Parents' anguish as sister-in-law demands they change baby's name 'so she can use it'

15 February 2021, 15:42

Would you give the baby name back? Picture: Getty

By Alice Dear

Can you take back a baby name suggestion after finding out you're pregnant yourself?

A couple have been left in a sticky situation after a relative asked them to change the name of their two-week-old baby.

The unnamed new parents decided on the name Freya for their little girl after struggling to settle on a moniker for their newborn.

However, it was the mum's sister who bought up the baby name while visiting the new parents in hospital, explaining to the couple that it was on her own list of potential baby names.

After the new mum and dad fell in love with the name Freya, they asked the sister if they could take it.

Now pregnant, the sister-in-law wants the baby name back. Picture: Getty

While she was "hesitant at first", she later agreed they could take the name as she wasn't planing on having children soon, and would "probably come up with more names later".

However, the sister-in-law has since fallen pregnant and wants the name back.

The couple named the baby Freya after the sister-in-law suggested it. Picture: Getty

The dad of the newborn took his dilemma to Reddit to ask for advice, revealing that his sister-in-law had asked him and his wife if they could give the name back.

He wrote: "A couple days ago, my wife’s sister found out she was pregnant.

"We were really happy for her, but then they came over to talk and asked us to change our daughter’s name because she wanted to use it for her baby.

"We have been calling my daughter Freya for the last week and a half, and we already feel pretty attached to the name, plus she already said we could have it.

"So we asked her if she could just use a different name and she got mad and said she had the name picked out since she was 15.

"We feel kind of bad but she doesn’t even know if the baby will be a girl."

The parents have now been asked to change their baby's name. Picture: Getty

The problematic situation has divided many Reddit users.

While some people are arguing that the sister-in-law did say they could use the name, others think the new parents 'stole' it.

One person commented on the post: "If she didn't want you to use the name, she shouldn't have suggested it."

Another wrote: "Changing a name after the baby is born is an ordeal. If she feels that strongly about it, it’s not that big of a deal to have two kids in the family with the same name."

However, a third argued: "You stole the name."

READ NOW: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle baby name predictions as they announce pregnancy