New dad sparks controversy after asking wife to change their baby’s name

Kat O'Connor

A dad has caused a stir online after admitting he wants to change his baby girl’s name.

He said his three-week-old daughter’s name is a bit uncommon – in the general family of Scarlett.

The new dad and his wife agreed on their baby girl’s name when she was seven months pregnant, but the name is now causing problems.

The dad explained that his mother doesn’t speak English and is struggling to pronounce her grandchild’s name.

The dad shared on Reddit:

“We chose our daughter’s name when my wife was 7 months pregnant but decided to keep it a secret until she was born. Since coming to America, my accent has slowly faded. My mom, however, cannot pronounce English names without a thick, thick accent.

“I didn’t even think about this until after our baby had been born.

He said his mother “was completely unable to pronounce her name”.

The man said his mother was “very embarrassed about it”, but promised he would help her learn to pronounce it.

The mum has continued to struggle but calls her grandchild ‘Mouse’ in our native tongue.

“It doesn’t make my wife happy, but it’s been an okay compromise,” he said.

However, during a family Zoom call, his mother addressed their daughter as ‘Mouse’ and his mother-in-law had a horrible reaction.

“My MIL laughed about it and asked why she didn’t just call the baby by her name. I said she couldn’t say the name which made my MIL laugh harder and ask for my mom to “just try.”

“I gave an excuse for the call to end, and my wife had an argument with her mother about making fun of my mom.”

“My mom isn’t fluent in English, but she knew she was being laughed at. She was extremely embarrassed by it all and hadn’t wanted to speak to anybody since.”

The husband asked his wife how she would feel about changing their baby’s name following the incident.

“I tried explaining how hard it was for her, but my wife kept shutting me down and saying that it just wasn’t possible. She said it would be more embarrassing to tell everyone we’d changed the name because my mom couldn’t figure it out.”

The dad offered a compromise and said they could make her current name a middle name, but she refused.

The mum claims changing their child’s name would “destroy our baby’s identity”.

“I don’t think it’s unreasonable – she’s 3 weeks old, it’s not like she’s been her name for 30 years,” the dad said.

Do you agree with the dad or is he asking for too much?