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Guy Balks After Pregnant Sister Insists He Rename His Puppy Since She Wants It For Her Baby

Man holding a puppy
Hans Neleman/Getty Images

When we invite a new family member to our home, whether it’s a baby or a pet, the key ingredient to bringing them home is choosing a name for them.

It’s admittedly an emotional decision, agreed the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITA) subReddit.

Redditor One_Contribution6076 recently adopted a puppy and announced the name that he and his family had chosen.

When his sister called him and told him he needed to change the puppy’s name, because she wanted the name for her future baby, the Original Poster (OP) was reluctant to listen to her.

He asked the sub:

“AITA for not renaming my puppy because my sister wanted to use the name for her unborn kid?”

The OP recently adopted a puppy and gave him a cute name.

“This feels pretty dumb but here’s the situation. My sister is seven months pregnant with her first kid.”

“She and her husband didn’t want to tell anyone the name of their to-be-born son until he’s born. Fine by me, I’d probably do the same.”

“Well, last week, I adopted a puppy and named him Eddie. I’ve always liked ‘human names’ for dogs, and growing up on ‘Ed Ed’ and ‘Eddy,’ it just felt right.”

“My girlfriend then posted on Instagram a picture of Eddie with his new collar and custom dog bowl.”

He then received a surprise call from his sister.

“Then my sister called me, telling me I have to change the name of my puppy because they are naming their son Edward after her father-in-law and will be calling him Eddie.”

“I told her the dog is already named, it fits him, we bought stuff with the name already, and it’s not like anyone will confuse a dog for a human anyway.”

“She keeps insisting we do so and says I’m already being a bad uncle by not doing so.”

“This feels so stupid to me but AITA?”

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 didn’t see what the big deal was with a child and a dog sharing a name.

“NTA and it is very stupid. Not like Eddie is some super unique name, and she’s the one that refused to tell anyone the name.”

“What is the worst thing that’s gonna happen? You’re going to call out the kid’s name at a family event, and both the kid and the dog come over to you? The horror!” – KingdomKey10

“My dog was named Oliver. Guess what? My sister named her son Oliver. There was no issue. Your sister needs to chill. Congratulations on your new pup.” – kirstlee

“Two families moved into our neighborhood, and they were best friends long before they got here.”

“One has a dog named Zeke. The other has a young son named Zeke. And both play in the front with my kids and all the other neighbor kids.”

“My kids come home with stories like, ‘Zeke knocked me down and took my sandwich,’ and my first question is always, ‘Zeke the kid or Zeke the dog?’ Lol (laughing out loud).”

“The best part is the kids found out that one is named after the other, but the kids don’t remember who was named after who!” – ISwearIUsedToBeSmart

“My mom called her sister in a panic after I was born. She’d always wanted to name a baby Jessica, but she and my dad had a cat named Jessie. (My dad had Jessie before he met my mom so she’d had no say in the name.)”

“Would people think she named the baby after the cat?”

“My aunt said, ‘The baby will be around a lot longer than the cat will.’ She was right. No one ever accused her of naming the baby after the cat.” – ultraprismic

“NTA. In the 90s, Sophie was a popular name for baby girls. It also was popular for dogs.”

“Our friend group had two families with daughters named Sophie and two with dogs named Sophie. No one was offended.” – Individual_Umpire969

“I was just trying to think of something ridiculous to say, but honestly, no one will confuse Eddie the human with Eddie the puppy. Your sister is being ridiculous.” – junglequeen88

But others didn’t think it would be that big of a deal for the OP to change his dog’s name.

“You’re not an a**hole. But here’s some advice you won’t get from everyone saying NTA. Because they’re probably children and teens with no experience.”

“Pick your battles.” – kanjobazzuey

“The dog has been named for a week, not 10 years. The dog doesn’t even know its own name yet.”

“I would not hesitate to change my dog’s name of one week to make my sister happy.”

“The sister also contacted OP immediately after she found out the dog’s name. So it’s not like the sister stole the dog’s name on purpose.” – goRockets

“I’m not usually on this side of the fence, but the dog has only just been named, OP could easily change it. Maybe the sister might even buy them a new name bowl as thanks.”

“Dog names aren’t like human names, I’m sure they had a few other options they were considering anyway.” – Tikithing

“OP, I don’t think you’re an AH, but it would be a nice thing to do. If it were me I’d change the dog’s name, but I’d ask my sister to buy me a new customized dog bowl and collar!” – artichoke313

“NTA but I would probably also change it. This is one of those situations where being right is less important than being nice.”

“You know your sister better than the internet. Does she typically display narcissistic behavior towards you? Or is this the one thing she ever asked you for? Is it worth damaging your relationship over?”

“If you knew your nephew’s name, would you still have named your dog that? She likely didn’t tell anyone because they didn’t want to invite any criticism, not because she was so intent on keeping a secret.”

“Unless you had your heart set on this dog name for years, how much does this particular dog name matter to you over another? You can pick another cute name. My dog had three names in four months because of being a rescue and he learned them all very quickly.” – Aggravating_Finish_6

“Reddit is so freaking bad at context. I swear people hear have trouble telling the difference between having your dog named for 10 hours with a dog with a name for 10 years.”

“I am also not sure people on Reddit get that naming a new dog is not the as naming a kid. If they just had a baby and picked that name it would be different than how they named their dog. But they seem to be responding like OP named their child that. I have a dog. I love my dog. But it’s not a human.”

“If my sister who had been pregnant for seven months with a name planned out told me I named my new puppy the same name she was planning to name her kid, I would change it.”

“Some people really care about the name of their kid and I can see why someone wouldn’t want to have to share it with my new pup. Why wouldn’t I change it? It’s such a dumb hill to die on. I’m going to call my dog random nicknames anyways.” – chanaramil

“I definitely don’t think OP should feel like they have to change the name, but I will say we see posts like this a lot and the timing on this one makes it the first time that I think I would actually consider changing the name if I were in their situation.”

“I think OP should ask themselves this and be honest with themselves: if the baby had been born first and then you adopted the dog do you think you would still have named it Eddie? If the answer to that is yes then don’t change it. If the answer is no or maybe then I think you should at least consider it.”

“For the record, my partner’s family had a dog with the same name as me when we first met and it’s definitely not something that will cause any real weirdness or confusion! Other than some mild amusement and jokes when my MIL scolded the dog for begging at the table during a cookout and told her to shut her mouth.”

“Plus point out all the cute Instagram opportunities to post pics with a new puppy and a new baby both named Eddie. Put them in matching hats. The internet will love them, lol (laughing out loud).” – EchoPhoenix24

After receiving feedback, the OP shared an update.

“We’re keeping the name. Not because of this post, but last night, our two-year-old hugged him and said, ‘My Eddie,’ and that settled it for us.”

“I have two kids (who love the name for our new pup) and two other siblings who are godparents to them and think my sister is being ridiculous.”

“My parents and grandparents are still around and love the s**t out of them. Nobody is breaking the family apart over this.”

“I love my sister, but she can be crazy sometimes. She’ll get over this, and Edward and Eddie will be buds one day.”

Naming a new pet is an emotional moment, especially when they’re a rescue or adopted animal, but names are arguably more permanent for a human baby.

Though they could understand the OP loving his dog’s name, and even the situation not causing the problems his sister was anticipating, they also didn’t think it would be that big of a deal to change the name of a puppy who just joined the family.

Written by McKenzie Lynn Tozan

McKenzie Lynn Tozan has been a part of the George Takei family since 2019 when she wrote some of her favorite early pieces: Sesame Street introducing its first character who lived in foster care and Bruce Willis delivering a not-so-Die-Hard opening pitch at a Phillies game. She's gone on to write nearly 3,000 viral and trending stories for George Takei, Comic Sands, Percolately, and ÜberFacts. With an unstoppable love for the written word, she's also an avid reader, poet, and indie novelist.