Choosing a baby name can be a complicated, drama-filled process. There can be annoying fights over “stealing” names or intrusive traditions, or other pesky dilemmas. And recently, one man on Reddit obliterated any sort of baby naming etiquette when he suggested he and his wife name their baby “Nancy.”
It wasn’t because it’s a family name, or because he’s a fan of a certain teenage mystery solver, but because … it happens to be the name of his late ex-girlfriend. *Jaw drop* And so this man hopped on the AITA subreddit to find out why his wife had a problem with that. *Face palm*
“Dude, really?” asked one commenter. “Think about it.”
“Don’t die on that hill,” another said. “Abandon the hill with all haste, and never go back to it.”
The man explained in the original post — which he had to edit to further clarify the relationship — that he and Nancy dated for around six years before he met his wife, about two months before he and Nancy broke up. He and Nancy supposedly maintained a friendship, but she passed away two years after they broke up. The man said he was “absolutely devastated,” which is understandable, especially if they stayed friends.
“It’s still painful to think about and I always imagined naming a child in her memory,” he said. “I also just love the name itself.”
Really? Sorry to all the Nancys out there, but Redditors were quick to say that it is an “old sounding name” that is “not objectively beautiful.”
“When I made the suggestion to my wife she seemed unimpressed,” the OP said.
Same, girl, same! How do you even begin to reason with someone who is so out of touch? She told him she “didn’t really feel comfortable” with using the name Nancy, and that it was “strange” to use since Nancy had been his girlfriend.
“The way I see it is that Nancy was very important to me for a really long time,” he said, digging himself a deeper hole. “She was my best friend and losing her was just a terrible thing. I feel as though it would be a great way to remember and honor a dear friend who I miss everyday.”
“And here I thought nothing could top Adam Levine wanting to name his unborn child after his mistress,” one commenter said. “I think OP may have him topped…”
How would OP feel, they ask, if their baby ends up being a boy and his wife wants to name him after one of her exes? The man eventually “dropped it” and said he felt it was important that they find a name they can agree on. Oh how very selfless and righteous of you, sir.
*Eye roll*
But at least he’s sort of getting the picture. He couldn’t make this worse, right? RIGHT?!
“I don’t know if she feels insecure or maybe the pregnancy is stressing her but she just won’t drop it I honestly don’t see the issue whatsoever.”
ARE. YOU. KIDDING ME?! You’re going to blame it on pregnancy hormones? Now you’ve poked the raging Reddit beast.
“If I were pregnant, you know what would give me stress? Knowing that my baby daddy wanted to name our child after his ex!” one Redditor said.
“You’re continuing to profess incredulity and blame it on pregnancy stress and hormones for her VERY NORMAL response and reaction of WTF,” said another.
“Yeah, women are just unreasonable when pregnant,” one commenter said, starting a perfectly sarcastic monologue. “‘Oh, honey, it’s just your hormones talking! Why don’t you understand that this baby is all about me and my former girlfriend? Why do you need to decide when I have already decided that I want to remember her and our life together every day because she was my best friend and you aren’t? Why are you so mean when all I want to do is idolize her with MY daughter.’ As if his wife is the incubator for the second coming of Nancy and shouldn’t have a say in HER child’s name. How DARE she hurt him by not giving in?”
Many commenters are not buying the whole “we stayed friends” storyline, saying OP clearly pined after Nancy long after their break up. And if that’s the case, how can he possibly think it’s appropriate to be not-so-subtly telling his pregnant wife this now?
“Let’s name our kid after the love of my life! Because Nancy was def THE One, judging by the way he talks about her!”
It’s an “immensely insensitive,” “pretty cringe,” and “creepy🤢” proposition to name a kid after someone you were romantically involved with, commenters agree, and now that child will have to live in the shadow of a person her father grieves.
Wanting to remember a loved one is normal, they said, but burdening someone with that remembrance for their entire life is not fair. And as one commenter whose dad is named after his mother’s ex-boyfriend explained, it’s just plain embarassing. Instead, he could remember Nancy by making a yearly donation to a cause she cared about or by planting a tree.
If he is really committed to this plan, one commenter suggested he give her name to a pet rock instead.
“That way it can go with you everywhere you go and you can think about and touch Nancy whenever you want, and maybe your wife can throw it at you whenever you’re being an obtuse moron.”
Before you go, check out some of Reddit’s wildest baby name dilemmas.
Leave a Comment