A concerned auntie-to-be has asked for help to prove that the name her brother and his wife want to call their son will lead to a lifetime of bullying, with the whole family rallying for an intervention
It’s perfectly natural to have an opinion on a friend or family member’s choice of baby name. It’s even normal to have a giggle about it behind closed doors. However, when it comes to a moniker that you fear could cause the child to be bullied in the future, should you step in?
A woman has revealed how after her brother and his wife shared their baby boy’s name, she felt compelled to tell them it was awful in a bid to change their minds. With a family feud now brewing in the wings she took to social media to ask for advice on whether it is as bad as she thinks.
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The 26-year-old wrote: “My older brother and his wife are having a baby boy in a month. A few days ago, they gathered my family around to tell them the name they selected — Earlgay. Yes. That is it. Earlgay.
“I don’t think it’s a reference to anything. It sounds like Earl Grey tea, but I asked my brother and he said they don’t drink tea. Our younger sister asked his wife if the name Earl was a family name on her side, and the answer was no.
“We were all left confused and speechless. My very conflict-avoidant dad even told them, ‘you are making a gigantic mistake if you go through with this’. It just doesn’t make any sense. If you like the name Earl, whatever, why add ‘-gay’ to it? Even beyond the low-hanging fruit that offers playground bullies, it literally doesn’t seem to have a point.
“It isn’t a tribute to anyone, it isn’t a maiden name in our families, we are just stone cold puzzled.” Needless to say, the family’s objections to the soon-to-be-born baby’s name had caused a huge row that spilled over from the mum-to-be’s parents too.
She added: “Last night, my brother’s wife’s parents called mine and expressed their own confusion/worry about the name. Literally everybody in their orbit is against it, and the best explanation we can get from either one of them is “‘it sounds good to us’. Please give me evidence that this name is crazy or find some sort of explanation for why this is a fantastic, strong choice.”
People reading the Reddit post were torn, with many incredulous that the parents-to-be would call their son Earlgay, and the rest convinced it was a prank. One person replied: “Are you sure they aren’t trolling you? Because it would be a pretty good troll.”
To which the woman replied: “If they’re acting it’s a great performance. My brother admittedly has a pranking streak but my sister-in-law is a pretty serious / not comedic person. If this ends up being the case, I’ll stand corrected and bow down to her.”
And someone else added: “Did they learn nothing from Meet the Parents?! Literally that was the one thing I remember from those movies. Gaylord! And why he went by Greg! They’re idiots and they’re signing up their son to a lifetime of bullying.”
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