A pregnant mum is puzzled by the criticism her chosen baby name is receiving, particularly from her mother-in-law.
Deciding on a name for a newborn is an important decision that can spark debates and disagreements among couples. People’s tastes vary greatly, and what one person adores may be despised by another.
Prospective parents must jointly decide on their child’s name, and some may even seek input from family and friends while trying to make their choice.
This appears to be the situation for one couple who revealed their intention to choose a contentious and divisive name for their fifth child – ‘Abcde’.
For some parents, their primary concern when choosing a name is its perceived “uniqueness”. Many aim to ensure their child stands out or doesn’t share a name with anyone else in their peer group.
Some unconventional names can be beautiful and inventive, while others can cause confusion by completely disregarding standard phonics rules. Many oddly spelled or eccentric names end up being ridiculed on social media.
On Reddit, the appropriately titled ‘Tragedeigh’ forum provides a platform for people to discuss some of the more unusual names encountered online or in real life. One user shared a screenshot from their local parenting Facebook group, where a mother, expecting her fifth child, revealed she was facing backlash over her choice of baby name.
In the screenshot, she wrote: “I’m expecting my fifth child soon and have decided on the name abcd, pronounced ‘Ab-see-dee’. I’ve received so much backlash, most prominently from my mother-in-law.”
The mum sought opinions from the public and admitted she wanted to stay anonymous to dodge judgement. This particular name has been circulating online for a while and is considered something of an urban myth, similar to ‘La-a’, which is allegedly pronounced as ‘Ladasha’.
Redditors poured their views into the comments section. One person commented: “I knew an ABCDE and she ended up going by Abby. Abby is better.”
Another responded: “You knew a person with this name? We’re really in the trenches out here” while another shared their disbelief: “Wait, you actually knew someone in real life with this name? Not a ‘friend of a friend’ knew this person, or ‘my work colleague’s roommate’s sister’s friend is called ABCDE’, you actually knew them? This makes me so sad, I genuinely believed it was just one of those internet urban legends or myths.”
Someone else expressed concern for potential bullying: “School bully mode: Easy. (All they gotta do is start singing the alphabet song any time this kid tries to speak.)” Another lamented: “I miss who I was before learning that so many people out there were named ABCDE” while another revealed: “I knew a male ABCDE and he is known as Dee. He is 29 so crazy naming is not a new phenomenon.”
Another person humorously commented: “Why do people hate their children” while another remarked: “I didn’t know people actually did this. For decades I’ve thought it was just a Lewis Black joke”.
A fellow Redditor chimed in: “I’ve heard this told as a joke about 25 years ago or so. So actually makes sense that by now it really is someone’s name. Along with the Abcde joke is, of course, La-A, pronounced “LaDashA”, my guess is that this name probably exists for real now too.”