A man just posted on Reddit and he has a major decision to make and a major time crunch. He and his wife are expecting a baby girl in March. (As in two days from now.) And they still haven’t chosen her name. *Nervous laugh*
The dad-to-be who originally posted (the “OP”) on the “Am I The A—hole? (AITA?)” subreddit said he and his wife have gone through “hundreds if not thousands” of names and have “very different ideas” about what should get the green light.
What Does He Want?
OP is definitely looking for something more “classic.” He’s suggested names like Elizabeth, Emily, Natasha, Hannah, Katherine, Francesca, Matilda, Annabelle, Isabelle, Vivienne, Sadie, and Amelia. OK, so a baby name that’s more mainstream, typical, traditional, whatever you want to call it! His wife, however, thinks those names are “boring” or “old leaning.”
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AITA for telling my wife our daughter will not be given a unique or weird hippy name?
byu/Traditional-Pea3387 inAmItheAsshole
What Does She Want?
OP’s wife is looking for names that are more “unique.” “[They are names] I find very hippy,” he said. She’s thrown out the names Skye, Indie, River, Ocean, Seraphina, Atlas, Clove, Dove, Asteria, Lennox, Ember, and Wynter.
OP thinks it would be better for their daughter to grow up with a name that sounds “normal” versus one that was “made up to be unique.” He thinks her suggestions “of late have been worse.”
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“She told me the feeling is mutual and I am not going to force her to change her taste,” he said. “She also told me my description of her names is unfair and there’s nothing that unique about most of them and I simply reject everything that’s a little more modern leaning in usage.”
They’ve stepped away from the name debate for about 4 days, but with the due date “looming,” OP is feeling the pressure. So, he wants to know, “AITA for telling my wife our daughter will not be given a unique or weird hippy name?”
Reddit’s Reaction
OK, there’s a lot to unpack here. First, most people don’t think he’s the a—hole for sticking up for what he wants — even if they are not so convinced all of OP’s wife’s suggestions are “weird.” It’s possible they’re both going to have to bend. Ya know, lean into this thing called compromise. Or maybe using an app like BabyName (basically a dating app for baby names) could help ease some tension.
“I’d argue Skye, Ember, and Lennox aren’t that modern/hippy either. I think both are just trying to overpower the other one at this point.”
“They’re not a—holes for their preferences but they’re getting into stubborn power struggle territory.”
“He says they have tossed around hundreds if not thousands of names … it’s almost March … I agree that either or both are just unwilling to compromise.”
Once they got that out of the way, Redditors started suggesting other names. The top comment was from a Redditor who asked if they would consider names that are both “kinda normal” and nature-inspired: “I’m thinking things like Rose, Fern, Violet, Lily, or even Summer.”
Others are pushing for one of his wife’s suggestions: Seraphina. “The name is literally over 1000 years old. There’s nothing hippie about it. It’s a very classic name.” “I knew someone in high school with this name. She just went by Sera.”
They can’t get behind “Wynter,” though — no matter how it’s spelled. Just think of all the times she’s going to hear, “Winter is coming” a la Game of Thrones. With “Lennox,” they’re thinking about heating/cooling systems, printers, or fine china.
Once you get further into the more than 1.8K comments (!!!), more suggested names start popping up. Redditors love the names Hazel, Thelma, Naomi, Eliza, Eden, Evangeline, Daisy, Holly, Chloe, Daphne, Violet, and Ivy.
“Iris” is also getting a lot of love worldwide. “A coworker recently named her daughter Iris. I love a good granny name.”
Alas, OP and his wife might not be so into granny chic. So what now? March is right around the corner!
“Maybe they should each come up with a shortlist of names they think are in the other partner’s style that they also could stand? He comes up with hippie names he doesn’t hate and she comes up with classic names she also doesn’t hate, and they go from there?”
“This is the most sensible idea here,” one person said. And we’ve got to agree.
From Kelly to Mackenzie, here are a few gorgeous girl names that were once more common for boys.
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