A woman has started to feel uncomfortable after claiming her husband is insisting on continuing his late wife’s baby name obsession – and even his family thinks they should keep the tradition going
Naming a baby can be really hard, as there are several things to take into account, and the most important thing is to come to an agreement as a couple.
Some people decide to take inspiration from popular culture when it comes to naming their babies, or they might decide to go down the more traditional route, or look at the top monikers at the time. However, when one husband wanted to pay homage to his dead wife by using her favourite baby names, his current wife claimed it was a step too far.
The 35-year-old woman, who is currently 30 weeks pregnant, claimed her husband was a widower when she met him. At the time she said he had two kids with his wife – and their names both started with the letters “Em” – the same as her husband.
In a recent post on Reddit, the woman claimed her husband’s late wife’s name also started with the letters Em, and she “loved the Em aesthetic” and that’s why “all their names would start with Em”.
In the post, she continued: “[My husband] and I have began discussing names, none of the names on my list start with Em. My [sister-in-law] was visiting today and she said that my daughter may grow up feeling singled out and not connected to her siblings if they don’t share the Em aesthetic.
“I told her that [my husband] and I are going to make a list of five names we love and we’ll let [the other daughters] choose the name together. In all honestly, I am a bit uncomfortable continuing his late wife’s obsession with the aesthetic so I think my idea is lovely way for the kids to have a name connections without choosing one with Em.”
However, her sister-in-law still suggested they call their daughter Emily, which her husband “adores”. She continued: “She kept pushing for me to approve until she hit a nerve and I told her that I am giving birth to MY baby, not [his late wife’s], and I want to choose a name that I love and not an aesthetic that she loved.
“[My husband] got quiet, put his head down, and left the room. [My sister-in-law] told me that I shouldn’t have said that and that I’m a major a**hole for saying what I said. I told her that she should have ended the conversation the first time I tried to shut it down.”
The post received a lot of reaction online, most of them saying her sister-in-law shouldn’t be having “any input on what you name your baby”. Another added: “My guess is that [his sister] isn’t the only one from his family that’s been in his head about this, maybe his parents have also been saying stuff. [They] need to have a big talk about this, about who they allow in their parenting decisions.”
Another added: “I’d sit him down and have a heart-to-heart with him about how you were being badgered and that you would love for him to help with the names. That being the second wife is hard because the footprint his first wife left is quite a big set of shoes to fill.”
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