When it comes to baby names, some people are strangely possessive about their children being the only person with the name.
Sometimes that means using a unique spelling or changing the name entirely, just to avoid running into someone with a matching moniker.
But some parents even go the extra mile by addressing the names of other people’s pets, pointed out the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITA) subReddit.
Redditor unicorniosandglitter was shocked by the lengths their family would go to make sure their dog didn’t have the same name as their soon-to-arrive second cousin.
But when they refused to do what the family demanded, the Original Poster (OP) was harshly reprimanded.
They asked the sub:
“AITA for not wanting to change my dog’s name?”
The OP’s relatives were surprised by their dog’s name.
“My family has a dog named Lilly (not real name), and she’s a bit over a year old.”
“For the holidays my, dad’s sister and her pregnant daughter came to visit.”
“Keep in mind my family is not close at all with this aunt and cousin (we live in separate countries).”
“Once they got to the house, they were introduced to the dog and acted really surprised when we said her name and mentioned that’s what my cousin was going to name the baby.”
“No big deal, we laughed about it, said it was a cute name, and moved on.”
But the OP later found out how they really felt about the name.
“Later on, my dad came to me and said his sister and my cousin felt uneasy about the dog having the same name as the baby.”
“He said they would like us to give her away and get a new one with a different name.”
“I said that they were crazy. Why would I give away my dog that has been with us for a whole year because she wants to name her baby the same as my dog?”
“My dad said I should at least compromise and change her name to something else.”
“I also disagreed. If it really bothered them that much, they could name the baby that isn’t even born yet something else.”
The OP’s family did not agree.
“My grandma is now involved and everybody seems to think that I’m the AH because I won’t rename or get rid of my dog.”
“I really don’t see the big deal, they can both have the same name. Plenty of people have dogs out there with their names, and it’s nothing to be embarrassed about; it’s literally a name someone likes and chose to name an animal they like!”
“Am I really the a**hole for wanting my dog to keep the name I chose for her and not letting my not-close-at-all cousin have the name for her baby?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NTA: Not the A**hole
- YTA: You’re the A**hole
- ESH: Everybody Sucks Here
- NAH: No A**holes Here
Some were disgusted by the suggestions made for Lilly the Dog.
“One of the quickest and irrevocable ways for me to lose respect for someone is to treat a pet like a disposable or exchangeable medium.” – AskMeKnowQuestions
“BEST ANSWER. She should just get a new child with a different name 10/10. Maybe she can trade at a daycare? There MUST be more people with this issue, right?!”
“NTA” – Clear_Detail_9121
“What is WRONG with people? Are they going to confuse the two?”
“I once lived across the street from a guy who named his dog and his own kid Bailey in the same year.”
“You are NTA. And they lost all credibility by first suggesting THAT YOU GIVE THE DOG AWAY.”
“They can eat a s**t sandwich.” – NoreastNorwest
“NTA. If they aren’t even close enough to have heard the dog’s name in the past year, I don’t think the baby sharing a name with the dog is going to have any impact on their lives.” – Slow-Bumblebee-8609
Others agreed and said it’s no big deal to see the same name used every so often.
“I have a nephew named *Brandon. My adult stepson got a dog and named it Brandon. Now my daughter is dating a guy named Brandon. We can keep all of these Brandon’s straight.”
“For fun, I like to call my daughter’s boyfriend, ‘Brandon 3.’ He gets confused because he often isn’t around when my stepson is. He takes it in stride though.”
“But usually it’s ‘Nephew Brandon,’ ‘Stepson’s Brandon,’ or ‘Daughter’s Brandon.’ Whew.”
“(*forgot to add the disclaimer that names were changed to protect the innocent (aka dog Brandon))”
“I have a dog named Tucker which is a pretty popular name these days for kids. One of my friends has a grandson named Tucker and we agree that it’s a Tucker thing to be so darn cute.”
“My mom’s cousin has a preschooler named Tucker as well, and she’s never insisted I rename my dog. Because she’s a d**n adult with more important things to worry about. Like her human Tucker.” – CaRiSsA504
“My brother-in-law’s dad’s name is Henry. A few years ago, my BIL took him to SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) to adopt an adult cat as a companion.”
“The cat that was the best fit? Henry.” – floobidedoo
“I had a dog from the ages of 3 to 18 named Angel.”
“Freshman year of high school, I met my (still) best friend, Angel, who lived with me for just over a year and basically lived with me for many years.”
“So many times we would preface with ‘Angel the Dog’ or ‘Angel the Human,’ or ‘Blue-haired Angel,’ or even when referring to my dog, I’d say, ‘MY Angel.'”
“I also still have a video of both Angels sitting in my bed and I said, ‘Angel,’ and they both simultaneously turned around to look at me.”
“I don’t know what I would’ve done if I was told to rename my 10-year-old dog or get rid of her if I wanted to be friends with her.” – ipod_beemo
“NTA. My cousin’s son and my dog have the same name.”
“I didn’t know she was pregnant when we got the dog and the name while said the same is spelled differently.”
“I offered to change it after she told me she was going to name her son that, and she said why, that would be stupid as my dog had already learned his name.”
“We have nicknames for both and my cousin honestly finds it hilarious.”
“She tells everyone she named her baby boy after my dog (jokingly).”
“She kept the name she wanted as it was her grandfather’s name (I didn’t know as I didn’t know her maternal grandfather’s first name, obviously only knew our shared grandfather).” – GoatsAreOurOverlords
While the family was adamant that the aunt’s and cousin’s comfort should come first, the subReddit disagreed and said the life and safety of the dog were more important.
Not only were there countless other names the cousin could choose for her baby, but it also sounded to the subReddit like these family members weren’t close enough for this to be a regular concern, especially since they live in different countries.