The ancients believed that the name a person receives at birth influences their life and becomes a kind of sacred sign, connecting them with their ancestors, clan and the surrounding nature. Today we take it way simpler when naming kids, but this doesn’t mean that naming dramas have disappeared.
More info:Reddit
The author of the post lost her mom at the age of 5 and then her dad remarried another woman
Image credits:Brett Sayles (not the actual photo)
The mom gave the author the first name Acacia and the dad added the second name Claire
Image credits:u/Any-Bit2864
The stepmom tried several times to ‘rename’ the girl with her second name, but to no avail
Image credits:CHUTTERSNAP (not the actual photo)
Image credits:Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)
However, the stepmom tried to push various ‘classic’ names and even called the mom-to-be ‘rude’ for dismissing her ideas
As for the name, the OP has her ownhistory, and it’s actually a long one. The thing is that her mother herself bore anot verycommon name, in a ‘nature’ style, and gave a similar name to her daughter. Meanwhile, her dad chose the girl’s middle name – so our heroine’s name is Acacia Claire.
When the girl was 5 years old, her mom, alas, passed away and her father soon remarried another woman, let’s call her ‘Jane.’ And their next children had quite common names. However, Jane tried to ‘rename’ the original poster too, suggesting that she be called simply Claire. But the girl was adamant, considering the name Acacia to be a kind of connection with her late mom.
But mom-to-be didn’t give up – and only said that it was her and her spouse’s business what name their child would have. The stepmom, however, said that the OP is ‘callously’ dismissing her ideas – and that it wouldn’t be easy for the kid to live with an unusual name in the future. Acacia claims, however, that in 25 years of her life she has never encountered any problems over her unusual name.
Image credits:Mark Timberlake (not the actual photo)
Well, relatives – even if they are the closest ones – very often come up with various ideas about children’s names, and then are sincerely offended when no one obeys these ideas. For example, my own eldest daughter’s name is Eva – and when I told my family about this idea, my grandma was horrified, saying that my daughter would definitely be bullied – simply because the wife of a certain and very notorious German also had that name!
Now Eva is ten, she loves her name… and needless to say, she has never experienced bullying for this specific reason in her life. Perhaps children today are less erudite than my late grandma – or maybe the old lady was just a tad bit entitled… As, indeed, were the relatives of the original poster.
As for advice to the expectant mother on what to do next, the opinions of commenters are also almost unanimous – to stand her ground. Period. “Frankly, I would name the kid after your mother after all this harassment. Both first and middle name,” one person supposed. “I think you need to cut WAY back on contact with them,” another one claimed. “The fact that they sincerely believe that they have the right to dictate to you what your child’s name should be feels creepy.”
Mindaugas Balčiauskas
Monika Pašukonytė
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