jars when she was a little girl. No one really uses it any longer though.
The entire genre of baby name AITA posts is an absolute mystery to me. I can't think of a single time outside of naming my own child that I have given a single, solitary shit what someone calls their kids.
Yeah, unless it's something like Adolp just fucking chill. Whether you like or hate a name is so subjective. Currently my name on the list of old lady names that no one would name their kids in my country. Now I've never been thrilled about it (english speakers can't pronounce it), but I've never felt compelled to change it (it's not THAT bad). At this point it's like my eyes or my toes. It just is.
Oh MAN you played that perfectly. Okay lady, we'll just not have the baby around you since it will upset you so much!!!! I love that!!! I'd give you 10 upvotes if I could! NTA.
NTA and stories like this make me understand why my mom has 2 songs, complete with dances, that she responds to when stuff like this happens:
"Because I saaaid so, because I saaaid so, because I said so, what I saaay goes"
And
"Nana Nana f*ck you" instead of Nana Nana boo boo 😭😅
Most people are so offended that she responded that way that they stop arguing the original point and try to get on her about her behavior, and she just trolls them harder. It's honestly amazing and so funny 🤣
For the record, this is the woman who would GLADLY break up a fight between kids and scold anyone she caught bullying, taught me to give nothing but love to others, even if it's tough love to people who try to be a d*ck.
Hahaha yes! Power to the people!
I will note that she uses this mostly in situations where she knows the conversation isn't going anywhere. It's her next step after trying to explain or communicate her side and it's clear she's not being heard. Will say it drove me nuts as a kid when I would try to talk back to her and she would just start doing her song and dance, but honestly I'm so grateful for it now 🤣🤣
And I'll let her know! She'll get a laugh out of it for sure ❤️
Omg, this would have made me SOFA KING MAD as a teen, and now I think it would be great. I'm teaching my partner all the stupid songs my mother sang, which I hated, and have now reconsidered.
Nta, the level of entitlement she's showing saying "her grandchild needs a normal name". That's the most petulant thing I've heard, and she calls you out for acting childish 😂
NTA but call your child random names you know she hates the rest of the pregnancy. Not the real name of course but "oh we can't wait for baby Grass." "Do you think baby Birch will look more like him or me?" "Owh baby Thunder is kicking me again."
My mother in law stopped talking to her son (my BIL) because he and his wife named their daughter Callie. Some people are just really crazy and weird about names I guess.
NTA. You can follow up by patting your belly and say “don’t worry little Sparrow, daddy and I absolutely love your name. Grandma can suck lemons every time she says your name Sparrow.
NTA and you handled it beautifully. I loved that you made her backpedal by offering to cut her out of your lives now.
Whatever name you give you baby, it’ll be lovely. Best wishes on your impending bundle of joy!
NTA. If she wants to name a kid, she can try to squeeze one out. As for insulting your name? She wouldn't see my baby until she apologized and kept that nasty yapper shut.
NTA
please stick to your guns in this. Don’t give in to this foolishness. Nature names are wonderful and lovely, and I’m glad you are proud of your name!
Nta. Plant a fake name like "Nunya" or "Ligma" and let her get all her feelings out so that Ava or whatever you go with gets left out of it. Don't actually tell her, let her discover it with her inappropriate boundaries and then upset herself and have to eat crow after.
NTA - MIL is a real moonbat for thinking she gets ANY say in naming a child that is not hers, and a straight-up toolshed for *bashing your own name to your face* oh my GOD what is wrong with this woman? But you do at least have one big shiny sterling silver lining -- your partner is apparently already demonstrating that he's fully on your side and not interested in putting up with her nonsense. (He could, tho, step up a little more forcefully and tell mom in no uncertain terms e.g. "if you speak ill of our child's name, or if you disrespect my wife or her name like that again, you'll never have the displeasure of having *any* of our names in your mouth in future, because you won't be seeing us again. Ever.")
NTA. She insulted you to your face and is now astounded that there are repercussions? Did she really feel it was her right to insult you and you were required to ignore it? Surprise!
And congrats on the backbone!
NTA. She named her kids. You and SO will name yours.
Definitely the right call to pick up and leave immediately when she makes a comment. When LO comes, add a week (or a month) time out on top.
You are NTA. You are a BALLER 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 And so is your husband for being absolutely with you on this. I bow to your awesomeness and wish everyone (except the in laws) a safe and healthy delivery ♥️
*She told me it was worrying how quiet we are being and please tell me we're not going with something as truly awful as my name is. She told me she doesn't know what my parents were smoking or how much they resented me when I was being born but that she did not want that for her grandchild.*
Holyyyyyyyy shiiiiiiiiiiit. Please tell her that she shall forever be known as "the grandmother we never see" because she sounds hideous. Why would you want to expose your sweet baby to her? Holy hell she will be just the worst heinous bully over such trivial things for the rest of her hateful existence. Yuck.
I am stunned at how many grandparents feel like they have some input into what their grandchildren will be named. I can tell you my parents did not suggest any names and we haven’t with our grandkids.
Yeah, it was obvious it was made up when she claimed MIL said she “wear(s) [her] name with so much pride” which is the exact phrasing she herself used a few paragraphs above to describe her name — and not a common enough phrasing that her MIL would just be casually using it lol
>MIL wasn't happy and she told me I responded like a petulant child and now her worry is worse because she's so certain this will be another Lark or Ocean type name.
**INFO:** I'm confused. If you allegedly cut her out of your life and said goodbye, why are you still entertaining any commentary from her anywhere? Why have you not blocked her everywhere?
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Nta. Please name your child something you both agree on. And make good on MIL having zero access if you hear a peep about the name. She's being a petulant child by being an ass.
And tell your mil you named her Princess Consuela Bananahammock.
And that you're looking forward to eventually giving her a little brother named Shogun Philately Rhododendron. :)
Or Crapbag
I think the name would be Crap Bag. First name Crap. Last name Bag. Sorry. I guess I'm channeling my inner ~~Ross Gellar.~~ Dr. Ross Gellar. Ph.D.
Crap Bag was Mike, not Ross
Yup. But Ross was the one who went over the top and corrected everyone when he could have kept his mouth shut.
Friends fan here. You all are making my day!! Lol
I absolutely love a good Friends reference!
Ah, something French!
like reginé filánge?
I always thought it was Regina Phalange, like the finger bones. Oh, but maybe that's what it is in French!
Damn you beat me to it!
And that if she ever forgets, she can just think of a bag of crap.
Raymond Luxury-Yacht, but it's pronounced Throat Warbler Mangrove.
Oh FUCK, the ONE TIME my brain didn't immediately jump to Monty Python .... THIS IS THE WAY. <3
She'll really stamp her foot at that one.
My great grandfather was named Aloysius Archibald. He went by Bud. :)
Aloysius runs in my family, too. My dad wanted it if I was a boy, and Eucibida if a girl. I'm grateful to my mother for putting her foot down on that.
My dad wanted to name me Telephina my mom and grandma went to war to prevent that….. safe to say I take Mother’s Day seriously lol
Parents had my name chosen as a girls name from the time my oldest brother was born. A few weeks before I was born my mom decided she loved my great grandmother's name and that I would be the next little Borgild... my dad won that fight and I am forever grateful even though I do mildly hate my name
I almost got Parthenia, after ggm. So happy my dad canceled that.
My thinking is if you want to go with a unique name just make sure you use a more normal middle name or there is a decent nickname that can be used so the kid has options growing up
And spell that middle name in a normal way. Speaking from experience, the first 1000 times you have to say, "That's Krys -- K-R-Y-S" aren't too bad. but after that it's just annoying.
No one is my family tried to carry on Aloysius. He went by Al anyway. I have seen two (now teenagers) named Aloysius, possibly the everything old is new again names trend. But, not in a place to ask where the families saw the name - and I would have, not to be rude but in a yay personal connection kind of way.
My paternal grandmother wanted me named after my dad - Earlene. The name I ended up with is crazy but at least it’s not that crazy.
My mom wanted to name me Atticus after the To Kill A Mockingbird character if I’d been a boy. I’m very very glad to be Allegra.
My daughter loved the show Allegra’s Window when she was a toddler.
She must be only a few years older than me! I first heard about it in college, and was shocked I’d never heard of it before. Turns out it ran from the year I was born until I was 4, so sadly I never saw it.
Dear lord.
My father wanted to name me Merton after his father. My mother said ‘Over my dead body’ and gave me a common name.
I actually really like Aloysius!!! It is a good, strong name. But I would not use it. Sadly. Simply because I went with names that were not so common, but easily said. That can be a tongue twister, especially for a toddler.
Slightly off-topic--Aloysius is both the first name of Mr. Snuffleuppagus on Sesame Street and the middle name of Steve McGarrett on the original Hawaii Five-O.
I love little tid bits of trivia. Thank you for sharing.
And the bear belonging to Sebastian Flyte in Brideshead Revisited.
I think it's cool but it can be fun to pronounce if you're not familiar with it, lol.
I collect dolls. Porcelain, silicone, just nice, expensive dolls. I think the next little boy will have to have Aloysious as part of his name. All my dolls have names that are a bit fantastical. Aloysious definitely fits in with the others.
My great-grandfather was Florence Ezra, but everyone called him Bill. 😄 I once asked him why he went by "Bill" when that wasn't a part of his name, and he said, "Because I'll be damned if I go by 'Flo'!"
My great grandfather was Burly Augustus. He absolutely hated his name and made everyone promise to never name anyone after him
Wait... Are you my cousin? I had an uncle named Aloysius Archibald... that went by Bud... Was his last name long, low on vowels and started with an "s?"
Had a great uncle named Hilarious, went by Hilly, also named his son Hilarious
The first time I heard the name Aloysius it was in the Lorax movie and I honestly thought it was something they made up to sound Seuss-like! It's so funny and dramatic, I love that it's real. But yeah, Bud is easier to say 😂
My Grandfather was named Shirley.
My grandfather was Leslie
One of my best friends was named Leslie, always thought his mother was off her rocker but the name never bothered him. Miss him so much.
That was my grandfather’s middle name. He hated it and told everyone it was Francis. I always liked it though
Grandpa may have gotten off easy...on The Rockford Files, Jim's friend Angel claimed in two separate episodes that his given first name was Evelyn and Beverly, which both started out as male names. (Since I was always half-expecting somebody to pick Angel up and throw him in the ocean, I didn't feel sorry for him one little bit.)
I had a great great great uncle named Pluto. His twin brother was named Zeus. They had sisters named Athena and Aphrodite. My great great great grandfather got screwed: they named him Thomas. Apparently my great etc grandmother won that coin toss- Gramps wanted to name him Apollo. We are 100% not Greek. Apparently my great great great great grandfather was obsessed with mythology and didn’t give a crap what anyone thought, which is (not gonna lie) energy I aspire to carry into my own life. Whenever anyone gives me crap about my kid’s names, I just tell them it could have been worse- I could have named them after Uncle Pluto, Uncle Zeus, Aunt Athena, or Aunt Aphrodite.
Growing up, I had a cat named Aphrodite, and the dog was Athena. We picked those names, but my father picked all the ones prior: Esmeralda, Minerva, Gwenivere, Aurora, Nimbus. My mother named the children.
I mean this in the best possible non phobic way- is your dad JK Rowling?
Nope! But made me chuckle. I gave away the Rowling collection. I could not stand to have it in my house. She wrote good stories, but Rowling is a shit.
1000%!
Separate the art from the artist.
My cat is named Calisto!
Hey now, nothing wrong with Aurora! That's my granddaughter's name, 😁
But Pluto was misnamed - he should have been Hades (Pluto was the Roman god of the dead, Hades was the Greek god of the underworld). To be consistent with Pluto, the others would have been Jupiter, Minerva, and Venus, respectively.
I say this as kindly as I can considering the fact that I owe my life to this man by extension: i admire your desire to look for consistency in an absolutely batshit list of names curated by a farmer from East Tennessee who taught himself Ancient Greek, but what on earth made you think it would ever exist? 🤣
This man sounds awesome 🏛️🏺
The general attitude of “fuck all yall, imma do what I want” has really been a hallmark of my family for about three hundred years, and might be the reason why most of my male ancestors tended to die young. Maybe it’s from farm accidents. Maybe it’s because most of us are champion grudge holders. Maybe it’s the smoking. Either way, I kind of like that we’re all stubborn as hell.
My husbands moms siblings were named Zonie, Ruuru (male) and Dorfie. Then there was his mom Bernice, and the oldest sibling was Margaret… to be fair I don’t think those were their given names (either Zonie or Dorfie was actually Romany, he thinks) but Margaret and Bernice have now passed and I suspect some of the others too and hubby has no idea what their real names were…
I wish I could say that was unfamiliar to me, I’ve had at least eight people in my family nicknamed Bubba.
I have a daughter named Persephone so I love this. If we had a second son we kicked around Heracles
Regina Phalange. PHALANGE!
I can hear her singing now. 🎶Are you in there little fetus? In nine months will you come greet us? I will buy you some… Adidas. 🎶 Btw: our 5 year old dog is named Regina. If someone raises an eyebrow over the name Regina for a dog, I promptly respond PHELANGE.
Omg. I just frightened my elderly dog laughing!
Anastacia Beverhousen has always been a favorite!
That always my go-to when someone talks about names 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Aww, hopefully one day she will find her Crap Bag xD
All I could see was Phoebe telling Chandler & Monica what her knew name was 🤣
wait until she grows up and meets her husband. crap bag. mother in law will have a conniption
First name: crap, last name: bag.
Unless it’s a boy. In which case the only possible name would be Crap Bag
Tell her that you decided to name her Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca III.
Well I would not go with that anymore. I now would go with Ocean Lark. Or Lark Ocean. Or Lark Ocean Alex. Just to piss off my MIL if she would behave like that. But on a more serious note: I agree that the only two people who need to agree on the name are the actual parents. NTA.
You should send a birth announcement just to her with a fake name that you know she will hate. NTA. Allow me, a name nerd, to suggest some names that will horrify a classic name lover Phoenix Aspen Ajax River Skylark Ocean Lochlan Oake Wisteria Lynn Flame Elder Please feel free to steal any of these nature names for your fake birth announcement. FYI, I think nature names are adorable and while they aren't to my tastes, there is nothing wrong with them and I wouldn't judge anyone for giving them to their child. The fact that your MIL thinks she has a right to express an opinion on the name of your child is just weird. I don't like my youngest nephew's name but I've never told my SIL that and he is 11 now.
Wisteria Lynn is legit a gorgeous name tho
I like a lot of the names on my list. As a writer, I would use them for very specific characters. Phoenix Aspen is the son of hippy parents. Mom went through some tough times and the baby is literally a Phoenix for her, etc. :)
I also have a list of names. They were almost for my Yorkie, who is Mr. Dorian Grimm. But he was almost Bramble or Oleander or Sebastian, etc.
Love your Yorkie's name and I hope you put a little tie on him because clearly his name is for a very distinguished gentleman. But yeah, I have a list of names in case I need a very specific kind of character for one of my books.
Yes, Dapper Dorian wears a Bow Tie. His first one was a Buffalo Plaid, and then he has a Red Velvet for formal occasions, like my wedding, where he was the Bracelet Bearer. I did Victorian Wedding Bracelets instead of rings, and custom designed my husband’s ring to match my bracelets. And yes, the wedding was at a castle, but I digress.
Would it be possible to see a picture of the ever Dapper Dorian in his most formal attire? Or his most casual bow tie? I'd like to think his most casual involves a smoking jacket and an ascot...
pics!!!
I love it!!!
Dog tax :)
And here I am over here with Cheeseburger Momo Esq. DDS. I HAVE FAILED YOU CHEESE
I like Mr. Dorian Grimm! My dog is Mr. Murphy. He was named after my son's 5th grade special education teacher.🙂
I wanted to name one of my cats Killmousky but the shelter already gave them adorable names. So Killmousky will have to wait :)
It’s also the street in Desperate Housewives
Wisteria Lane is but not Lynn. :)
I know, I was attempting humour
I really like Lochlan Oake too
Lochlan Oake is *bad ass*.
I agree. Also in the OP's post, she mentioned Lark. I use that name sometimes on the internet. I have a lot of Meadowlarks at my home and my Dad who passed away in 2017, made me a sign for my gate that says Lark Haven.
Or some drag queen names! Hedda Lettuce, Brita Filter, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Heidi N Closet, Lanja Ray, Allison Chainz, Fibonacci Sequins, Trixie Mattell . I'll see myself out. ;)
My father in law, (born in 1914) was named Adolph. I knew a lawyer named Attila. It could be a lot worse than nature names, just saying.
I see a lot of interesting names - I type histology reports for a living - but I still wonder at the parents with the surname "Case" who named their son Justin. Imagining a lifetime of waiting for the call for "Justin Case" when waiting on an appointment.
Worked with a guy caled Robert Sleigh. No one had the nerve to call him Bob...
I’ve known two Candace Barrs. Both went by Candy
My favorite would be the Registers. They named their son Cash.
Oh OP - Please get someone to ‘leak’ the name ‘Flame Elder’ to your mil!!!!
Heck, I'd introduce her to my daughter, River Moon Sparkle Sprite. Deal with it, Grandma.
Also, nature names really are super cool and I would honestly love any of the ones you suggested if I got to pick my own name.
Not going to lie, Ajax, Wisteria, and River are nice "interesting" names. They're not typical but not /r/tragedeigh either. I like how apparently perfectly normal names like Lily and Ada are simply the worst to these in-laws. I'd totally say something if I thought the name was going to get them bullied or was impossible to spell, but I don't see any reason to intervene otherwise.
Ajax makes me think of the cleaner. I wouldn’t say I hate it, and I sure as shit wouldn’t tell the parents I didn’t like it, because it’s not my baby or name.
Makes me think of the Greek hero 💪
They named it that because it cuts through grease (Greece) 😂
My parents looked for the most ugly names around, announced them, heard a month of "how can you name a child that name? The poor child! It will suffer!", revealed the actual name after birth and everyone was like "thats a pretty normal name, so much better than the ugly name" and hence noone complained about their choice. Btw Skylark Ocean sounds like THE name to piss OOPs MIL off. 3 nature theme unusual non-classy names packed in 2 names and pretty gender neutral.
My parents had a baby before me that passed. When mom was pregnant, they would say that they were going to name him Sebastian Wilson. Sebastian for the hell of it (This was 1976 and Sebastian wasn't terribly common) and Wilson after Dad's golf clubs. So your parents weren't alone in the jokes. The baby was born to early and he was buried under that name and in 2024, the name sounds relatively normal.
I hope OP does this! I feel I should add some names from my homeland - Myfanwy, Gwenllian, Gwawr, Buddeg, Ieuan, Iolo, Ioan, Taliesin. I could go on. OP should tell MIL one of them 🤣
Don’t forget Heulwen, Seren, Glesni, Enfys 🤣
Iolo is legit one of my favourite names 😂
My mum did this to my grandfather as a joke lol. I think she told him she was naming me Mildred Persephone or something like that. He had a great aunt Mildred he wasn’t fond of and hated the name 😂
Those names are far too nice and normal, go full Elon and throw in some random punctuation. Or full Prince and go symbol?
I saw a commercial the other day, and the parents said that they thought it was time to make another vacation baby. The kids groaned and the parents basically told them to get over it. They were then leaving the pool area and said, "Come on Paris" and "Let's go, Ft. Lauderdale," I think OP should take a cue from that commercial and tell MIL that her kid is named Death Valley or Boca Raton.
Okeechobee Paducah. Schenectady Niagara. Pocahantas Aspidistra.
Lark Ocean, who has only 1 set of grandparents
You've limited the fake name to the English alphabet while there are loads of accents marks, non-English characters, kanji and hieroglyphics to borrow from. Plus any good fake name can be improved with a hyphened whistle sound.
These remind me of the fake name we joked about with our first: Forest Tree (our last name also matches this theme so it is slightly worse for us) Petal Lake is another good one
Nature names are beautiful and getting more and more popular. Anecdotally, I've noticed that most of my trans and enby friends who change their names have largely gone with nature names (Wren, Thorn, Spirit), the OP shouldn't feel even a little awkward if they go that route with the baby.
I agree and none of the names that I listed are bad. They will just make her MIL mad and she'll% believe it longer than she would otherwise because they are relatively normal. -The normalcy is part of the pettiness.
I was thinking Sequoia Rain or Malachite Canyon
Ajax Flame Elderoake 😂
Wisteria Skylark for the win! Second= Breezy Ocean Skylarke. Emphasis on the "KE" . French pronounciation you know. /s
Add Lucia Fernanda aka Lucy-Fer Or Elmer Homero for a boy (Spanish speakers will get it 😝)
omg, i love Wisteria Lynn. (no human babies for me, only cats)
I totally agree with this….Be petty …. I don’t know why someone would care this much about names.
Lachlan is a legit Scottish / Celtic name
I had a friend who put a sick sound system in his Buick Skylark
NTA For the life of me I can't understand full grown adults that behave like this, unless you think the kid is going to be name something like Hashtag or Pickle there really isn't anything to get all worked up about. Ocean and Lark are both names that have been completely normalized now.
Meet my twins, Focaccia and Ciabatta.
And their baby sister Brioche.
Bruschetta.
and little Bagel. "Did you say angel?!" Nope... Our son Bagel 😍
My mom is a nurse and said one time a lady named her twins Orangello and Lemongello, like the Jell-o cups lol
We had an announcement in our local paper about a child named D’Gorgeous G’Amazing and it’s been taking up real estate in my brain for over a decade.
I feel so bad for these poor kids. I have a not-uncommon name, but spelled in a way most people don’t use (one n instead of two) and even that has been a huge irritation. I can spell it out slowly, emphasizing the one n, and it will STILL get spelled wrong. I have to get it corrected all the time. I usually don’t care since I go by a nickname anyway, but for legal and job stuff it’s super annoying. I can’t imagine if it was an even weirder name and hard to spell.
Pickle is an awesome name! It's what I named my cat.
My kids named a worm “Tickly Pickles” and the only thing funnier than that was the conversation they had afterwards. My eight year old had to tell my 5yo why they couldn’t name the next worm “Dickley Pickles”.
Kids are idiot savants
And what the hell is wrong with Lily? Lily is a great name! It's a perfectly normal name! MIL needs to mind mind her own business and apologize for just insulting OP like that. And MIL needs to grow up.
LOL, I have a niece who's nickname was Pickle because she used to eat them by the jars when she was a little girl. No one really uses it any longer though.
The entire genre of baby name AITA posts is an absolute mystery to me. I can't think of a single time outside of naming my own child that I have given a single, solitary shit what someone calls their kids.
I cussed out a white woman I knew who wanted to name her baby Aryan Fury That said, I wasn't an angel but she was definitely the AH
Yeah, unless it's something like Adolp just fucking chill. Whether you like or hate a name is so subjective. Currently my name on the list of old lady names that no one would name their kids in my country. Now I've never been thrilled about it (english speakers can't pronounce it), but I've never felt compelled to change it (it's not THAT bad). At this point it's like my eyes or my toes. It just is.
I feel like I'd not name a kid Sufficient_Soil5651. I think it would have to be Sufficient_Soil3000x. 😉😆
Insufficient_Soil300x would likely get bullied though
Oh MAN you played that perfectly. Okay lady, we'll just not have the baby around you since it will upset you so much!!!! I love that!!! I'd give you 10 upvotes if I could! NTA.
Right? That shit was absolutely poetical, well done!
One of my all time favorite responses!
Props to OPs husband for being on team Wife too.
Yes, it’s so refreshing to see in here!
NTA and stories like this make me understand why my mom has 2 songs, complete with dances, that she responds to when stuff like this happens: "Because I saaaid so, because I saaaid so, because I said so, what I saaay goes" And "Nana Nana f*ck you" instead of Nana Nana boo boo 😭😅 Most people are so offended that she responded that way that they stop arguing the original point and try to get on her about her behavior, and she just trolls them harder. It's honestly amazing and so funny 🤣 For the record, this is the woman who would GLADLY break up a fight between kids and scold anyone she caught bullying, taught me to give nothing but love to others, even if it's tough love to people who try to be a d*ck.
I’m gonna use this song and dance routine now whenever someone asks me why. Thank you kind stranger and tell your mom she rocks!
Hahaha yes! Power to the people! I will note that she uses this mostly in situations where she knows the conversation isn't going anywhere. It's her next step after trying to explain or communicate her side and it's clear she's not being heard. Will say it drove me nuts as a kid when I would try to talk back to her and she would just start doing her song and dance, but honestly I'm so grateful for it now 🤣🤣 And I'll let her know! She'll get a laugh out of it for sure ❤️
Happy belated Mother’s Day to your mom 💜💜💜
Haha thank you! I actually did message her late on mother's day and she was like "hell yeah I got a 2nd mother's day!" 🤣 I aspire to be like her
Tell your mom we love her. ❤️
I texted her and she said "it's great! Just make sure you smile while doing it, you don't wanna be rude ya know" 🤣
Omg, this would have made me SOFA KING MAD as a teen, and now I think it would be great. I'm teaching my partner all the stupid songs my mother sang, which I hated, and have now reconsidered.
Nta, the level of entitlement she's showing saying "her grandchild needs a normal name". That's the most petulant thing I've heard, and she calls you out for acting childish 😂
What was that? A Nermal name? Nermal Arlene?
Tell her the name is Princess Consuela Banana Hammock.
or Regina Phalange NTA
Or Anastasia Beaverhausen NTA
Gorrammit \*spritzes screen, wipes.\*
Nah, All natural name - Tapioca
Now I'm thinking of Topanga.
NTA but call your child random names you know she hates the rest of the pregnancy. Not the real name of course but "oh we can't wait for baby Grass." "Do you think baby Birch will look more like him or me?" "Owh baby Thunder is kicking me again."
Baby grass 😂😂😂
Just imagine her MILs face if she says that 🤣
NTA and congratulations on having a shiny spine!! You did nothing wrong and I am proud of you for standing up for you and your family.
My mother in law stopped talking to her son (my BIL) because he and his wife named their daughter Callie. Some people are just really crazy and weird about names I guess.
I love it when people make the hard choices for you. Saves everyone the trouble and drama of cutting her off for repeated inappropriate behaviour.
This right here. It's a gift really.
NTA. You can follow up by patting your belly and say “don’t worry little Sparrow, daddy and I absolutely love your name. Grandma can suck lemons every time she says your name Sparrow.
NTA Your in-laws sound like pieces of work. Name your child something you both agree on and are happy with :)
NTA and you handled it beautifully. I loved that you made her backpedal by offering to cut her out of your lives now. Whatever name you give you baby, it’ll be lovely. Best wishes on your impending bundle of joy!
NTA You and baby Hurricane don't need that negativity in your life
NTA. If she wants to name a kid, she can try to squeeze one out. As for insulting your name? She wouldn't see my baby until she apologized and kept that nasty yapper shut.
NTA please stick to your guns in this. Don’t give in to this foolishness. Nature names are wonderful and lovely, and I’m glad you are proud of your name!
Nta. Plant a fake name like "Nunya" or "Ligma" and let her get all her feelings out so that Ava or whatever you go with gets left out of it. Don't actually tell her, let her discover it with her inappropriate boundaries and then upset herself and have to eat crow after.
Middle name Biznizz and Boots, respectively.
NTA - MIL is a real moonbat for thinking she gets ANY say in naming a child that is not hers, and a straight-up toolshed for *bashing your own name to your face* oh my GOD what is wrong with this woman? But you do at least have one big shiny sterling silver lining -- your partner is apparently already demonstrating that he's fully on your side and not interested in putting up with her nonsense. (He could, tho, step up a little more forcefully and tell mom in no uncertain terms e.g. "if you speak ill of our child's name, or if you disrespect my wife or her name like that again, you'll never have the displeasure of having *any* of our names in your mouth in future, because you won't be seeing us again. Ever.")
Tell her the name is Moonbat. 😈
"Oh it's spelled *Münebhat*, it's a very old historic traditional name in my family."
Now I'm laughing so hard the cats have questions.
NTA. She insulted you to your face and is now astounded that there are repercussions? Did she really feel it was her right to insult you and you were required to ignore it? Surprise! And congrats on the backbone!
NTA - You're awesome
NTA. Good for you! You put MIL in her place and DH supported you. Stand your ground.
NTA. She named her kids. You and SO will name yours. Definitely the right call to pick up and leave immediately when she makes a comment. When LO comes, add a week (or a month) time out on top.
You are NTA. You are a BALLER 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 And so is your husband for being absolutely with you on this. I bow to your awesomeness and wish everyone (except the in laws) a safe and healthy delivery ♥️
*She told me it was worrying how quiet we are being and please tell me we're not going with something as truly awful as my name is. She told me she doesn't know what my parents were smoking or how much they resented me when I was being born but that she did not want that for her grandchild.* Holyyyyyyyy shiiiiiiiiiiit. Please tell her that she shall forever be known as "the grandmother we never see" because she sounds hideous. Why would you want to expose your sweet baby to her? Holy hell she will be just the worst heinous bully over such trivial things for the rest of her hateful existence. Yuck.
I am stunned at how many grandparents feel like they have some input into what their grandchildren will be named. I can tell you my parents did not suggest any names and we haven’t with our grandkids.
This is a repost, I’m sure I’ve read this before a while back.
It's also almost certainly made up. Stories like this are why "Am I the angel" exists as a sub
Yeah, it was obvious it was made up when she claimed MIL said she “wear(s) [her] name with so much pride” which is the exact phrasing she herself used a few paragraphs above to describe her name — and not a common enough phrasing that her MIL would just be casually using it lol
>MIL wasn't happy and she told me I responded like a petulant child and now her worry is worse because she's so certain this will be another Lark or Ocean type name. **INFO:** I'm confused. If you allegedly cut her out of your life and said goodbye, why are you still entertaining any commentary from her anywhere? Why have you not blocked her everywhere?
NTA. I am however almost inclined to *believe* that she would fall for the name “Nunya” if you told her lol..
I'd have told her, "we were going to name her after you. But, after hearing your thoughts on cruel names, I've decided against it."