No two expectant parents have the same methods of choosing a name for their soon-to-be-born child.
Many like to keep it in the family, resulting in their having a helpfully finite number of choices.
Others, however, like to go a bit more outside of the box, going to great lengths to pick a unique name.
When the latter group discovers that their chosen name isn't unique, they don't tend to take kindly to this discovery.
A recent Redditor and her fiancé were expecting their first child, and came to an easy decision as to what their child's middle name would be.
Less excited by this choice of name, however, was a good friend of the original poster (OP), also expecting a child.
So dismayed was this friend by the OP's choice of name that she even requested that the OP choose an alternative middle name.
A request the OP flatly refused.
Wondering if they were in the wrong for doing so, the OP took to the subReddit "Am I The A**hole" (AITA), where she asked fellow Redditors:
"AITA for using a family name for my baby's middle name, even though it's the same as a friend's baby's middle name?"
The OP explained why her choice of middle name for her unborn child proved to be a point of contention with her also-pregnant friend.
"I recently shared with a friend my fiancé and I's dream name for the baby we're expecting, and it contains family names from both of our families."
"She later texted me to ask if I was really using our planned middle name because it was the same as the middle name she had picked out for her baby."
"The middle name we both had picked is extremely common, and happens to be a family name for both my friend and I."
"My fiancé and I don't see any issue with our kids having the same middle name, maybe a first name but not a middle name, especially since the name holds meaning to both of us."
"She was upset over it and after I was hesitant to give up my family name she passively aggressively said she'd change her baby's name so they're not the same."
"I can kind of see where she's coming from because I know she's upset that we're pregnant at the same time and said she just wants her own middle name, but it breaks my heart to think about not being able to honor my specific family members with that name since it's been my dream since before I was pregnant, or being blamed for her 'having' to change her baby's name."
"AITA?"
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation, by declaring:
- NTA: Not the A**hole
- YTA: You're the A**hole
- ESH: Everybody Sucks Here
- NAH: No A**holes Here
The Reddit community overwhelmingly agreed that the OP was not the a**hole for refusing to change her baby's middle name:
Everyone agreed that no one could call dibs on names, also feeling this friend had a severe jealousy complex, seeing that she was angry both about her child sharing a middle name with the OP's child, and the fact that she was mad the OP was pregnant at the same time.
"NTA."
"There is no issue with the kids having the same middle name."
"No one will know."
"She needs to grow up before her baby arrives, because this is an inane thing to be upset about."-lihzee
"NTA."
"Your friend is being ridiculous."
"Parents probably care about the middle names of their children but not a single other person cares at all."
"People go whole lifetimes without knowing (or caring) what the middle names of their closest friends are."
"I couldn't tell you a single middle name of any of my cousins."
"Nobody cares!"- pixie-ann
"Sorry."
"She's upset that you're pregnant at the same time?"
"Girl, she is not your friend."
"NTA."- annieouthere
"There's a key to this story."
"'Friend is upset that we are pregnant at the same time'."
"Stop right here."
"Red flag."
"This is not a friend, please name your kid your chosen name, and never look back."
"NTA."- Artelegrama
"NTA."
"Do you know how many girls in my class had the middle name 'Marie'?"
"About ¾."
"It's a middle name - no one should care."
"A first name would probably be different but I don't think you're in the wrong here."- femmesole27
"NTA."
"NOBODY cares about middle names, and nobody 'owns' names."
"These kinds of arguments are absolutely absurd."- editrixe
"NTA!"
"It's a MIDDLE name."
"Most people don't go around asking for another person's middle name."
"Your friend is upset that she's not the ONLY one pregnant at this time."
"She sounds like she wants all the attention and spotlight on her and only her."
"Keep the middle name and drop the friend."- More_Impact9752
"NTA."
"Does this mean I need to be mad at every girl who has the middle name Marie?"
"Because I think I just lost half the country."- Finicky-phatgurl
"NTA."
"Your friend's objections are absurd."
"It's a middle name."
"You have every right to give your child that middle name and your friend has no basis whatsoever to object to it."
"You should absolutely not change anything about your plans for this baby based on this friend's absurd behavior."
"You may not be friends with this person for long."
"But that child will always be yours."
"Give it the middle name you want to give."
"Don't let this friend manipulate you into doing anything else."- cascadia1979
"NTA."
"Outside of legal documents, nobody is likely to hear the name for either child."
"Additionally, claiming a middle name is just absurd. I could see if it was a unique first name but beyond that, no."- jimfish98
"'I know she's upset that we're pregnant at the same time'."
"Huh?"
"Why?"
"Your friend is being really, really unreasonable."
"No one owns a name."
"You wouldn't even be an AH if you chose the same FIRST name, never mind a middle name, and one that has significance outside of your friend's use of it."
"The fact that your friend is this competitive with you - that she's actively UNHAPPY to be pregnant at the same time as you - says a LOT about her character, or at least her headspace."
"Maybe she's not usually this territorial and self-involved outside of pregnancy, I hope that's the case at least."
"You seem conditioned to her unreasonable behavior and maybe the responses here will help wake YOU up a bit."
"Don't tolerate her BS, and that's all this is."
"NTA."- owls_and_cardinals
"NTA."
"Names aren't owned."
"By anyone."
"I have a relatively unique name and I can go on Facebook and find 25 other women with my exact name with one search - first AND last."
"A middle name is NOTHING."
"I know someone who gave every single one of her children (male and female) the same middle name and they're fine."
"(The middle name is Ray, by the way.)"
"The other mom is gonna be super disappointed when she finds out that her kid's whole name is probably already in use by thousands of people in the world."
"She needs to control her emotions and understand that people are allowed to use any name they want - even if matches hers."- EdenCapwell
"I cannot see where she is coming from at all."
"Not one little bit. It is a middle name."
"Lord love a duck, your friend needs to dial it back about 100 percent."
"NTA."- Street-Length9871
"Every girl from the 80s has the middle name Marie/Maria, Lynn or Nicole."
"We all survived just fine."
"NTA."- TheFishermansWife22
"NTA."
"She doesn't own the name, especially if it's common, and middle names only matter when your mom is yelling at you."
"Also a lot of middle names are SO common."
"Every other girl's middle name is Marie or Rose if she was born in the 80s/90s."- revengeofthebiscuit
"NTA."
"No one cares about middle names."
"No one gets dibs on a name, any name, but especially not a middle name."- Naive_Pay_7066
"NTA."
"My daughters go to a smaller Catholic school."
"Do you know how many girls share the same name as my oldest?"
"One of them even has the same middle name, I'm not all bent out of shape over this."- Lurker-78
"NTA."
"People do not own names."
"I want to shout it from the rooftop!"
"You're kinder than me Op, because I do not see where she's coming from."
"It's so silly."
"My mom's best friend named her daughter the same FIRST name as me (born six months apart)."
"Not to copy, but because they both loved the name so much!"
"They thought it was hilarious and you know what?"
"It doesn't matter in the least!"- beena1993
Had the OP decided to give her child the same middle name as her friends after her friend told her, one could see why this friend might be annoyed.
Even if that were the case, no one has the right to call dibs on a name, which the OP's friend must accept.
And seeing as this is a common name, the OP's friend better prepare herself to discover her child shares the same middle name with many, many more people.
Woman Asks If It's Wrong To Hold Grudge After Mom Told Her When She 8 Years Old That She Wished She'd Aborted Her
While some people view having and raising children as the greatest blessing, some parents hold their children's existence against them for their entire lives.
And when they feel that way about their children, they're unfortunately typically pretty honest about it, cringed the members of the "Am I Overreacting?" (AIO) subReddit.
Redditor heavelymango knew from the time she was young that her mother did not really like her and significantly favored her sister.
But when her mother told her at the age of eight that she wished she had aborted her, the Original Poster (OP) held on to that grudge for years after the fact.
She asked the sub:
The OP had a grudge against her mother.
"I (22 Female) have been holding onto a grudge due to something my mom told me when I was roughly eight or nine years old."
"Growing up, I was a rebellious kid and always felt as if my mom favored my older sister. My sister would always get whatever she wanted."
"I know she was born with Down syndrome and always needed more attention and care, but if my sister wanted my tablet, for example, she would have it for the whole day while mine was limited to 30 minutes so she could have it."
"As a kid, I lashed out more because of this. She could take all of my things, but I could never use hers."
During a heated moment, the OP's mother said something unforgivable.
"Eventually, this led to an argument with my mom. I don't recall the whole thing, but it was related to my sister and how I felt my mom didn't care about me or give me the same amount of attention."
"The fight got heated, and I probably told my mom that I hated my sister and her."
"I remember she said back, 'I never wanted you from the start. I knew I should've aborted you when I had the chance.'"
" I didn't know what aborted meant at the time, and I remember I looked it up, and it made me cry. I never forgot it, and it lingers in my mind whenever I am home."
The OP's mother pressured her to "let it go" and move on.
"Even growing up, I still brought it up, and she would get mad, saying I need to let it go and how I'm stubborn for not just forgetting what she said."
"There was even a time in high school when she took me to a therapist, and she complained about how I never dropped what she said."
"She says I need to move on from it because it has affected my relationship with her, and she wants to fix it."
"I know I'm older now and it was so long ago, but it still hurts, and I feel like it's made me not want to have her in my life in the future, and I have told this to her."
"How I don't want her in my life once I move out, get married, or have my own kids."
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
Some reassured the OP that this sounded like a core memory more than a grudge.
"The axe forgets. The tree remembers."
"It sounds less like you're holding a grudge and more that this is a formative, core memory for you."
"It won't stop being a core memory (unless maybe with the help of a lot of therapy). Has your mom ever apologized for saying that? Because you don't have to forget to forgive, but if she's not remorseful for saying that terrible thing to her young child (not just remorseful that you remember it), then she probably needs therapy (or is a narcissist/sociopath/similar)."
"You are certainly not obligated to 'get over it.'" - Hot-Can3615
"This is not a 'grudge'; it is pain that is still felt to such a degree. If she said it, then she was thinking it. She'll probably never apologize, but that doesn't mean your pain is or was invalid." - Fast_Register_9480
"NOR. This kind of thing needs a real apology. Like she needs to acknowledge the damage and genuinely care about it. Brushing it off won’t make it go away." - TentacleWolverine
"NOR. Did she really want to fix things? She basically just told you to get over it from the start instead of giving you a sincere apology."
"That isn't working on anything. She wants you to get over it so she can pretend that she never said it, so she doesn't have to feel bad about what she did. It doesn't sound like she cares much about how you feel."
"She just doesn't want to deal with it. For that reason, I would still have issues with what she said." - Chemical-Ad6809
"If your relationship with your mother is being affected by the actions of your mother, your mother is responsible for fixing it."
"You should know you probably aren't ever going to get closure, but you don't have to swallow it down. It helps to be the person you needed when you were younger out loud to yourself, but especially to others."
"For example: My name is Liz, and my mom told me to go ahead and do it already and save us all the heartache when I finally had the courage to tell her about how much I've been struggling with self-harm and suicidal ideation. I'm never going to forgive her for that, and we have never been close as a result of her actions."
"You aren't holding onto a grudge; you have a core memory of your mother distilling her feelings into a world-shattering sentence."
"You did not have a secure attachment before and can't have one now because of the deep trauma. You do not apologize for being stabbed."
"Find another therapist. I mean it. Someone who cares about your well-being wouldn't force you to apologize for being verbally abused as a child. I'm 29 now, and I lived through it. I still struggle with suicidal ideation daily, but once I stopped relying on my mom and unstable sources for support, my life got better immediately."
"You want things for comfort and familiarity. Don't let your mom or your therapist gaslight you into crossing a boundary."
"It might help to ask for a written five-part apology from your mom. 1. Acknowledge what you did 2. Say why it was wrong 3. Promise not to do it again 4. Ask how to make amends. 5. Share your feelings at this time if there's anything you'd like to say."
"My mom can be a good person and a bad mom and role model. Being in your own company is so much better than poor company." - PotLuckyPodcast
Others hoped the OP would go no contact with her mother sooner rather than later.
"NOR. It’s emotional abuse. And you do not owe her closeness after that, especially as she refuses to be accountable for that and try to make it up to you."
"She knows you have her number, and she can’t forgive you for knowing what a colloidal b***h she is."
"It’s unlikely that will change; it will at least be turned back on you with her the victim."
"Stop expecting her to apologize. If she doesn’t pay your bills, ghost her." - SnooCheesecakes2723
"My mom said something similar. My brother and I were adopted, and when I was a teen, in front of a church lady, she said, 'We didn't even really want you, but the people didn't want to split y'all up, so we just took you, too.'"
"Me and the church lady were shook. When I say my falbbers were ghasted. Like huh? She didn't remember saying that when I brought it up years after the fact."
"I also got grounded two times for two separate nine weeks (for C's on my report card) and a three and a half to four months (for smoking at 16 and getting caught because she liked to just pop up out of nowhere), and we just had a talk about that, and she didn't even remember."
"She said, 'No, I didn't. I never grounded you for that long,' and when I gave my rebuttal, she said, 'Well, if I did, it definitely wasn't for no nine weeks or months,' and this started because she was praising me for reading so much and liking books. I said, 'Well, when you were grounded like me, that's all I could do (no TV, no friends outside of school, no music, nothing but my room and books)."
"There's a reason I only call or answer her calls once or twice every few weeks. And I only call to get food, really..." - ManicalMoe
"‘Fine, I'm sorry’ is not an apology."
"Whilst I’m sure it was said in anger, most things said in anger have a grain of truth. There are also some things that no half-decent parent ever says to their children, no matter how angry they are, and this is one of them! It also sounds like she has made repeated similar comments of not wanting you as her child."
"I understand her eldest had a disability, but this is no excuse for neglecting and emotionally abusing her younger child. Lots of families deal with a child with additional needs whilst still managing to prioritise their other kids. Children with Down syndrome are capable of understanding ‘that’s your sister's, not yours; give it back’ !! It sounds like your mum has mental health issues?"
"Do you have a present father or other family you can turn to?"
"Protect your peace. Your mum has hurt you time and time again, honestly, for no real gain other than momentarily satisfying her anger. You owe this woman nothing." - Background_Term9810
"I went through something similar. When I was a little girl, my mother used to make comments that implied she didn't want me, though it was never that explicit. 'I only had you because your brother wanted a sister,' and 'My figure never recovered after you; after your brother, it did.'"
"Each comment stayed with me, but I never addressed it with her. I tried to move on and leave it in the past. She did a lot of horrible things throughout my life, but her behavior was always ignored because that's the precedent my dad set, where she can do essentially whatever she wants."
"A few months ago, she came to see me because I was desperate for help and sick. Instead of helping, she made my life so much worse. I won't go into details. At one point, I could no longer keep it inside, and I told her that she is a narcissist, to which she responded with, 'It would have been better if I had never had you.'"
"In some ways, it felt really good to hear her come out and say it. It felt good to hear the truth I've always known."
"I don't know what you should do, but I've chosen to not forgive."
"Every time I forgave, I just let her know that she can get away with whatever horrible things she had done. Her apologies were never real apologies. She always found ways to blame me or others for whatever she had done."
"And I'm truly just done with it. As sad as it is to not have a mom, it's sadder to pretend that you have one when in reality you don't... quite the opposite, if anything." - Neos_Mom
"So, OP, what will hurt more: keeping her and the grudge in your life or making a break and going low or no contact with her?"
"Frankly, we've no idea of what she might have been dealing with at the time, but regardless, what she said was said only to cause pain and suffering. 'Sorry' doesn't magic that intent away."
"Me, I think spending time alone or with friends or in therapy away from her might be what you need here. You might come to some sort of acceptance, but if this is something that's just going to keep coming between you, then stop trying to have that relationship." - Tal_Tos_72
After the OP received feedback, she shared a few clarifications from her original post.
"I wanted to clear some things up, take accountability where it's due, and provide some much-needed context from many people commenting the same questions."
"I want to be completely honest. We had many arguments, and I was a rebellious kid. I acted out and argued with my mom."
"I don't want to give off the impression that I was an entirely innocent kid who never did anything wrong and my mom just snapped out of nowhere. We both said hateful and hurtful things to each other during our fights."
"Growing up, the only way she would accept an apology was if I got on my knees and begged her for forgiveness. If I ever asked her to apologize to me, she would say, 'I have nothing to apologize for; you should be the one begging for my forgiveness.'"
The OP had a lot of physical memories, too.
"Things also would turn into physical arguments, not just verbal ones."
"There were times when she would get so angry she would get physical. Like yanking me by my hair, twisting my arms, or throwing things at me (like remotes, a bug spray can, or a radio)."
"When she yanked my hair, I would fight back just to get her to let me go, and she would scream that I was trying to kill her and she would get me arrested. When she twisted my arm, and I begged her to stop because it felt like it was going to break, she would say she hoped it did."
"When she threw objects at me, she would say she wished they would hit my face."
"I remember in middle school, during an argument, she said she wished she could break my face and that she hated it because I look like my dad. I won’t lie, whenever she said things like that, I would say nasty comments about how she chose to have him put us in her."
While the OP wasn't financially ready to move out yet, she hoped to as soon as possible.
"Why haven't I moved out yet? The main reason I haven't been able to move out is financial."
"I wasn't making enough to support myself without worrying about whether I’d end up having to crawl back home."
"Thankfully, I have recently found a better-paying job. My plan is to move out between mid-to-late October, or early November at the latest."
"The only reason I can't leave this exact second is because I have a few legal/administrative things to get cleared up so I’m completely untied from my mom, which will take a few weeks."
The OP also had proof that her mother liked her sister better.
"Has my mom ever admitted to favoring my sister? Yes."
"In arguments, she has explicitly told me that she doesn't see me as her legitimate daughter, and that she adored my sister more and forever will. She has also called me a 'monster,' told me there is a certain type of evil inside of me, and said she was afraid I would be just like my dad and try to harm them."
"She would even tell me that she was telling family and friends these things about me, but then later claim she 'just said it in the moment' and wouldn't be crazy enough to actually tell people that."
"Because I was so confused growing up and didn't know if she was lying or telling the truth, I started avoiding our family when they came over."
"Naturally, that just made things worse because she would get mad at me for avoiding them (even now as an adult), completely ignoring the fact that she was the one who lied about what she told them."
Unfortunately, the OP didn't have support from her father.
"What about my dad? My dad is not in my life."
"He was around sporadically, but never as a stable parent. My parents separated before I was born and divorced when I was two or three."
"Growing up, it was just constant back-and-forth toxicity, with him telling me how toxic my mother was, and her telling me the same about him."
"He would mostly only come over to see my sister, and often used me to care for her if he wanted to take her out to eat. Ultimately, my dad didn't care about anyone else other than my sister (and his drugs)."
"I hope this can clear some questions on the original post. I know I didn't provide many details as I originally should have. I honestly didn't want to post something too long, and I honestly did not expect it to be noticed."
"Thank you all for taking time to talk to me and share your thoughts."
The subReddit fully sided with the OP, pointing out that no matter how heated the moment was, it would never excuse the terrible things the OP's mother had said to her.
If the OP's mother really wanted a relationship with her, she'd drop the defensiveness and demands, offer a genuine apology, and work hard to be better for both of her children.
That takes a very rare kind of person to pull off, and it didn't sound like the OP's mother had that in her.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://findahelpline.com/i/iasp