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A woman has split opinion online after asking whether or not she should tell her mom-to-be friend that she doesn't like her potential baby name.
The woman took to popular forum Mumsnet, to garner the opinions of others online about her dilemma. She explained in the post that her friend is one month away from giving birth and has chosen the name "Susan" for her baby.
"I don't like it personally but automatically said 'oh, that's nice,'" she wrote, adding that she later received a message from the expectant mom about the name.
"She just WhatsApped me asking if I really liked the name as she got the feeling that I didn't," she continued. "Would it be unreasonable to admit that I don't? Or should I carry on lying about it?"
The friend's situation isn't a unique one. According to BabyCenter, one-third of parents confess to secretly hating a friend or relative's name choice—but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll admit it to anyone else.
Reactions were left split on what is the right thing to do.
"Don't tell her you don't like it, you'll just upset your friend. It's a fairly normal name and not like she's saddling a child with something really embarrassing. At worst, it's a bit bland but she could be a Suzy if she ever wants a nickname," recommended one user.
"You don't tell her you don't like her choice of name. It's not your baby she's naming, it's hers. You say it's a lovely classic name and you're so excited that you'll all soon be meeting her baby. That's how a supportive friend behaves," agreed another.
Others, however, argued that because the friend asked for her honest opinion, she should give it. "I think seeing as she has asked, you could give her your opinion without being too blunt. I would probably duck out of saying I didn't like it outright but say something like 'I wouldn't choose it, but I like Susie' or 'Suzanne is a lovely alternative'.
"I think the fact she's actually asked you I would tell her but politely," added another. "Don't just go "it's such a horrible name" but there's nothing wrong with saying it's not really your cup of tea.
"There's always going to be people who do/don't like your baby name choice, personally I only asked the people whose opinions I cared about if they liked it or not so wanted them to be honest with me. Otherwise I just told people what the name was when they asked and didn't care if they replied that they didn't like it," said another.
