A woman has revealed to social media how she sparked a major family row after criticizing her sister's choice of name for her daughter.
It's a move that has drawn criticism from her sibling and mom as well as one leading etiquette expert who said the woman's opinion "doesn't matter" in this particular scenario. However, it's won plenty of support online after a post detailing how the family drama unfolded was posted to Reddit by u/New-Fail849.
First impressions matter and research has shown that your name can play an important role in social standing. A 2012 study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology found people tended to form more positive first impressions and even like an individual more if they had easier-to-pronounce names.
Maybe that's why so many online are siding with the author behind this particular Reddit post after she took issue with her younger sister Ramona's choice of name for her daughter: Egwene.
"I love my younger sister, and we've always gotten along pretty well, however she has always been into nerdy pop culture stuff," the Redditor wrote. According to the post, her sister named her daughter in honor of the character Egwene al'Vere from The Wheel of Time fantasy novel series, something she felt showed "poor taste."
"When she announced that name there was a bit of confusion and disapproval from the family, but no one strongly pushed back on it," the woman said. "That honor went to me."
She tried the gentle approach of reminding Ramona she was "naming a human being," but when that failed to hit home, she instead warned that "her daughter was going to get bullied" over the name.
An argument ensued with Ramona refusing to back down over her choice of name. Fast-forward 11 years, and while Egwene is happy enough, she "hates her name."
"The teachers at school always get it wrong and her classmates tease her constantly," the Redditor said. Ramona and her daughter have been arguing about it constantly of late and the woman has wasted little time in reminding her sister she "warned" her.
"She named her daughter something stupid and now she's facing the consequences," the woman wrote. "I told her if she would have put more thought into naming her child she wouldn't be in this situation."
As a result, Ramona has banned her daughter from seeing her aunt, while their mom has also weighed in on the argument, demanding that the Redditor apologize for her remarks.
Diane Gottsman, an etiquette expert and founder of The Protocol School of Texas, had little sympathy with the poster in these circumstances.
"When it comes to baby names, it's the prerogative and preference to name their child what they choose," Gottsman told Newsweek. "You may have a strong opinion, but if the parents cared about your opinion, they would have asked you...and in this case, they didn't. This woman's opinion does not matter—and it shouldn't."
She added: "Even though the name may be unusual, unique or downright weird, by other people's standards, it's not anyone's place to give their opinion unless asked. And, if they do voice a concern, do it kindly, politely, and preferably, before the baby is born if a new parent is genuinely asking for feedback."
But while Gottsman felt the woman had been in the wrong to speak up on her sister's choice, many on Reddit applauded the intervention.
"She had it coming," one user said. "I understand liking a name from a fantasy book/movie or whatever else but she fails to acknowledge how it'll affect her daughter in the future. I bet she will change her name when she turns 18."
"Kids aren't billboards for a person's fandom. Your sister is an idiot, and I hope your niece legally changes her name as soon as she turns 18," another Redditor commented.
A third person wrote: "It's borderline child abuse to give your child some stupid ass pop culture name or butchered 'creative' spelling."
Newsweek reached out to u/New-Fail849 for comment. We were unable to verify the details of the case.
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