A teenager has rejected his parents’ plea to change his name, despite their years of regret over the choice. He shared on Reddit how his parents broke family tradition by not naming him after other relatives, choosing a unique name as a rebellious act against their own parents. Now, with graduation looming, they’re urging him to adopt a more mature name for professional life.
He posted: “They named me Sunny. Yeah, the ‘girl version’ of Sonny. I don’t care. I don’t think Sunny is girly because it has a u vs an o. But anyway. My parents started to regret my name when I was maybe 10? I don’t remember exactly when but I can remember being about 10 and my parents started sometimes calling me by my middle name and only stopping when I told them it was weird and I liked my first name.
“When I was 13 they asked me if I ever went by a nickname and I said no. Last year they said some kids change their names before graduating high school because they want something more grown up and they want to save the added expense of changing the name on their degree. I was like oh, I guess if people want that it makes sense. Then I said it must suck to hate your name.”
His parents began to push the idea further by suggesting he change his name and started presenting options such as James, with the nickname Jamie. He recalled their conversation: “They asked what I thought of the name and I said I like Jamie but prefer Sunny. Then they asked if I liked the name Luke and I said no.”
But his parents kept pressing for a name change, sharing how they regretted the name they picked out for him. He recounted: “In June they asked me if I would consider letting them change my name to something different. They said they feel like they named me as a big f*** you to their families but felt bad that I had such an unserious name for a man. I told them I didn’t want to change my name and I always loved the way they talked about finding my name.”
He also mentioned that his parents admitted their feelings about the name Sunny had shifted due to concerns about its impact on his future career. Continuing his story, he said: “They said they deeply regretted it. I told them I was glad they made the choice they did and they shouldn’t stress it. But last week they got the paperwork for a legal name change and presented me with like three name choices and asked me to pick.”
Despite his parents’ persistence, he refused to change his name because of their remorse. He expressed to them: “They said they really didn’t want to live with the guilt. I told them I’m not changing my name because of their name regret. I told them how I feel about my name is more important now. They told me I should at least think of their feelings and that I should consider the future and whether I’ll be taken seriously.”
One user responded to his post saying: “It sounds like your parents are more concerned about their feelings regarding your name than your feelings. That name is yours, you’re your own person, and if you don’t want to change your name because you like it, then don’t. Those are their feelings to live with, and putting them on you as a child is unfair and weird.”
Adding her personal experience, another stated: “I also have a weather name and i still love it, and i’m almost thirty. More power to you!”. While a third commenter expressed exasperation at the parents: “Your parents sound exhausting.” A final user said: “They had their chance to name you. They don’t get a do-over just because they have regret. The only person who has the right to change your name is you. I love it personally.”