03 February 2023 , 16:18
699
0
A young woman who has yet to start a family of her own says she's always dreamed of naming her future daughter 'Amelia', as a special tribute to a childhood friend who sadly passed away from cancer when they were both just twelve years old. According to this 23-year-old, she'd made a touching promise to her friend before she died that she would name her child after her, ensuring that she would be remembered, and remain a part of her family.
She was therefore dismayed when her twin brother and his girlfriend announced that they would be using this name for their unborn baby, despite her brother knowing full well about the promise she'd made.
Her brother had known full well about the promise she'd made as a child (Stock Photo) (Getty Images)Wanting to give the parents-to-be a chance to explain themselves, she asked why they'd settled on that name, despite her having mentioned multiple times that she wanted it for her own daughter.
In an answer which only infuriated her further, her brother's girlfriend stated that she has a colleague named Amelia, and 'that she loved it because of how unique and quirky it was'.
Taking to Reddit, the woman fumed: "So, I voiced my disagreement over the name and told them why I didn’t like for them to give their baby that name and asked if they were any way that we can pick a different name for their baby.
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
"But they told me that I was being entitled about it and said that they weren't going to change their minds about it because I don’t have the right to 'claim' the name, especially since they were having a daughter first and they don't know if I'll ever have a daughter in the future anyways."
They told her she was being 'entitled' by claiming the name for herself (Stock Photo) (Getty Images/PhotoAlto)She continued: "My brother did try to compromise by stating that he'll be the one to uphold that promise for me and that he'll make sure that Amelia will be properly remembered. But I told him that won't work, because I was the one that Amelia asked to make that promise, and it wasn't going to be the same since he never made that same promise to her."
Following the heated discussion, her brother and his girlfriend insisted on keeping the name regardless of her feelings on the matter, and she ended up walking away in fury. They now haven't spoken for a week, and she's been intentionally avoiding them
Although she believes her feelings are completely justified, other family members have said they're 'disappointed' in her for causing a scene, and have urged her to apologise. Now she doesn't know what to think.
One fellow Reddit user advised: "I do think your brother is an a** for knowing this was important to you and not caring. But no one owns a name. If you love it that much I would still name your kid Amelia. Who gives a s*** if there are two? They didn't respect your wish so they're hypocrites if they get mad."
Another wrote: "I think there are special occasions where people (my opinion) get to reserve a name, and this is one of them. It doesn't even sound like the girlfriend is close to the coworker, she just likes the name. I also think it's kind of weird to name your kid after I coworker, but maybe that's just me.
"She can't prevent them from calling their daughter Amelia, but if I were her I would tell the brother and his girlfriend that 'I know I can't reserve a name, but if I get a daughter I will be naming her Amelia, to keep my promise to my late friend'. If they still want to name their daughter Amelia, then there'll be two Amelias."
Do you have a baby name-related story you'd like to share? Email us at [email protected]