A mum asked the internet for advice after the ‘poetic, strong, and unique’ name she chose for her baby was slammed by her family – as they say she’s ‘cursed’ her daughter
Your baby’s name is entirely your choice, but that doesn’t mean everyone else has to approve.
Everyone has different tastes when it comes to baby names. If you love unique monikers, you might not be a fan of people giving their babies traditional names and vice versa. While you don’t necessarily have to like the name another parent has chosen for their child, you should respect their choice – as no one likes being judged over their parenting.
But one mum has been left devastated after she welcomed her baby girl into the world, as her family have told her she’s “cursed” her daughter by giving her an unusual name. The mum said she believes the name she chose is “poetic, strong, and unique” – but her family have different ideas.
In a post on Reddit, the mum revealed she chose to name her daughter “Nyxiryn”, which should be pronounced like the names Nyx and Erin merged together (Nix-er-in). She said the name is a mixture of Nyx, the Greek goddess of the night, and Irina, which means “peace” in Greek.
She told her family the name she’d chosen a few weeks before her daughter was born, and reactions were “mixed”. Her mum told her the name was a “mouthful”, while her sister-in-law simply called it “interesting”. But things took a turn when she told her extended family the name at a family dinner.
The mum wrote: “My aunt, who is never shy about her opinions, asked me what we ended up naming our daughter. When I told her, she immediately burst into laughter, like a full-on cackle. I was taken aback and asked what was so funny, and she said, ‘You seriously named your kid that? Poor child. You’ve practically cursed her with that name’.
“I tried to keep my cool and asked what she meant, and she went on a rant about how Nyxiryn is a ‘made-up, weird name’ that would just make my daughter’s life harder. She said that she would be bullied in school, that no one would ever spell it right, and that we were ‘trying too hard’ to be unique. She even went so far as to call me selfish for giving her a name like that and said I was setting her up for a life of frustration.”
The mum “snapped back” at her aunt and told her she should “respect” the name she’s given her daughter without talking down to her. However, she’s now starting to “second guess” the name, as she’s worried her aunt might be right.
Commenters on the post were honest with the mum, as many of them told her that although her aunt could have “handled it better”, what she was trying to say was correct. Some even told her that “Nyxiryn” sounds like a “medication”.
One person said: “Your aunt could’ve handled it better, but she just gave you a preview of what your daughter is potentially going to experience for the rest of her life every time someone asks her what her name is.”
Another added: “Please don’t do this to your kid. Think about being the kid! If people feel this way about the name imagine having to explain and defend this your whole life. It’s also a ridiculous-looking name with one vowel.”
While a third wrote: “As a Greek, no the name is not a combination, and doesn’t sound even close to a combination. You can name your child whatever you want, that’s for sure. But expect for people to side-eye you when you introduce her. You chose a unique, unconventional name so these things should be expected.”
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