Mom Wonders If She And Her Husband Should Change Their Baby's Unconventional Name — 'I’m Worried It Will Be Too Much'
He is named after a Shakespeare character.
Prostock-studio / Shutterstock A new mom is already concerned about her baby’s name, fearing that it may be too over the top and the subject of teasing once he’s older.
However, she worries that changing his name may be too much of a hassle at this point and wonders if it is even worth it.
The woman is wondering if she should change her son’s ‘unconventional’ name.
Sharing her story to the subreddit r/namenerds, the new mother revealed that her son was born early, and before she and her husband had any serious conversations regarding a name, they ended up going with an “unusual” name that she fears will be “too much.”
“The name was one of my suggestions, but my husband chose it and has really fallen in love with it,” the woman wrote. “He’s open to changing it, but 2-3 weeks in he has only gotten more attached.”
The woman fears that others will assume that she picked the name since she is the more “whimsical” one.
She and her husband wanted to name their son as an ode to Shakespeare and chose the name 'Oberon.'
Oberon is a character in Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
The woman and her husband are considering changing their son’s name to “Hal,” even though she is not particularly fond of that name either.
“I don’t like Hal with the last name, and Oberon is well… a lot),” she wrote. “But Hal is the only other name that I like enough to introduce all the disruption/ potentially make my significant other sad.”
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The woman asked other Redditors how painful it would be to change her son’s name and whether it was worth the entire process.
“How much of a burden do you think Oberon would be? Please feel free to be harsh, especially if the world will be.”
Some people genuinely liked the name and did not believe it would cause any issues in the future.
“Oberon may be rare, but it’s easy to spell, easy to hear, and I like it. Bear is such a sought-after nickname, so that’s a major plus,” one Redditor commented. “The name Hal is just there; it’s neither good nor bad; it’s forgettable.”
“Oberon is great, and Obi is a good nickname. I know a little one named just Obi,” another user wrote.
“I like it! As someone who’s about to name their kid something unique (also from Shakespeare), I found the nickname the more endearing part to get over the ‘uniqueness,’” another user shared.
Most people seemed to like the name Oberon a lot better than Hal and begged the woman to leave the name as is.
“I’ll go ahead and say that if I were a boy and found out I was named Oberon, but my parents changed it to Hal, I’d be disappointed,” one user commented. “One is a cool literary/legendary character with a few nickname options. The other sounds like a nickname itself and is on the plain side.”
“Not gonna lie, Hal sounds like a gag reflex,” another user admitted.
However, other people confessed that the name Oberon may be too unusual and would make her son a target of bullying.
“I knew a kid called Rudyard. His parents were teachers, earnest, educated, well-meaning, etc. He was mercilessly bullied. I feel Oberon would fall into that same category. A name chosen by a parent trying too hard to be erudite or whimsical rather than one more in keeping with the zeitgeist,” another user wrote.
Others noted that Shakespeare’s character, Oberon, was not exactly someone you would want to name your child after due to his serious character flaws.
“Oberon pretty much ordered his servant to set his wife up for the worst kind of humiliation possible, just so he could steal her best friend’s kid (who she had promised her dying friend to look after) to be his personal servant,” one user noted of the events in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
While it is up to parents to decide what their child’s name should be, if they have doubts, it might be worth reconsidering.
A name is not something that should be decided on an impulse. It involves deep consideration, and something that both you and your partner can agree is best for your child.
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Will it be easy to pronounce and spell? Could others tease them for it? Is it a name that will suit them for the rest of their life?
These are the important questions to ask yourselves before naming your child.
However, it is important to note that what matters most is the fact that you like it and believe that it is best for your child.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.