When it comes to naming a child, for most people it’s easy, as they stick to “family names”, leading the first born son to be named after the father, and the first born daughter after the mother, for generations and generations.
Some people, however, prefer to veer as far away from convention as possible.
Picking truly unorthodox and out of the box names.
Sometimes, these initially unique names find themselves becoming more and more common.
Other times, the children bequeathed this name beg to go by a nickname, or look forward to adulthood when they can legally change their name.
The sister of Redditor Odd_Age1378 and her husband simply couldn’t settle on a name for their unborn daughter.
Leading the original poster (OP) sent her a list of baby names he knew she would never choose.
The joke ended up being on the OP, however, when his sister shocked him and chose one of those very names.
A decision the OP couldn’t remain quiet about.
Fearing he may have been out of line, the OP took to the subReddit “Am I The A**hole” (AITA), where he asked fellow Redditors:
“AITA for blowing up at my sister for naming her daughter after a fungal infection?”
The OP explained why he couldn’t stay quiet at his sister’s choice of baby name:
“So my (20 M[ale]) sister (27 F[emale]) and her husband had been struggling a LOT with baby names.”
“She was determined to find the single perfect name– even by the time of her baby shower (nearly five weeks before the due date), she didn’t seem any closer to picking something out than she was at the start of her pregnancy.”
“Anyway, I knew she was struggling, so in addition to the $900 wooden crib on her list that I got for her, I gave her a list of (obviously) joke baby names.”
“We have a really close relationship, and it was in line with both our senses of humor.”
“She’s a nurse, and I’m a biology student, so all the names were medications, infections, unpleasant animals, etcetera, that all sound like lovely girls’ names out of context.”
“Some of them were a little bit obscure, sure, but I included some obvious ones like ‘Viagra’ and ‘Hernia’ for good measure.”
“Two weeks later, she told me she and her husband had finally settled on a name.”
“Malassezia.”
“The baby’s name is Malassezia.”
“One of the names on my joke list.”
“Outside of the immediate issues (nearly impossible to pronounce on the first try, the ‘a**’ smack dab it the middle of it, the first syllable being mal-, literally meaning bad or evil), it’s also the name of a very common fungal infection.”
“One that my sister and I are both genetically predisposed to.”
“One that we’ve both had multiple times throughout our lives.”
“Her daughter will almost certainly catch it at some time!”
“I pointed it out to her, and she said that yes, she knew what it meant, and she knew my list was intended to be a joke, but she just really liked the way it sounded.”
“I don’t think the husband knows what it means- I think he’d reject it if he did.”
“She says that it’s so obscure that no one will ever think twice about it.”
“Except, you know, when little baby Malassezia turns 14, finds a weird spot on her neck, and goes on her phone to google what it is…”
“I told her that the name was completely unacceptable, and I was shocked that she chose it.”
“I even suggested some similar names, like Mallory, Azalea, or Anastasia, that would be more acceptable, but she wouldn’t hear it!”
“She said that since I’m not one of the parents, I have no business telling her what she can and cannot name her child, and that I’m stepping way out of line.”
“I think it’s pregnancy hormones, and she’ll regret the decision very soon after her daughter is born.”
“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 resoundingly agreed that the OP was not the a**hole for scolding his sister for her choice of baby name.
Everyone agreed that the name choice by the OP’s sister would ultimately be cruel and unkind to her child, even if some still weren’t convinced that his sister wasn’t joking.
“NTA.”
“I share your frustration and you’re looking out for your niece.”
“While your sis is right that it’s her parental right, you’re not stepping out of line — you’re family and you’re cautioning her.”
“Reminds me of a girl in my class back in elementary school who (whom?) had a unique name.”
“Spontaneous… that was her name.”
“We were all fine with it until 6th grade, when that was one of the words we were taught.”
“You can imagine what chaos ensued for the poor girl.”
“Also… Malassezia sounds like a Disney villain.”
“Question: would the hospital allow that name?”
“I know people choose ‘unique’ names for children, but could you really name your child Chlamydia?”
“That’s not considered emotional abuse?”- gopher-tuna
“NTA.”
“Just tell the husband what it means.”
“He’ll shut it down.”- Parking_Pomelo_3856
“NTA.”
“Its bad.”
“Worse no obvious short form.”
“I knew someone whose initials were GAS.”
“I personnally didn’t notice my signature reads as arsey jones (R C JONES).”-Ulquiorra1312
“NTA.”
“Is it possible that the sister may be pulling a counter joke on the OP?”- 8blackhand8
“NTA.”
“But I’m pretty sure your sister is messing with you.”- FactorLazy5546
“NTA.”
“Is there any chance you’re all together at a family reunion soon in which you can casually say you think need to get some meds for this thing again, saying the name clearly while reaching for your neck or something?”
“I mean, in front of the husband so he hears it.”
“Ah, I feel for this poor child.”- lame_narcissist
“NTA.”
“But I just want to add that the fungus was named after a Person (Louis-Charles Malassez) soooo it could be worse.”- Fit_Signal6253
“NTA.”
“May I suggest Messalina o Massenzia which are names from the ancient Romans.”- Boccolotti
“NTA.”
“If its inline with both your humors, could she be yanking your chain on this?”- isitpurple
Some however, had a bit more trouble taking the OP’s side, feeling that the OP couldn’t take a joke, which his sister clearly could.
“YTA.”
“Only because you gave a joke name list and seem unable to tell she’s joking back.”
“Our in utero baby name was Maurice Morris (similar) and then Mackerel Sam for the next one.”
“The only part of that which ended up true is Sam as a middle name because we got so used to calling them that.”- Traditional-Pen1029
“NTA.”
“That is horrible to name a child that.”- prettybxtch07
“NTA.”
“Now, I’m usually of the belief that we should keep our opinions of other people’s choices of baby names to ourselves.”
“But sometimes the names are so atrocious that I can’t help but wonder why no one had the balls to speak up & at least try to save this child from a lifetime of frustration & ridicule?”
“There’s a big difference between someone’s name choice not aligning with our personal tastes and a name that could be considered borderline cruelty.”
“For example, I was once watching a true crime show & a friend of the victim was actually named TiaJuanna Hammock.”
“That poor child was failed before she was ever even born.”
“So I completely understand your intention in wanting to save your niece.from that.”
“At least you can tell your niece you tried and that she can take comfort in the fact that there’s someone out there walking around with the name TiaJuanna Hammock.”- Lateralus46N2
“NTA.”
“But how does a 20 year old college student afford a $900 crib.”- MistressBassKitty
“NTA.”
“Even without the fact that it’s the name of a fungal infection, it’s so clunky and with ‘a**’ smackdab in the middle, there’s way too many opportunities for that baby to get teased when they get to school.”
“It’s just cruel.”
“Hopefully your sister wakes up before she makes a huge mistake.”- imamage_fightme
“NTA.”
“And she’s a nurse, for goodness sake! “
“What’s the second name?”
“Furfur?”
“The jeers she and the poor baby will get from her colleagues!”
“Might as well name the baby Candida Malassezia so her nickname can be Candy-A**.”- AredhelAr-Feiniel11
“NTA.”
“I think your BIL needs to know what it means!”
“Also, please point out to your sister that with how computer savvy young kids can be, that your niece will be bullied sooner rather than later over her name.”- IntelligentAbies7903
If the OP’s sister is seriously considering naming her child Malassezia, she may want to think about how her child would feel when they discover what their name means.
However… if she’s running with a joke that was literally handed to her by the OP, then the OP might not have as big a sense of humor as he thinks…
And also might want to think a bit more carefully before messing around with his family.