When considering ideas for baby names, inspiration can come from honoring deceased relatives or adulating iconic fictional characters from movies like the Star Wars films.
And while some parents can get caught up in the excitement of the name game, they tend to overlook one thing when making their considerations.
Which brings us to today’s Reddit story in which an expectant mother decided to name her baby with a scrumptious moniker.
Her sister, Redditor mychickenmyrules543, strongly opposed the name choice that was based more on her sister’s “passion” and less on taste.
So she visited the “Am I the A**hole” (AITA) subReddit to make sure she wasn’t alone in her protestation and asked:.
“AITA for telling my sister I think her baby name choice is weird?”
The Original Poster (OP) wrote:
“My sister is in her third trimester of pregnancy, and she’s about ready to pop any day now. We’re all excited about her new baby.”
“Ever since the pregnancy began, my sister and BIL have kept their name choice a secret from everyone, even their closest friends and family.”
“My sister and I are pretty close (we can be d*cks to each other every now and then, but at the end of the day we’d still take a bullet for each other), so last night she decided to share her baby name with me.”
“The name is Portabella (and yes, she did give me permission to share it here). Like the mushroom.”
“At first I thought she was joking, but then she started saying how we could just call the kid Bella for short.”
“There’s obviously nothing wrong with Bella, but I think naming your kid after a mushroom is weird. I told my sister that she can name her baby whatever she wants as long as BIL is on board, but she did not take this well.”
“She got really irritated, pointing out how I have my weird obsession with fried chicken (it’s kinda true) so why can’t she have a weird obsession with her favorite mushroom?”
“I told her she can be obsessed with whatever food she likes, but you don’t see me making plans to name my firstborn the Colonel.”
“This just made her explode. I keep telling her the name is fine and I don’t care what the baby is called as long as she’s healthy, but she’s insisting I was being an a**hole. Was I, though?”
“I don’t care what the baby’s name is, I’m just excited to be an auntie. AITA?”
Anonymous strangers on the internet were asked if and where guilt belongs by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
- NAH – No A**holes Here
“NTA, you didn’t even insult the name or tell her not to, you just didn’t give the reaction she wanted.”
“She knows it’s weird and is deflecting based on that. She’s TA for giving her kid a name that could get her bullied.” – flutterk1ck
Redditors also frowned upon the baby’s name and predicted the child would endure some major teasing.
“The first thing I saw when looking at it was Portapotty. OP, it is your job to save her. You are her only hope.” – Tiaexz
“I wonder, will the kids start with jokes about fungi or porta-potties?” – 28lobster
“It was honestly my first assumption when she said the nickname would be Bella. Like, no, that nickname is gonna be Porta.” – saltpancake
This Redditor was confident that there are exclusive schools for every type of student.
“It’ll be fine, she just has to find the most hippy dippy school she possibly can. The kind where the grading scale is sunflower through hot air balloon and the teachers are called thought facilitators.”
“If all the other kids are named Kannabyss and Rollerskate, Portabella will be smooth sailing.” – hydrangeasinbloom
This person who had been a victim of name-shaming insisted the sister should change the name.
“As somebody with a weird name, I agree. Save her! I was only occasionally teased during school, but the WORST part is being a young adult trying to establish my professional reputation.”
“Native English speakers chuckle at my name, and non-native speakers really struggle to pronounce it.”
“They say to name your kid something that would sound professional with ‘Dr.’ in front of it. I guess my parents didn’t have much faith in me, because I’m doing my PhD now, and I have to actively work not to feel embarrassed every time I introduce myself to colleagues.”
“WHY MOM???” – peregrination_
After many Redditors mentioned the potential for bullying Portabella, the OP had some good news.
In a separate AITA subReddit, the OP provided this update:
“Hey everyone my sister asked me to give y’all a quick update on the name of my new niece! She was born Friday night.”
“After I made my last post, my sister was totally mortified at the prospect of her daughter being called Porta-Potty in school, not to mention all the fungus jokes.”
“You guys successfully convinced her, lol. She did some more deliberating with BIL, but she wouldn’t give me the new name until after the birth was over. It’s totally like her to do that to me.”
“Anyway, in the hospital they announced the new name choice, which is Annabella. It actually works perfectly because both my family and BIL’s have a beloved relative named Anna who is no longer with us, and my sister can still call her Bella for short.”
“Thanks so much for your input, everyone! Baby Bella should be coming home sometime today. I can’t wait to get to know her!”
When a Redditor mentioned they would never get over “Portabella,” the OP responded:
“She still wants it to be a nickname, which I’m fine with. I’m looking forward to buying mushroom-themed stuff for her, haha.”
Redditors rejoiced over the name change but will never forget the former fungal moniker.
“First Halloween costume needs to be a Mario Mushroom. BIL can be Mario and sister can be Princess Peach.” – TheGriffonMage
“Make sure you let us all know how little shiitake is doing once she’s born.” – Player_17
“She could’ve named her Portia Bella [Surname] and Portabella would’ve been such an easy jump lol!” – faithseeds
Annabella has her loyal and loving auntie to thank for helping her to avoid name-shaming.
“You should save this thread, print it out for your niece, give it to her when graduates from high school, and tell her ‘You’re Welcome.’” – Ashes_falldown
“The name ‘Annabella’ has been your fist gift to your niece. Unless you buy her a new car when she turns 16, I bet this name will be the best gift you will ever give her :-)” – Advanced-Lobsterr
Welcome to our world, Bella!