A man is embroiled in a heated argument with her brother and sister-in-law after warning them their daughter will be teased at bullied at school due to their chosen name – what do you think?
Deciding on a baby name can be an arduous task – especially when family members aren’t afraid to share their opinion.
Parents to be have a lot on their plate – from baby-proofing their house to buying the endless amounts of gadgets and clothes we’re told we need. Choosing a baby name is just the cherry on top – and can take hours of back-and-forth debate until you both land on a name you like.
However, one man has sparked a heated argument with her brother and sister-in-law after discovering what they want to name their new-born child. The name is in tribute to the brother-in-law’s wife, who sadly passed away and translate to ‘fire’ in English. But, it may not be interpreted that way in the classroom…
On Reddit, the man explained his brother wants to call his baby “Aanal”. Last year, he wrote: “My older brother and sister in law are due with their first baby in the next few months. We’re an Indian family and they plan to name their child for my deceased wife, Aanal.
“Obviously, I completely feel for my sister-in-law but I ended up saying that a name like Aanal wouldn’t work well in a country like America because of obvious reasons and the risk of mispronunciations. It’s a fine name in India and it’s beautiful (it means fire) but their daughter would just get mercifully bullied in America.
“The issue is that they don’t live in India, they live in the wealthiest part of Dallas, Texas, they have the money and the plans to send their daughter to an expensive private Christian school, and their neighborhood is majority white, blonde, and wealthy. They’re already the only Indian family and they don’t want to and don’t plan to ever move from their area.”
The man added: “I have an American name, I was called Aaron at school and Aadith at home. I got called A-A-Ron plenty of times throughout school and I don’t want my little niece to grow up and start being bullied. A-A-Ron was annoying to me, A-A-A-Nal is a million times worse.
“I’m an immigrant and when I’d go back to India in the summers, I went by Aadith and when I was in the USA for the rest of the year, I was Aaron. I had more opportunities and I was able to respect my heritage. I was named for my grandpa and I love him and he loves me, I have a name that I love to have, it’s his name.
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“I suggested that my older brother and my sister in law have the baby, give her an Americanized name like Annabelle, Anna, or Anjali, and give her the name Aanal when they go back to India or see family, call her that at home, but give her a western name on her American documents because Aanal isn’t a name that’s immediately thought of as good in America and it won’t give her as many opportunities.
“They got super angry at me and said that they WOULD name her that and that I didn’t know what I was talking about (ironic because Aanal went by Annabeth), my sister in law said that she wouldn’t speak to me again until I legitimately apologized to her and meant it sincerely and I finally told her to not come complaining to me later on in the game.”
The post stirred up a lot of reactions – as people advised the man on what he could do. One person commented: “I know an Indian guy named Anil (pronounced Ah-NEEL) whose name gets mispronounced as Anal now and then, and he hates that.”
Another replied: “Oooohhhhh. Yeah. Aanal is a beautiful name that will 100% be a source of constant bullying to your niece if she is raised in Dallas, in a largely white community. Even well-meaning people with no ill intentions are going to mess this up.”
A third advised: “I’d drop this argument with them though; there’s nothing you can do about it beyond raising your concerns with them. Your niece will fight this battle in time.”
A version of this article was first published on January 18, 2023.
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