Particularly in the last two decades, parents have gotten very creative when it comes to choosing their future baby names and how to spell them.
Arguably, their creativity isn’t always for the best, cringed the members of the “Am I Overreacting?” (AIO) subReddit.
Redditor Most_System6697 was excited for the birth of her niece, but she was also concerned, because her older sister kept coming up with baby names, and none of them were promising.
But when her sister decided on a name and was very confident about it, the Original Poster (OP) cringed over the fact that it sounded to them more like a name for an animal or an exotic dancer than for a baby.
They asked the sub:
“Am I overreacting by telling my sister that she picked out a bad baby name?”
The OP’s sister’s attempts to choose a baby name became a saga of its own.
“My older sister just had her third baby the other day.”
“She couldn’t decide on a name the entire pregnancy and only came up with bad names.”
“Her husband would ‘veto’ them and say no to EVERY. SINGLE. good or pretty name anyone came up with. He was strongly against family names and never gave a real reason why.”
“My sister had a new bad name to choose from every other week.”
“The day before the baby popped out, she had a lovely name picked out (Marianna Grace), but when people asked, she said she didn’t have a name yet.”
The OP was shocked by the name their sister decided on.
“Day of birth, still no name. The day after, all of a sudden, she wanted to name the baby ‘Stormy.'”
“When asked why Stormy, she said it was because she came in like a storm. (Real reason is that we got a LOT of snow, like a day or two before the birth, so she named her after that. I’m not joking.)”
“I told her that in our state, she has 30 days to pick a name, and there’s no rush, since she was so unsure of every name, and a name is important and defines a lot about people’s lives. I gave her the idea to spend a few days with the baby and see what feels right.”
“But nope. She jumped the gun and named her ‘Stormy.'”
“No direct offense to people named that, but it’s a godawful name.”
When asked, no one thought of a newborn baby or a little girl when they heard the name.
“I asked MANY, MANY people with no context, both in person and strangers in line, and everyone has the same response. What do you think of the name Stormy, or what’s the first thing you think of?”
“The responses were either a dog’s name or a stripper or a porn star (Stormy Daniels, to be specific).”
“EVERYONE THOUGHT THAT.”
“It’s so bad, man…”
The feedback got even worse when the OP researched online.
“I sent her SO many name ideas before the baby was born but sent the most the day she was born because still no name had been picked.”
“And she picked Stormy just because it snowed…”
“Do I tell her it’s a bad name and to rethink it while it’s fresh? She’s only a few days old.”
“Even people who are named Stormy replied online and said they hate their name, go by their middle name, and also get asked bizarre and inappropriate questions all the time because of their name. It can be a fun nickname or middle name, maybe, but not a legal first name.”
The OP wasn’t sure how to help their sister and niece through this.
“I sound biased against my sister because I admittedly am for way too many reasons to put here. But she is a VERY messy, problematic, makes all the wrong choices, and is the most inconsiderate, impulsive person ever. (That’s a VERY LONG STORY!)”
“Due to a lot of factors, my family believes that at some point, sooner than later, we will end up with custody of the baby.”
“Almost as a snide to her own baby, a last hurrah, that child with be set up to fail with a bad name like Stormy. And in THIS economy?!?!”
“AIO?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NOR: Not Overreacting
- YOR: You’re Overreacting
Some could not stop making jokes about the name if their lives depended on it.
“You’re not overreacting, but you are overstepping. Don’t rainy on her parade-y.” – BumWink
“It’s spelled ‘Reighknee’.” – TenderCactus410
“Actually, don’t storm on her parade.” – stayfun
A few could understand where the OP was coming from, kind of.
“Maybe you’re coming on a bit strong, but you’re at least not naming your kids something that would set them up for a life of ridicule and professional issues.”
“Maybe it is overstepping, but hurting your sister’s feelings to save nice from literal life-altering impacts of their choices is more than justifiable and plenty adequate reason to overstep.” – fefafofifu
“Yes, the first thing people think of these days is the porn star. Thanks to politics.”
“But by the time the kid is old enough to know, Stormy Daniels will be a distant memory for most people.”
“Do I like the name? No. Can I spell and pronounce it? Yes.”
“To be honest, I think you’re overstepping and YOR.” – one_night_on_mars
“Why does your family believe that they will somehow get custody of this baby? You say that this child is your sister’s third child, so does she still have custody of the older two?”
“In my opinion, you are overreacting and overstepping the mark.”
“The baby’s dad doesn’t need to give a reason why ‘he was strongly against family names,’ which seems to have annoyed you also. Did you hope the child would bear your name?”
“And I really cannot fathom why you would think a name is setting the child up for failure. I don’t think Stormy Kendrick (born 1991), American female sprinter, and Stormy Peters, free and open source software advocate, would agree with you.”
“The best thing you could do is take a step back: be the baby’s auntie, love her and her siblings and stop interfering.”
“Fun fact: the oldest recorded birth by the Social Security Administration for the first name Stormy is Tuesday, June 9th, 1896.”
“I get that you want the best for your niece, and this feels like a hill to die on right now, but I think if you work through your issues with your sister, you’ll realize it’s just not.” – Eils7
But most questioned the OP and thought their complicated relationship with their sister had made this feel like a much bigger issue than it was.
“‘My family believes, at some point, sooner than later, we will end up with custody of the baby.’ So this gives you naming rights? This is such an inappropriate thought. The mother of the baby has named the baby.” – Livinginthemiddle
“It p**sed me off when people (specifically family) would suggest names after asking what we were naming our daughter.” – crochet_protege
“This whole post is wild to me. How are you acting like you get a say in what your grown sister names HER baby? That’s not your kid, not your choice.”
“You said, ‘I sent her so many names,’ like she was supposed to pick one of yours instead of something that actually means something to her?? She literally told you the baby was born while it was snowing, and that’s why she chose Stormy.”
“That’s a beautiful, personal memory she’ll have forever, and you’re trying to trash it because you personally don’t like it. Let your sister have her moment and mind your business.” – PlumpPeachhh
“My eyes widened when the OP said she sent the MOST suggestions the day her niece was born! Just bombarding someone who literally just gave birth with name suggestions… and it’s someone that OP admits to not having a great relationship with, no less! Yikes.” – ikissedholofernes
“No joke, I knew someone whose older sister’s name was Misty, and her name was Breezy. And you know what? It was a funny, ‘What, really?’ thing for about two seconds after meeting them, but beyond that, they were two of the sweetest and freaking intelligent women I’ve known in my entire life, and they both went on to do humanitarian work.”
“Stormy makes me think of horses, personally, because I was a big horse girl growing up when every third horse’s name was Sugar or Thunder, but it’s not a BAD name. It’s time to lay off now, OP, d**n.” – TheBookishAndTheBard
“Although I would never name my baby Stormy, I think you are being an a**hole to your sister.”
“You’re completely overstepping and overreacting to the name of your niece. It’s not your business what your sister names her daughter, and for you to be so dramatic over the name she did eventually choose isn’t normal or okay.”
“Maybe you need to be less worried about them and worry more about getting therapy.”
“If I have another daughter, I want to name her Kora. My mom thinks it’s the ugliest name she’s ever heard, but I’m not concerned about my mother’s opinion, because my fiancé and I think it’s a beautiful name.”
“I hope your sister feels the same way, opinions shouldn’t change someone’s mind about naming their own baby.” – rosiebluewitch
“I wouldn’t name my kid Stormy; however, I’ve interacted with at least two Stormys in my life in professional settings. I don’t think this rises to the level that OP is taking it to. It might be different if it were somehow offensive or maybe sounded like a different word.”
“My kid has a less common name, but not a made-up one. It was still in the top 100 a couple of years prior to his birth and after. I have the number one name from my birth year, and I hated it in school because there were so many of us.”
“As an adult, I hate it because it pretty much means I’m exactly a certain age. The name dropped like a rock off the charts and never came back to popularity.” – planningtoscrewup
“I’m just saying to myself the entire time I’m reading, ‘She needs to mind her business.’ Why would you care what someone else names their child?” – Deloris1971
“What makes her think her sister is going to care if she thinks it’s a bad name? The audacity of people.” – Any-Interaction-5934
“This is overstepping times one million. It’s not your monkey and not your circus. The name is done, go away.” – TheVoiceInZanesHead
While the subReddit could agree that it wasn’t the most common or expected name, and that there were some current political references that felt a little problematic, most felt that the OP was making this a much bigger issue than it needed to be.
The name has been around for a very long time, and there have been other important figures with the name, and there will be others in the future, perhaps even the OP’s niece.