A mum-to-be is proud of the unusual name her late mum gave her and wants to carry it on for her baby but her family said she is just being ‘callous’ and not considering their feelings
A mum-to-be won’t bow down to pressure from her family to give her baby a ‘typical’ name. The woman said she is proud of the unusual name her own mum, who died when she was five, gave her and plans to do the same for her child.
The 25-year-old explained that her parents originally disagreed over her name but eventually settled on ‘Acacia’ as a first name and ‘Claire’, chosen by her dad, as the middle one. Her siblings from her dad’s second marriage have now slammed her for not considering her stepmum’s feelings, who insist that she chooses a name that will blend in with the family.
She wrote on Reddit: “Background I don’t share the same mom as my siblings. My parents had me and my mom chose my name. It’s not your typical name. It’s a nature name, which she also had, and isn’t one of the common types like Lily or Rose for example.
READ MORE:
“My parents bickered over my name according to dad and mom ended up choosing my first name while dad chose my middle name. My parents marriage wasn’t great and by the time my mom died when I was five, dad had met my stepmom ‘Jane’.”
At one point after they all started living together the couple asked Acacia if she would instead liked to be called by her middle name. She refused. “I didn’t want to use my middle name and dad was a little upset but they let it drop. My dad and Jane were more compatible with their naming preferences and my siblings names are more expected. Elizabeth, James, Hannah, Michael, etc,” she said.
She would sometimes receive comments about her name and felt pride in letting others know that her mum chose it, but she still struggled knowing that her stepmum and family didn’t like it. During her younger years, Acacia talked about carrying on the nature-themed name for her children so much that her family asked her if she really planned to do it once she was pregnant.
“We do, but we did not tell them that. We told them we would be discussing names and would announce after our baby was born,” Acacia said, adding that, “My family made suggestions. Jane made suggestions that she thought were ‘darling’ and would ‘blend in so beautifully with the family’.”
Her dad also asked her to consider not allowing the baby’s name to “stand out” the way hers has. She went on: “My siblings wanted me to consider Jane and how she would feel if I copy my mom’s style and stay far away from hers when she has been raising me for years and hearing me bask in the joy of people knowing my mom named me.”
For all the latest news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US
The family’s interference left her feeling exhausted but she refuses to allow them to have any input on her child’s name and doesn’t want it to blend in with everyone else’s. “The way they make it sound, it’s like telling me I have to choose between them and my mom or more accurately Jane and my mom.
“They told me I was callously dismissing their feelings and what this means to them and what message I’m sending to others. They said I started it years ago by making it clear I wanted to name my kids like mom named me,” she finished.
One user summed up the response of those who commented, saying: “They’re being selfish. No one has the right to name someone else’s baby.” While someone else with a ‘common’ name explained what life has been like for her: “My name is Jessica, born in the 80s of course, and I never my entire childhood had a single class, extracurricular activity, friend group, or event in which I didn’t have to go by “Jessica H”… It’s annoying…. I’m forty-one and this is the first time in my life I’ve had a job without other Jessica’s. Common names are just that, common.”
Do you have a story to share? Email [email protected].
