Everyone wants their child to have a unique name, but not everyone will appreciate the choice you make. But when it’s the grandmother of the child who is slating it, there could be issues.
A man was left fuming when his mother criticised the baby name he and his girlfriend had picked for their newborn, branding the child an “oddball” because of it.
He vented on Reddit’s ‘Am I The A**hole’ forum, saying: “My mother is very old school and doesn’t like new age names and things like that or New Age anything for that matter from the time we told her her name, she never liked it.
“Three separate times, she’s asked us to change it, and we’ve told her no, this is the name, and that’s what we’re going with.”
He shared his frustration after receiving “this text message today after our baby shower, and it really set me off”.
The detailed message said: “Hi Guys. So, I’m going to try to give you some food for thought here (just my opinion, so don’t take it too seriously). Please try to reconsider the name you are giving your daughter. I feel that you are starting her off in life as an oddball.
“She doesn’t have a choice what her name is going to be, and believe it or not, it is a reflection of who we are. Guarantee yo,u she’s going to get teased in school. Unfortunately, kids can be cruel. The name sounds rough, like a street name.”
The mum expressed her concerns about the name Indie, saying: “Please remember that one day, she will be a young woman and a grown woman. I cannot imagine being a young woman and going to apply for a job with the name Indie. This is a name she is going to have her entire life, not just as a baby.”
She also mentioned that she had shared the news with colleagues and received negative reactions to the name. “You know, I’ve been telling a lot of people I work with that we’re going to be grandparents again, and it’s a girl. I didn’t volunteer the name, but when people asked, I told them that not one person had a good response about the name.”
The mum urged her son to reconsider, saying: “Please just think about it. There are so many beautiful girls’ names. This is about your daughter and the way people will perceive her, now and later in life.”
However, her son reacted angrily, saying he “called her” and “flipped out” because she was being mean about the name they’d chosen. He accused her of trying to “control” things and said the conversation ended badly, with him unlikely to speak to his mother unless she apologised.
Commenters online disagreed with the mum’s assessment, with one saying: “It’s not even that weird a name. I teach kids, and I had two Indies (an Indi and an Indie) in one of my classes not long ago.”
Another commenter added: “Indie isn’t a weird name, and your mum’s assessment is ridiculous. Good on you for telling her to f**k off. She needs to stop trying to control things that she shouldn’t have any control over.”
A grandmother commented: “Indie? Independent of spirit. Free as the wind. Unencumbered by past generations limiting beliefs. Her own woman. I love it.
“I am also a Grandma. I do understand Grandmotherly concern. However, in this 60-year-old with 3 grandsons who each have their own unique name. It’s none of my business what my daughter and son-in-law choose to name their own children.
“My job is to love them all. Not judge their choices. If she cannot shut up about this topic, she goes on time out, only you can decide how long that will be or will it eventually be permanent. I love the name. I love a good, independent, spirited girl. Teach her to value herself. Teach her to love others but also to love herself. Her name is beautiful.”