Mom Called 'Selfish' For Refusing To Call Her Daughter By A Different Name
Should she compromise for the sake of peace?
Yuganov Konstantin / Canva Pro A young mother took to Reddit when she encountered backlash from her sister about her toddler's name.
In the since-deleted post, she shared that her older sister recently welcomed her first baby into the world and gave her the same name as the author’s two-year-old daughter.
The mom took to Reddit after her older sister gave her newborn the same name as her 2-year-old daughter.
The mom explained that she named her toddler Indie. It was not a family name, she and her boyfriend just decided they loved it during the pregnancy. Much to her chagrin, her older sister gave her newborn the exact same name.
Here's the kicker: Her sister never mentioned liking the name prior to having her child and the Redditor was never aware it was a name her sister wanted to use.
According to Babycenter, Indie is ranked 766 in popularity for girl names in the U.S. in 2024. And while it's certainly not the most popular name, it's also not rare in its use.
Unfortunately, her older sister began to have issues with the children having the same name.
When addressing his grandchildren, the mom revealed that her father decided to call them, “Big Indie” and “Little Indie” to avoid confusion.
The cute nicknames did not go over well with the mom's sister, however, and an argument ensued. He stated he needed a way to tell them apart when referring to them.
Photo: ucpage / Canva Pro
Her sister then tried to involve their mother, but Grandma simply pointed out what everyone else had been thinking all along — that she should have seen this coming.
Additionally, many relatives on their father’s side of the family already referred to members of the family as "Big" and "Little" due to many same-name relatives, and it was never a problem before.
When met with opposition, her older sister suggested this mom call her daughter by her middle name.
The Redditor's daughter is 2 years old and has been called Indie since she was born. But even so, her aunt suggested they start using her middle name or a nickname to eliminate the confusion.
Needless to say, this mom was not pleased with that suggestion. She told her older sister that if she had any issues with the confusion, then maybe she should call her daughter by another name since she is a new baby and has not yet learned her name, which seems perfectly reasonable.
Her older sister immediately called her “selfish” and told her she was allowed to name her daughter whatever she wanted. Although she agreed, the mom emphasized, "It didn’t give her the right to insist I call my daughter something else.”
There is no way to assert ownership over a name, but this woman's sister should have talked to her about choosing the same name as her child before the baby was born.
There is no way to truly claim ownership of a name, and this family drama is evidence of that. What's truly unfortunate, however, is the fact that there would be no family fighting if this woman's older sister had simply taken a moment to talk to her sister about her plan to give her newborn the same name as her niece. They could have hashed out nicknames well in advance and avoided all the pettiness.
While the "Little Indie" and "Big Indie" drama might seem serious now, there will probably come a time when these two little girls enjoy the bond that having the same name gives them. Until then, however, these sisters will have to find a way to make it work.
Madison Piering is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team specializing in human interest and pop culture topics.