“Having Weird Names Does Not Age Well”: Parents Want To Rename Kids 16 Years Later
Some parents have an “interesting” desire to make sure their kid’s names stand out from all the rest. Perhaps a “unique” way of spelling a common name, or maybe just a blatant pop-culture reference that is topical at the moment. Regardless, there are enough poor teens out there who will be changing their name the moment they turn 18. But some grow to like it.
A teen and his siblings were all given “water” themed names that their parents later regretted. However, they all refused to change their names when their parents came to them with more conventional alternatives.
Rare or uncommon names are normally embarrassing for the kids who have them
Image credits: Queenmoonlite / envato (not the actual photo)
But one teen actually liked his name and refused to change it when is parents had second thoughts
Image credits: Queenmoonlite / envato (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Novel_Box3156
The list of names parents would choose from used to be a lot smaller
Bit by bit, naming conventions have started to fall apart as folks realize that, deep down, it does not matter. This even goes for the most conventional of conventional names. For example, in the England of the 1800s, Mary and John were the two most common names, at 22% for newborn males and 24% for females respectively.
Fast forward to 1994, now Emily and James are the most popular. However, it’s no longer a solid quarter of babies carrying this name, it’s 3% and 4% respectively. Popular, common names haven’t gone anywhere, but in a globalized, more multicultural world, there are just more options to pick from.
Remember, in the past, there would be a few “common” names for your particular national group and economic class, as well as a scattering of religious names. The Western world is chock-full of some version of “John” for example, as a classic biblical name. Other cultures have their own equivalents, for example, Muhammed.
Naming conventions have changed a lot over the last few decades
Image credits: Monstera Production / pexels (not the actual photo)
But in the 21st century, not only can new parents borrow from other groups, but they can also look to culture and media for inspiration. You might be surprised to learn that many names that we now think of as common or even old-fashioned were wholeheartedly invented by writers. Case in point, the name Pamela, was wholesale invented by Sir Philip Sidney for a work of fiction.
In general, fiction has a way of shaping naming conventions, for example, Jessica, despite being an Old Testament name, only started to be popular in England after Shakespeare included a character of the same name in “The Merchant of Venice.” There are countless other examples of this, including very misguided parents who named their offspring after Game of Thrones characters after seeing just the first few seasons.
The general fear among parents isn’t so much that the name will age poorly, but that the kids will hate and end up bullied for something that is absolutely not their fault. That being said, kids will also sometimes dislike completely normal names for one reason or another. However, this is a very different story, since OP, and his siblings, actually like their names.
OP’s parent’s regret is hard to understand
Image credits: Monstera Production / pexels (not the actual photo)
If anything, OP’s parents should congratulate themselves that their unique and themed-name gambit actually paid off. The kids don’t mind the names at all and have grown attached to them. After all, these three names OP lists are not bad at all, they are interesting, roll off the tongue, and can be a great icebreaker if someone wants to learn more.
It’s unclear why the parents, instead, picked three, common names that none of the kids like. While saying no to a parent can be construed as disrespectful, it is the children who have to live with their names, not the parents. This is absolutely not a hill to die on, so the parent’s resistance seems to be very misguided and strange.
Some readers wanted a bit more information
Most sided with OP and his siblings
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And somebody tell those parents, that their kids are not property but people.
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Ffs. Yeah they're unusual names, but they aren't actually cringe names. They aren't in the category of unique-for-the-sake-of-it, they aren't spelled weirdly, they don't instantly evoke pity for the kid or a negative stereotype. The teens have grown up with them, they are a part of their identities, and they LIKE them. There's no time limit on changing names IF they wanted to in future but atm it's a hard no. Twits.
I'm with you in this, abd hope Ocean pursuits a marine biology career.
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A name is a very big part of your identity, why would any parent forcefully change their kids names? That just seems so out of wack. Plenty of other solutions. As usual in these AITA questions it's rarely the poster that's in the wrong. This case is not even remotely close.
And somebody tell those parents, that their kids are not property but people.
Load More Replies... Ffs. Yeah they're unusual names, but they aren't actually cringe names. They aren't in the category of unique-for-the-sake-of-it, they aren't spelled weirdly, they don't instantly evoke pity for the kid or a negative stereotype. The teens have grown up with them, they are a part of their identities, and they LIKE them. There's no time limit on changing names IF they wanted to in future but atm it's a hard no. Twits.
I'm with you in this, abd hope Ocean pursuits a marine biology career.
Load More Replies... A name is a very big part of your identity, why would any parent forcefully change their kids names? That just seems so out of wack. Plenty of other solutions. As usual in these AITA questions it's rarely the poster that's in the wrong. This case is not even remotely close.
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