Man Refusing to Let Wife Name Their Child 'Something Stupid' Backed

The internet has backed a man who got into a heated argument with his wife as he tried to prevent her from naming their baby "something stupid."

In a post shared on Reddit's "Am I The A******" channel on Saturday under the username u/Public-Praline-3691, the 25-year-old man explained that his 23-year-old wife, who is currently nine months pregnant with their first child, has chosen a baby name that he doesn't like because he thinks it will get their child bullied in school.

According to Baby Center, the most popular baby names for this year in the United States are Olivia for girls and Noah for boys, followed by Emma, Amelia, and Sophia, and Liam, Oliver, and Mateo, respectively.

"After we found out we were having a boy, we sat down together and made a list," the Redditor wrote. "Almost all of the names she suggested were normal, until the one that caused me to write this post. She suggested we name our son Mune. She told me the name was from this movie she watched when she was younger and that it always stuck with her.

"I told her the name was a little out there and he would get made fun of for it. She claimed he wouldn't and we started going back and forth trying to decide whether to add the name to the list or not. Eventually, she agreed to keep the name off the list, we picked some that we liked, and I thought that was that."

Fast forward to a few days ago—his wife's mom organized a baby shower for them at her home, inviting all of their family members and friends from both sides of the family. It was going well until it was time to open the presents.

"Most of them were normal baby things like diapers and bottles," the father-to-be said, "until we got to her mom's gift. My wife opened the gift bag and pulled out a blue handmade blanket. It seemed normal enough at first until my wife unfolded it and lo and behold there was the name Mune written on the blanket. When I saw it I was pissed but didn't want to cause a scene so I stayed quiet.

"After that reveal, I had family members come up to me and ask me about the name and why I hadn't told them. I didn't know what to tell them as I didn't have a clue about this either and just had to embarrassingly tell my family that, which pissed me off even more," he said.

The poster waited for the party to finish before confronting his wife. Once they got home, he started to question her about the name.

He wrote: "She got defensive and told me that it was a good name and that I was overreacting about it. I brought up the earlier points and told her it was a stupid name for a kid and if she wanted to name something Mune so bad she could use the name for a dog.

"She got upset and called her mom to come get her. After she left she called me and told me she wouldn't be coming back for awhile."

Carole Lieberman, a psychiatrist from Beverly Hills, told Newsweek that the fact the couple can't even compromise on a name does not bode well for the baby they are about to bring into their home.

"Your wife needs to understand that naming a baby is usually a joint decision between the mother and father-to-be, not just one person's choice," Lieberman advised the Redditor.

"The movie she may be referring to, where a character named Mune left an indelible impression on her, may be Mune: Guardian of the Moon (also released in French, Mune: Le Gardien de la Lune)," she said. "Perhaps you could start by watching this movie together to see if it might make you appreciate the name more or make her like it less, seeing it as a grown woman."

If this doesn't solve the problem, she suggests agreeing to make Mune the baby's middle name and come up with other ideas for his first name.

"The name Mune might get him bullied in school. It would definitely get misspelled as Moon all the time. But these aren't reasons to discard it," Lieberman said. "Some people like the idea of having a unique name so that when the teacher yells, 'John,' for example, 10 kids don't raise their hand.

"Perhaps what is really bothering you, more than the name Mune itself, is the fact that her mother went and put it on a blanket without confirming that you had agreed to it, too. It may seem like your wife went behind your back and told her mother that's what the baby will be named. Explain that you don't want her going behind your back, and then try to put this aside so that it's not affecting the final name choice.

"You each need to come up with five possible names and discuss the reasons why you like these names. Surely, one name will be acceptable to you both. And it could be that name, followed by Mune in the middle. To get her to lighten up, why not suggest: Honey-Mune? Half-Mune? Man-in-the-Moon?"

The post quickly went viral on Reddit, receiving over 14,100 upvotes and 6,100 likes. One Reddit user, LingonberryPrior6896 commented: "She and her mom pulled a power play on you. That in itself is an asshole move."

Commenter Ok_Pepper285 said: "Or maybe she just told her mom they had agreed upon that name. Either way, it's a power play on the wife's part."

Redditor Timi wrote: "[Not The A******] - Congrats and good luck with everything! I'm also about to give birth and we haven't picked a final name yet. If my husband went behind my back and told his family a name and didn't bother to mention it to me...I'd be livid! Not to mention she told them early enough that they either had time to personalize or hand-make a personalized gift!

"Names should be 2 yeses. I'm not gonna comment on the name...but your wife is [The A******]. for making an important decision behind your back, keeping you out of the loop, and telling people. That's not ok. Hopefully, things can settle down and you guys can talk it out soon. Hope all goes well!"

Newsweek reached out to u/Public-Praline-3691 for comment via Reddit chat. We could not verify the details of the case.

If you have a similar family dilemma, let us know via life@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.