Teen Tired Of Asking Extended Family To Call Him By His Real Name, Starts Ignoring Them

Despite what anyone might say, I believe that names are quite powerful. When someone says ‘Dumbledore’, I think of wisdom, meanwhile ‘Aphrodite’ reminds me of love, so yeah, names do leave an impression, and a person’s choice of their name should be respected.

That is not the case with this teen’s extended foster family who insist on calling him ‘Nicholas’ even though he repeatedly told them that his name is ‘Nico’. Fed up by them, he took his foster parents’ advice and finally decided to ignore them, but apparently, they found this rude!

More info: Reddit

A person’s choice of a name should be respected as it can leave quite an impression, but not everyone agrees

Teen standing on a windy beach, adjusting his jacket, thoughtful expression under a clear blue sky.

Image credits: Mike Moloney / Pexels (not the actual photo)

The poster’s name is ‘Nico’ but many people fail to understand that it’s not short for ‘Nicholas’, and he has to correct them

Text describing a teen frustrated with extended family for not using his real name, Nico, instead calling him Nicholas.

Text about a teen in foster care discussing family challenges and visits.

Image credits: Worldly-Pea-5367

Teens and a child enjoying breakfast at a home table, sharing a meal with orange juice and pastries.

Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)

He lives with a really amazing foster family but has a problem with their relatives as they insist on calling him Nicholas because it’s “professional”

Text about foster family experience and happiness with foster parents and siblings.

Text about a teen frustrated with extended family refusing to use his real name, Nico, instead calling him Nicholas.

Image credits: Worldly-Pea-5367

Teen with extended family in a living room, facing grandparents, holding gift bags.

Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)

They even advised him to change his name and refused to use his real one even when he asked them to, so his foster parents advised him to ignore them

Text about a teen ignoring extended family who won't use his real name.

Text excerpt about a teen ignoring people who use the wrong name at family dinner.

Text discussing a teen frustrated with family not using his real name, causing tension despite foster parents' support.

Image credits: Worldly-Pea-5367

When he did indeed ignore them, they found him rude, and even though his foster parents were supportive of him, he felt bad ignoring the extended family

It has been observed that 368,500 children were in foster care in the US during the year 2022, and today’s story is about one such kid who ended up with an amazing foster family. Our protagonist is a 16-year-old guy whose name is ‘Nico’, and he always has to inform people that it is NOT short for ‘Nicholas’. 

He tells us that he has wonderful foster parents who actually look after him well, and foster siblings who are pretty fine with having him around. In fact, this kind couple is also in touch with the other foster kids that they have looked after.

Research states that maltreatment, including neglect and abuse, is a major factor that plagues the foster system in the US. Fortunately, our main character landed up with such amazing people, but he has a problem with their extended family. 

Apparently, these people simply refuse to call him Nico and insist on Nicholas as it sounds more “professional” for an adult male. These relatives are so entitled that they even give unsolicited advice to the original poster (OP) and ask him to change his name.

He always corrects them, but it falls on deaf ears, and their reasoning for this behavior is, “But Nico is short for Nicholas!” The teen was probably fed up with these people, and even his foster parents told him that he should ignore them if they kept at it purposely.

That’s exactly what Nico started doing, and refused to respond when someone said Nicholas and asked him to pass the potatoes at dinner once. His foster parents also said that they didn’t know anyone named Nicholas, meanwhile, his foster sibling “Nicole”, assumed it was her they were referring to and passed them the potatoes.

Well, this didn’t go down well with the people as Nico’s ignorance “bothered” them. They called him rude and even said that he should be open to “wisdom others offer with name suggestions”. Ugh, some people and their big fat egos! 

Teen sitting at a dinner table, looking away while others are engaged in conversation, surrounded by greenery.

Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)

Anyway, his foster parents still backed him up as he ignored these people who were purposely ignorant of his name, but it still didn’t feel right for OP. You see, he doesn’t want to ruin things with any of the foster family members as he has found such a good one.

We have already seen how research talks about maltreatment in the foster care system, so Nico is bound to feel insecure about losing a good family when he finally finds one. On top of it, he mentions that he has been in the system since he was 2 years old, and looking at the way he’s trying not to mess things up here, he might’ve had some bad experiences in the past.

When the teen posted his story online, many people advised him that he was not doing anything wrong by ignoring such people. After all, he was only fighting their ignorance with ignorance, wasn’t he? 

Folks also called out these relatives for having the gall to suggest the guy change his complete name just because they don’t find it to their standards. Some even spoke about how they were indirectly trying to take away his identity by enforcing a “professional” name onto him. 

Research suggests, “The importance of identity development for teens is huge. When a teen is developing their identity they are learning what makes them unique while also feeling the need to fit in. For teens who feel excluded from others, this process can lead them to begin participating in harmful behavior that prevents the formation of a secure and positive self-identity.”

Well, looks like ignoring such people who might have an impact on his identity definitely sounds like the way forward for the teen. People also pointed out that his foster parents sounded very understanding, so his messing things up was not really likely. Given the fact that the couple themselves suggested he do that, it does seem like they care about the teen.

Don’t you think so? If you were in his shoes, what would you do? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!

People online backed him up by stating that he was not doing anything wrong by ignoring them, and they even praised his wonderful foster family

Reddit comments discussing the name Nico and its realness.

Reddit user defending teen's real name choice against family renaming attempts.

Reddit comments discussing foster families, highlighting the importance of keeping contact with supportive people.

Reddit conversation discussing name preferences and family dynamics.

Text conversation about a teen ignoring extended family for not using his real name.

Reddit discussion about respecting real names and using shortened forms.

Reddit comments about foster family, centered on a teen discussing his luck with placement.

Text on a forum post discussing the importance of using a teen's real name.

Text conversation discussing the importance of using a person's real name with extended family.

Teen frustrated with family using wrong name, decides to ignore them; proposes renaming relatives as a humorous response.

Reddit comment about a teen dealing with extended family misnaming him, with witty response suggestion.

Comment supporting teen's struggle for being called by real name, mentioning the name "Nico" and its meaning "victory.

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