Redditors Are Warning a New Mom To Stay Away From Church Ladies After Her Astounding Baby Name Choice
We’re all for naming a baby after a loved one. Especially if they’ve (unfortunately) passed away. It’s such a sweet and meaningful tribute, and it can be, in a way, comforting for the bereaved. We’re also for naming a baby whatever you want, despite the opinions of others … unless the name you’ve chosen might potentially make an impression that your child will almost certainly struggle to overcome.
A 26-year-old woman joined Reddit to talk about some recent family drama. (AKA the lifeblood of the “Am I The A—hole? (AITA?)” subreddit.) Less than a year ago, her grandmother passed away, and the loss “devastated her family beyond words.” This woman who originally posted (the “OP”) has a 19-year-old sister who was pregnant and wanted to honor her grandma, who went by “Lottie,” short for Charlotte.
The sister didn’t like the name Charlotte, so she tried to think of different names that could still have the nickname Lottie.
Her Choice
During her third trimester, OP’s sister cracked the case and decided to name her daughter … Harlot.
“I told her this was the bad idea to end all bad ideas, and asked if she had Googled the word,” OP said in her post. “She said that she had, but ‘no one would make the connection’ because it is such an uncommon word in day-to-day life.”
In case you, like OP’s sister, think the word is uncommon, let us refresh your memory. The word “harlot” means prostitute.
“I recommended choosing something else but she was firm, and got so upset about me not liking the name that she stopped talking to me for about a week,” OP continued. “So, I left it alone.”
AITA for not warning my sister “enough” about her choice of baby name?
byu/Excellent_Fishing_Bo inAmItheAsshole
OP’s sister recently announced her daughter’s birth on Facebook, and it did not go as planned. “In honor of Nana Lottie, I am pleased to introduce Baby Harlot (nickname Lottie),” she wrote.
“To say the family lost their minds would be an understatement,” OP said. “People were so upset that Nana Lottie was now being associated with the word ‘Harlot,’ and a lot of the extended family have said that they will not meet this child because they couldn’t face the situation.”
…Told Ya
OP’s sister reached out to her, on the verge of tears, but OP basically pulled an “I told ya so.” And…fair! Her sister got “really upset” and told OP she “hadn’t warned her enough.”
“[She said] I should have kept trying in different ways, and I should have ‘forced [her] to listen,'” OP wrote. “I don’t really know what that means, but now my mom is on her side as well saying that hormones lead to bad decisions, and it is up to family to steer our loved ones in the right direction.”
This new grandma — who did not know the name in advance — is also saying OP “should have known” a teenager’s decision to use the name Harlot “would end in tears” and that she “should have done more.”
“I feel quite upset now that so many people who were grieving already are now having to deal with this association, and I maybe could have done more to talk her around,” OP said. “Was I the AH?”
Reddit’s Reaction
More than 5.5 thousand Redditors have upvoted this post and 1.6 thousand left comments (and counting!). There is not a universe in which OP is the a—hole.
“Oh, that sweet, summer child,” the top commenter (with 13 thousand upvotes) said in regards to the sister’s reaction to Googling the word. “When people complain words are uncommon, all I hear is ‘I don’t read things.'”
“Holy sh*tballs,” someone replied. “I thought the exact same thing.”
This sister really, really, really should have listened. If not to OP, then, at the very least, to Google. Has the internet ever been wrong? (Don’t answer that.)
“I’m around a lot of middle class white ladies regularly, so when we talk about anything remotely slutty, the word harlot also comes up pretty often lol,” one Redditor wrote. “This really is not an uncommon word at all. If she hangs around any church ladies, she’ll hear it soon enough.”
Redditors say they are “cackling,” “wheezing,” and “shrieking,” making the people and animals they live with concerned. But they can not get over this astounding decision. It’s so outrageous that people barely had the bandwidth to address how absurd it is that the mom is blaming this disaster on OP and pregnancy hormones. *Crowd collectively boos*
What now? Redditors hope OP’s sister will start the process of changing her daughter’s name.
“If the baby was just born how hard is it to legally change the name? I’m hoping OP’s sister has the compassion, sense, and IQ to change that poor child’s name ASAP.”
Before you go, check out some of Reddit’s wildest baby name dilemmas.
