A mum who chose to name her daughter after a late family member was left reeling after her grandma dropped a bombshell on the truth behind the name – it’s changed everything
Naming your child after a family member can be a touching gesture.
It’s not uncommon for parents to name their children after late family members, especially close relatives such as their own parents or grandparents. But one mum has discovered she may have made a mistake when she picked out a baby name for her daughter, as there’s a big secret behind the family moniker she thought she had chosen.
The mum explained that when she was pregnant with her eldest daughter, now eight, she was choosing between three names: Lydie, Olivia, and Sophia. When she told her grandmother the names, she told her that Sophia was the name of her grandmother – the mum-to-be’s great-great-grandmother – so she ended up picking that for her daughter’s name.
In a post on Reddit, she said: “When I was pregnant with my first child, my grandma had begun her very long at-home hospice journey and experienced dementia and memory loss during that time. I was happy to share with her that we were considering three different names. Lydia, Olivia and Sophia.
“My grandma f***ing GASPED about the name ‘Sophia’, and it sealed the deal. She told me, ‘Oh my gosh! That was my grandmother’s name! Such a beautiful name!’ I absolutely LOVED that it was also a family name and there was no question after that.”
Three months after baby Sophia was born, the mum spoke to her grandmother again and mentioned how much it meant to her to be able to use a family name. But to her horror, her grandmother told her that Sophia was not a family name, as her grandmother’s name had actually been Sara.
A few years later, the mum fell pregnant with her second child and “got really into ancestry” so decided to look into her family tree. While researching, she found an even bigger bombshell about her great-great-grandmother. Her name had not been Sophia or Sara, it was Anne.
To make matters even more bizarre, the mum had actually given her daughter Sophia the middle name Anne without knowing the connection, so she is still named after the late relative despite the mix-up.
Commenters on the post shared their condolences for the grandmother’s health condition, but many said it at least gave her a funny story to tell her daughter about where her name came from. And even though it may not be the family connection she thought it was, it will at least connect her to her grandma.
One person said: “This is hilarious. The cherry on top is that her middle name is unknowingly your great-great-grandma’s name.” While another added: “This is fantastic. Personally, I’d absolutely get a kick out of it if this was my name origin story!”
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