Man 'blows up' at sister, 'she named her daughter after a FUNGAL INFECTION.' AITA? 'She's a nurse.'
"AITA for blowing up at my sister for naming her daughter after a fungal infection?"
So my (20M) sister (27F) and her husband had been struggling a LOT with baby names. She was determined to find the single perfect name-- even by the time of her baby shower (nearly five weeks before the due date), she didn't seem any closer to picking something out than she was at the start of her pregnancy.
Anyway, I knew she was struggling, so in addition to the $900 wooden crib on her list that I got for her, I gave her a list of (obviously) joke baby names. We have a really close relationship, and it was in line with both our senses of humor.
She's a nurse, and I'm a biology student, so all the names were medications, infections, unpleasant animals, etcetera, that all sound like lovely girls' names out of context. Some of them were a little bit obscure, sure, but I included some obvious ones like "Viagra" and "Hernia" for good measure.
Two weeks later, she told me she and her husband had finally settled on a name. Malassezia. The baby's name is Malassezia. One of the names on my joke list. Outside of the immediate issues (nearly impossible to pronounce on the first try, the "A$%" smack dab it the middle of it, the first syllable being mal-, literally meaning bad or evil), it's also the name of a very common fungal infection.
One that my sister and I are both genetically predisposed to. One that we've both had multiple times throughout our lives. Her daughter will almost certainly catch it at some time! I pointed it out to her, and she said that yes, she knew what it meant, and she knew my list was intended to be a joke, but she just really liked the way it sounded.
(I don't think the husband knows what it means- I think he'd reject it if he did.) She says that it's so obscure that no one will ever think twice about it. (Except, you know, when little baby Malassezia turns 14, finds a weird spot on her neck, and goes on her phone to google what it is...)
I told her that the name was completely unacceptable, and I was shocked that she chose it. I even suggested some similar names, like Mallory, Azalea, or Anastasia, that would be more acceptable, but she wouldn't hear it!
She said that since I'm not one of the parents, I have no business telling her what she can and cannot name her child, and that I'm stepping way out of line. I think it's pregnancy hormones, and she'll regret the decision very soon after her daughter is born.
Here's what people had to say about this one:
gopher-tuna said:
NTA - I share your frustration and you're looking out for your niece. While your sis is right that it's her parental right, you're not stepping out of line -- you're family and you're cautioning her. Reminds me of a girl in my class back in elementary school who (whom?) had a unique name; Spontaneous...that was her name.
We were all fine with it until 6th grade, when that was one of the words we were taught. You can imagine what chaos ensued for the poor girl. Also... Malassezia sounds like a Disney villain.
Question: would the hospital allow that name? I know people choose "unique" names for children, but could you really name your child Chlamydia? That's not considered emotional abuse?
Parking_Pomelo_3856 said:
NTA. Just tell the husband what it means. He’ll shut it down.
prettybxtch07 said:
NTA that is horrible to name a child that.
alien_overlord_1001 said:
NTA. So the baby is not born yet? Go explain this to your brother in law. Maybe he can stop this abomination from happening.
gordonf23 said:
NTA. You were justified in blowing up at your sister of this. It's insane. She's still allowed to name her daughter any crazy name she wants, tho.
ulalumelenore said:
Gentle YTA. You played a game you couldn’t win. And you’re NOT a parent- so warning her is the right thing to do, yes, but telling her “that’s completely unacceptable” isn’t, because that’s not up to you.
It’s also not up to you to decide that the baby will find out the name simply because she gets it and googles, instead of her mom saying something. And as a side note, if she DOES regret it very soon after the baby is born, she can change it without the baby ever having known anything else.