She wanted to know if she would be the “worst in the world”.
A mum-to-be has sparked a huge debate online after she asked whether or not it would be unreasonable to steal a baby name.
The woman, who is six months pregnant, explained that she was discussing baby names with her husband’s cousin, who is trying to conceive.
She said that she loves the name that her husband’s cousin has picked, and wanted to know if she would be the “worst in the world” to steal it.
She added on Mumsnet:
“They live at the other end of the country so we only see them at family weddings – but they are a close family with lots of FB groups etc.”
For the most part, people agreed that nobody actually owns a name, so technically the moniker is fair game – however, it would be a “sh*tty” thing to do.
One person said:
“No one owns a name…. but, I think it’s a pretty sh*tty thing to do. Would you like it done to you?”
Someone else added:
“A friend did this to me. I told her my 2 names (1 boy and 1 girl). She got pregnant (I never ever did) and she used the boys name. it’s quite an usual one also.
“I’ve not met another baby with the name, except for hers. [It] breaks my heart.”
Another mum commented:
“It’s not a nice thing to do. Yes, no one owns a name but i’m guessing the cousin wouldn’t be that happy.”
A different person pointed out:
“Don’t do that. There is more than one nice name. This would be mean and so unnecessary.”
Someone else suggested:
“You can’t steal a baby name but can cause family resentment for about 3-5 years with your cousin if you named your child her favourite name as its firstnane.
“Give your child that name as a middle name if you want to use it.”
Others, however, told the mum-to-be that it would be totally fine and that her husband’s cousin “only has herself to blame”.
A forum user added:
“I don’t think you can ‘steal’ the name of a baby who hasn’t even been conceived yet, and who might be a different sex from yours anyway.
“You don’t see them often, they probably have different surnames. It’s fine.”
Another suggested:
“I’d ask her. My cousin wanted to name his son after my dad and did the very polite thing of asking I said yes of course because if I had a boy they would be at different schools different ages etc etc. Some people are precious however.”
Someone else commented:
“No-one owes a name, if you like it use it. She really should not have shared what name she was going to use. So she only has herself to blame.
“Like f*ck would I not use a name I like just coz someone else says I can’t, coz THEY ‘thought of it first…'”
