Mum who accidentally gave her son the wrong name reveals she's torn over what to do

25 January 2021, 10:21 | Updated: 25 January 2021, 10:41

By Polly Foreman

A woman has asked for advice after getting her newborn son's name wrong...

A mum has been branded 'cruel' by her own family after she accidentally gave her newborn son the wrong name.

Sharing her story to Reddit, she revealed that she was torn over what to do, after she gave her son a traditional girls' name, thinking it was used for boys as well.

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She said that she didn't realise she was pregnant until she was very close to labour, and didn't tell the father or her parents.

After a very difficult labour, she was hugely appreciative of the doctor who had helped her - and decided she wanted to name her baby son after her.

The woman wrote: "Her name was Audrey, and I distinctly remembered that - although it's less common - Audrey can be used as a boy's name, and I actually thought it was very cute, so that's what I named my son.

"When I broke the news about my pregnancy to my parents, they were actually very happy they got a beautiful little boy, but they told me that giving him a girl's name is cruel.

"I told them it was a less known fact, but Audrey can be a boy's name. We looked it up, and apparently I was thinking of Aubrey.

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"I feel like an idiot.

"Now that my boyfriend and I are in a relationship and raising Audrey together, he tells me that he loves the name. He says it's stupid that one letter can change the gender of the name and says it's just a bunch of letters anyway and has no inherent gender. He says he can't picture him as anything but Audrey.

"Reactions from friends are very mixed, but many are telling me we're preemptively ruining Audrey's life."

Many Reddit users supported the woman, however, pointing out that Audrey has been used for boys previously.

One wrote: "Audrey has been used as a boy's name before, and it's just not a big deal. Congrats on your lovely son."

Another added: "If you both like the name, keep it. You named him for a very sweet reason to honour someone. If others have an issue with it, that’s their problem, not yours."

Others disagreed, however, with one writing: "While I agree that the convention of gendered names is a silly one, it doesn't make it not a thing. You are setting up your son for being bullied and teased. You made a mistake, don't double down on it."

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