There are some decisions in life that are extremely important. Choosing who we want to spend our lives with? That’s a big decision. Where we decide to live and raise our children? Another big decision. But, above all, what we choose to name our babies is definitely one of the biggest decisions we make in our lives.
The name we give our child is the name they’re going to keep for their entire life.
We may think that some names are popular and sweet at the given time of our pregnancy, but we also need to think forward about how that name may impact our children down the road.
Nowadays, parents are always looking for unqiue and different names for their children.
More and more, moms are looking for “different” names for their babies. These moms hope that when their children reach school, they can stand out from the crowd and be one of three kids with the same name in their class.
While some parents still opt for traditional names or name their babies after loved ones, unique names are definitely in style.
Currently, Liam and Noah are ranked as the top boys’ names in the U.S., while Emma and Olivia are the top girls’ names.
Instead of picking new or trendy names, some parents have thought of a different way to make their child’s name special.
It’s becoming more common for parents to change up the spelling of a well-known name so that it still has that unique twist to it.
But, what happens when our name choice isn’t exactly “great?”
Who do we lean on to be our sounding boards when it comes to naming our kids? Our parents? Our significant other? Our friends? How would you feel if your friend told you that what you wanted to name your child was absolutely stupid?
One Reddit user wrote into the popular r/AmItheAsshole? thread asking the internet for advice after she told her friend her baby name idea was downright stupid.
She started the post by explaining that her friend, who happens to be her roommate, is pregnant with her first child.
“My roommate (24f) is a big Game of Thrones fan. She’s pregnant with her first child right now. She decided to name her baby, ‘Arya,'” she said.
While *Game of Thrones* may have ended, the popularity of the characters definitely lives on.
“When she asked my opinion of this name, I said I it was a good name with a good meaning (Arya means noble in Sanskrit), but a lot of people have named their kids Arya/Khaleesi/Sansa because of the popularity of GoT and it might be a little too common, not that it is a bad thing,” she told her friend.
However, the Reddit user shifted her tone when her friend said she wanted to change up the spelling of the name.
“The next day, which was yesterday, she said she’s found a way to name her baby ‘Arya’ and not have it be associated with other Aryas running around or the show. How? She said she wanted to spell it as Aughreighyah. I did a double take reading that word too, but apparently people are supposed to read it as Augh-reigh-ya or Arya,” she said.
Apparently her friend didn’t take the news so well.
“She asked me how I felt about it and I told her that, frankly, Aughreighyah looks ridiculously stupid and she should just go with Arya. She got kinda upset and said that she and her partner came up with this only because I told them that the name is very common. I said that having a common name is better than having a confusing name.”
She asked Reddit if she was an a-hole for telling her friend the name’s spelling was stupid.
Some people had some pretty funny comments and reactions.
One person decided to make a wordplay on the name Arya.
“Ask her ‘Arya being stupid?’ … I’ll be here all night,” they commented. Other people chimed in saying things like, “It never ends: Arya having a stroke, Arya parents related, etc.”
Other users imagined what this baby’s life would be like with that name and its confusing spelling.
“…that poor child will have to spell her name for everyone, and correct people mispronouncing it,” one user said. With this in mind, they said the friend was right to say the spelling was stupid.
In fact, a number of users who have unique name spellings themselves chimed in.
“My name is a different spelling of a relatively common name (one letter difference). I’m 20 and still constantly correcting people on the spelling of my name. It’s exhausting,” one person said.
“I like my name, but it’s like this and it gets very, very annoying having to spell and pronounce my name every single time I talk to someone,” another user said.
One user offered this helpful suggestion for unique spellings of Arya that wouldn’t be as confusing.
“Aariya and Ariya are also Sanskrit spellings that aren’t similar to GOT that doesn’t look as ridiculous as what [the pregnant friend] thought out,” they said.
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People basically thought that this pregnant mom’s name idea and its spelling could cause a lot of problems.
They determined that the Reddit user was not the a-hole for telling her friend her opinion.
“Normally you’d be the a-hole but A) that’s a stupid name, and B) she asked your opinion,” one commenter wrote.
What do you think? Was this friend in the wrong?
