A woman was forced to change her baby‘s name after it caused a huge feud with her sister.
It’s not unusual for parents to name their children after deceased family members who were important to them. Some people will use the exact name their loved one had, while others will choose a slight variation to keep the spirit of the moniker alive while still allowing their child to have their own identity.
However, one mum has been criticised by her own sister for deciding to honour their late step-mum with her daughter’s name. The mother explained that she and her siblings were raised by their dad and his new partner, with their biological mother having not been in the picture.
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So when her step-mum died five years ago, she knew she wanted to honour her when she had her own children. In a post on Reddit, the mum said her step-mum’s name was Leigh-Ann, and she has chosen to name her own daughter Leanna as a way to honour the moniker while “being somewhat different and more modern.”
However, her choice has upset her sister, who already has a son named Lee and would name a daughter Ann or Anna if she had one – although she is not currently pregnant.
She penned: “My sister had the same idea with wanting to honour Leigh-Ann and named her two-year-old son, Lee. We told her that we chose the name Leanna for the child we are expecting.
“She is very upset because she said that it clashes with her baby name choices. My sister is not currently pregnant but wanted to name her future daughter Ann or Anna as another way to honour Leigh-Ann.
“She thinks it would be stupid for her kids to be named Lee and Anna with a cousin named Leanna.”
The mum conceded that the similar names might be “confusing” given how close-knit their family is, which means the cousins will spend a lot of time together. However, she also mentioned she didn’t want to change her daughter’s name as nothing else “feels right” to her.
Since revealing the name choice, her sister has been making rude and “passive-aggressive” remarks about her at every chance – even in front of her own son.
She continued: “We were out shopping with her and Lee, and Lee picked out some kind of stuffed animal. He dropped it in the Walmart parking lot on the way back to the car.
“My sister quickly picked it up and handed it to him, saying, ‘Careful, buddy. She might want to steal that too.’ I’m pretty sure she was trying to imply that we stole a version of his name or something, but the whole interaction was pretty weird, in my opinion.”
Commenters on the woman’s post largely supported her, arguing that her sister couldn’t reserve all names that are “remotely related” to the ones she wanted to use for her own children.
However, in an update, the woman revealed she had chosen a different name for her daughter, Karina Lake, which combines her step-mum’s middle name, Karen, with Leigh-Ann.
She explained that she didn’t want to risk damaging her relationship with her sister over a name, stating: “Her name is gonna be Karina. Karina Lake. Lake may sound like a weird middle name, but it’s for Leigh-Ann Karen, and her last name that started with E. Leanna is off the name list for good. I don’t wanna ruin my relationship with my sister and nephew over a name.”