Parenting comes with its share of excitement and apprehension – and for one father, the arrival of triplets turned the anxiety up a notch, especially when it came to naming the new additions.
The dad shared his dilemma on Reddit, describing how they already have three children with plant-inspired names that are straightforward and easily shortened.
Now with two daughters and a son on the way, he’s struggling with the name choices. The anonymous man said: “We have three children, all plant names (spelled correctly and easily shortened), and have triplets on the way (two girls and a boy). I cannot begin to express how excited I am.”
He noted his mixed feelings on his wife’s suggestions: “Wife just told me her name ideas though, and it’s put a bit of a damper on the whole thing… I can get behind the name Wisteria, but perhaps that’s just because it’s the only one spelled correctly because she also wants to go with Asphodelia (like Asphodel, which is already rough, but make it sound more like Wisteria, and slightly like Dahlia? ) and Anelace (like the dagger, but also like Anna’s Lace mixed with Annalise).”
Despite his reservations, his wife’s family tradition of plant-themed names seems unshakable, and they’re all in favour of the unique monikers. He ended his post by mentioning their older children’s names: “These aren’t even the first flowers in the family. The older three are Ivy, Oleander (he goes by Olly), and Belladonna (yes, I know, but we only really call her Bella).”
While some Reddit users were supportive of the idea, others criticised the concept of ‘themed names’ for siblings. One user commented on the post: “This is how I name my Sims, not real human beings.”
Another asked: “Now what’s stopping you all from Violet, Sage and Iris?” A third chimed in: “Willow, Poppy and Laurel sound like amazing triplet names! And Poppy would be the name for the tiniest one (as a parent of multiples who has been involved in moms-of-multiples groups…I can tell you that the smallest kid in the ‘litter’ usually grows up to be the craziest.)”
Yet another said: “These are all beautiful names! One of my favourite books as a teen had four sisters named Rose, Daisy, Laurel, and Lily. I love the botanic theme, but I don’t understand why the wife is coming up with [tragic names] when there are already so many lovely names out there.”
The final comment read: “You have to put your foot down for your kids. Enough is enough. Tell her you get to decide the first names as long as they stick with the plant theme and she can pick whatever god awful middle names that she’d like to use.”