A father recently turned to Reddit to ask if he was in the wrong for stealing his younger sister’s baby name- and the Internet is divided!
The anonymous man explained that they had a sister, Rowan, who died in a car accident when she was 18-years old. “My little sister told me she wanted to name her future child after Rowan,” he wrote. “this was the year of Rowan’s death and it wasn’t mentioned any further.”
He went on to explain that he and his wife recently welcomed a daughter. They were planning o calling her Rosalie Harper, but he says they had a change of heart at the hospital and decided to go with Rowan Harper, as a tribute to his late sister. When the dad’s younger sister discovered what they’d named their child, however, she was furious. "[She] is completely upset with me and is calling me [names] knowing that she wanted to name her child after our sister,” he wrote.
The dad says he didn’t even remember his sister wanted to use the name Rowan until it was too late. “I completely forgot about [my] lil sis’ intentions until a few hours after naming my baby,” he explained. “I have texted sis to tell her if she doesn’t want her baby and mine to share the name I don’t mind her nicknaming my baby ‘Ro,’ ‘Roo,’ or ‘Harper.’ Hopefully that’s a good compromise.”
Many people were divided in the comments over what they think that dad should do. One person argued that he should be able to name his daughter what he wants, given that he had kids first. "Names are not trademarks - you can name your kid whatever you want. A name isn't less special because someone else shares the same first name,” they commented.
Another person said that, while they don’t’ think it was wrong of the dad to use the specific name, they said he should’ve at least given his younger sister some notice. "In my opinion, knowing that your family member intends to use a specific name doesn't give them ‘dibs’ on it forevermore obviously, but I do think it does warrant a heads up,” they wrote. They also added, "Particularly if that name is in honour of a deceased relative."
One commenter pointed out it’s not even a guarantee the sister will have a daughter ot give the moniker to. "You have just as much right to use the name as your sister does,” they explained. “Your sister hasn't had a daughter and can't predict if she will ever have a daughter, she may have three sons."
However, there were some people who felt the dad was completely in the wrong. "If I'm reading your post correctly. You knew that your little sister wanted to use the name Rowan and you took it anyway,” one person wrote. Another suggested, "You could have used it as a middle name or spoken to your sister about you using the name instead."
The father eventually updated the Reddit community to inform them he had, indeed, changed his child’s name. He and his wife will now call her Roan instead of Rowan.