The little-known baby name rule at the centre of family drama

A couple who recently welcomed their first child into the world has been questioned by a family member over their choice of name.

"My partner and I didn't settle on a name for our son until the day of his birth," the new mum explains on Reddit's 'Am I The A--hole' thread.

"I have always loved the name Liam, for its sound and meaning, and was over the moon when my partner finally agreed to one of the names on my list," she said.

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When their families arrived at the hospital to visit, her sister made an unusual comment.

"We announced his name to her and her immediate response was 'Oh, I've always loved the name Liam, but Mike wouldn't let me use it for our first son!"

Then she asked a question.

"Could you change it? Maybe call him Alexander as his first name? It sounds nicer!'"

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The new mum firmly explained that she loved the name Liam and "would not be changing his name, or the order of his names."

She thought that was the end of it until her sister visited them at home a week later and brought the topic up again.

Her sister explained that her husband didn't let her use the name Liam because his ex has a son with that name and they have a "toxic co-parenting relationship".

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"I told her that shouldn't have stopped her from using the name she loved," she said.

"Those boys do not know each other, do not go to the same school, don't have the same last name and basically live separate existences outside of their shared half-sister."

She also told her sister she is free to still use the name as it is "common in my culture" to have children share the same name and "tends to serve as a bond between the kids".

The new mum said she and her sister have never discussed baby names before and have no "name acts".

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While some Redditers understood the husband's decision to not name their child Liam, they took issue with the sister's question.

"[She] needs to let this name go," one commented.

"Yeah, this is why Irene got dropped from our baby names list: it's an ex-s name, and while there are thousands of Irenes out there - association would have been a no-go," another said.

"How dare she tell OP to change her son's name when the ink just dried on his birth certificate," one person added.

Another said it is "wild" to them "how many people are so willing to request name changes from other people."

"When we had our kids, choosing a name was such a wonderful and shared experience with my wife," they said.

"It is such a huge decision, and the first important one you make as parents together. So much goes into it, and the immediate bond you feel with it once your spouse and you decide on one is so strong.

"For someone to so flippantly suggest changing it is just insane."

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