Mom Calling Pregnant Sister-in-Law's Name Choice 'Basic' Blasted Online

Exa Dark Sideræl, Blue Ivy and Wolf Webster—such complex and bizarre baby names have become commonplace in Hollywood—and one frustrated mom-to-be is dealing with the phenomenon a bit closer to home.

Reddit user Unlikely_Repair_8941, 27, explained in a post that her sister-in-law, 34, has four children and a baby on the way. Describing her as a "crunchie mom," she explains "her family is vegan, with no electronics in the house, has all-natural toys and clothes for the kids, homeschooling, etc. She wanted her kids to have unique names and not basic names. All her kids have ridiculous names. Baryleen(4f) pronounced Bryalin, Falkin (3m) pronounced falcon, Rorai(3f) pronounced Rorie, and Kelvin(1m) pronounced Calvin."

Issues arose when the sister-in-law asked the Reddit user what she thought about the prospective names "Astra, Inky, or Lore. She also went on a rant about how my husband and I's baby is going to have a basic name and not be memorable."

Explaining that she has chosen the name James, she then reveals: "I told her she was naming kids not dogs and her kids are going to hate their names once they get older...She stormed out of my house after this."

The original poster then describes how her mother-in-law and brother-in-law have accused her of being evil and rude, and despite her husband's support, she believes she should have apologized, "but I'm so sick of her mom shaming me."

The Social Security Administration annually tracks the names given to girls and boys in each state in America, dating back to 1880. It revealed that the top three most popular boys names for 2022 were Liam, Noah and Oliver. For girls, Olivia, Emma and Charlotte made the top three.

Newsweek spoke to Ruth Ettenberg Freeman, LCSW, founder and president of Peace At Home Parenting Solutions about how to handle this delicate situation.

"Criticism is never really helpful, in any way to anyone," she explains, "especially in families. Unfortunately, many families use criticism often. It can be very hurtful and negatively impacts relationships as you are describing. We all have opinions, it's how our brains work. However, there is no purpose in expressing those unless you are asked. In this case, the original poster was actually asked, so let's talk about how to express opinions without using put downs.

"If we value our familial relationships then we need to find a way to express ourselves without criticism, so one option is to think a little more about our responses and be gentle for example in this case, 'You've named your kids with such unusual names. For me, I'd be worried that they might not like being so different from other kids when they get older. But we'll see.'"

Ms Ettenberg Freeman argues that you can express your opinion by owning it as just that, rather than stating it as a fact, which some can find rather abrasive.

"People see the world very differently, but if you want to maintain harmonious family relationships try and keep your stronger opinions to yourself, and be kind. The instinct to apologize is a good one, it isn't about right or wrong, it is about staying connected."

User jrc999 commented: "These sound like "my mom is illiterate" names. How does one get "Bryalin" from "Baryleen?" (And "Bryalin" is out there anyway.). Yikes."

User sithmom_78 wrote: "Yep. If she didn't want your opinion on her name and should not have asked nor criticized OP baby name."

User Successful_Moment_91 said: "True! The first thing should be to consider if it would encourage bullying at school or discourage HR from calling them about jobs they applied for."

Newsweek reached out to u/ Unlikely_Repair_8941 for comment. We couldn't verify the details of the case.