A mum claimed she’s been accused of being ‘selfish’ by giving her children names that are important to her – and her mother-in-law has even called the monikers ‘disgusting’
Picking out your child’s name can sometimes be a very personal task. It’s not uncommon for parents to choose names that have sentimental meaning, such as being the moniker of late family members, or using names from pieces of media that made a lasting impact on them.
Whatever baby name you choose is your decision. But everyone has differing tastes, so it’s not likely that you’ll be able to please everyone with your chosen name. That’s the tough reality one mum has discovered over the past couple of years, as she has family members who can’t stand the names she’s given her daughters.
In a post on Reddit, the mum said she already has two daughters and is currently expecting a third. She also said that although she lives in the US, her side of the family is Russian, so she and her husband have given each of their daughters a name that is popular in Russia in order to keep them connected to their heritage.
The mum insisted the three names – Natasha, Julia, and soon-to-be-born Anastasia – are “normal names” to give children, but her husband’s family believe they are “unusual” for the US.
Her mother-in-law has even gone so far as to call the names “disgusting”, and told the mum she was “selfish” for only thinking of her own nationality when naming her daughters.
She wrote: “I have two daughters, and my third (which is also a baby girl) is due in a week or so. My in-laws are so disapproving of their names. I think my daughters have normal names. My mother-in-law said they are disgusting names. My kids are called Natasha and Julia – normal names right? Not to my family.
“My husband and I have agreed on Anastasia for our baby girl. And my in-laws hate it. My side of the family is Russian, I grew up in Russia, my name is Melaniya, but I go by Melissa since I live in the US. My husband and I love Russian names for our children, hence why they all have Russian names.
“My husband’s side of the family says that it is a selfish decision to just be thinking of my own nationality. What are your thoughts? I genuinely love my children’s names, but my husband said it is unusual for children in the USA to have these names.”
Although the names are all popular in Russia, they are not obscure names in the US. According to The Bump, both Julia and Anastasia are relatively popular names in the US, ranking at 293rd and 395th, respectively. Natasha is the least used name in the US out of the ones they selected, ranking at 1,854th.
Commenters on the mum’s post were quick to tell her that the names she picked out are not unusual at all. Many also slammed her mother-in-law’s behaviour and said her husband should be doing more to get his mother to back off.
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One person said: “These names are not unusual in the US at all. I think the behaviour of your in-laws is what’s disgusting here. I wish you didn’t have to deal with such awful people.”
Another added: “That’s so rude, no matter what the name is. But honestly, I don’t understand the fuss at all; these are extremely ‘normal’ and common names in the US. I think those three names together are beautiful.”
While a third wrote: “Your in-laws are being rude. All three of those names are lovely, normal names and even better that they honour their heritage. My husband and I even considered Anastasia for our daughter, and we don’t have any Russian in us or in our family.”
The mum also noted in the comments that she specifically chose to use the English spellings for her daughters’ names to appease her in-laws.
She said: “I thought they were common names too, I used the English spelling to make them happy. My parents love my kids’ names, and so do my husband and I.”
