Aitah for naming my baby something “unconventional”?

A Redditor shares her experience of naming her baby girl “Nyxiryn” after much deliberation, combining mythology and meaningful elements. However, at a family dinner, her aunt ridicules the name, calling it “weird” and claiming the baby will face issues in the future because of it. Now, the Redditor is second-guessing her choice after mixed reactions from her family. Read the full story below.

‘ Aitah for naming my baby something “unconventional”?’

So, I (29F) recently gave birth to my first child, a beautiful baby girl. My husband (31M) and I spent months deliberating over the perfect name for her. We’re both into mythology and literature, and we wanted a name that felt unique but also meaningful. After a lot of back-and-forth, we settled on Nyxiryn (pronounced “NIX-er-in”).

It’s a combination of “Nyx,” the Greek goddess of the night, and “Irina,” which means “peace” in Greek. We thought it sounded poetic, strong, and unique. I shared the name with my family a few weeks before she was born, and the reactions were mixed. Some of them thought it was cool and different, but others were clearly taken aback.

My mom said it was “a mouthful,” and my sister-in-law (34F) was silent for a while before saying, “Well, it’s… interesting.” The real drama started at a family dinner after the baby was born. My aunt (62F), who is never shy about her opinions, asked me what we ended up naming our daughter.

When I told her, she immediately burst into laughter, like a full-on cackle. I was taken aback and asked what was so funny, and she said, “You seriously named your kid that? Poor child. You’ve practically cursed her with that name.”

I tried to keep my cool and asked what she meant, and she went on a rant about how Nyxiryn is a “made-up, weird name” that would just make my daughter’s life harder. She said that she would be bullied in school, that no one would ever spell it right, and that we were “trying too hard” to be unique.

She even went so far as to call me s**fish for giving her a name like that and said I was setting her up for a life of frustration. I snapped back, saying that it’s our baby and our choice of name, and that she should respect it. She then accused me of being sensitive and said I wouldn’t last in the real world if I couldn’t handle a little feedback.

The whole dinner turned awkward, and my husband and I ended up leaving early. Now, I’m starting to second-guess myself. My mom said my aunt was out of line, but also added that “people do have a point” and suggested that we might want to consider a more “normal” name.

My husband says we shouldn’t change anything just because a few people don’t like it, but the whole thing has left me feeling conflicted. So, AITA for naming my baby Nyxiryn and for getting upset when my aunt called me out on it?

Here’s what the community had to contribute:

TrickPaper9696 −  Your aunt could’ve handled it better, but she just gave you a preview of what your daughter is potentially going to experience for the rest of her life every time someone asks her what her name is.

lux_roth_chop −  You need to think about whether you’re choosing a name based on your daughter’s needs or based on your own desire to sound clever.

Evening_Lock6267 −  r/tragedeigh

FutureOdd2096 −  Dude, call your kid what you want, it doesn’t change the fact that no one will ever spell it right, or know how to pronounce it. The harsh reality of my immediate thoughts. – That sounds like a prescription

– I bet they loved Renesmee in Twilight

– I snorted/cackled as reading. Probably as loudly as your aunt.

purple_proze −  Sounds like a medication.

rjhancock −  1) Your aunt was out of line.. 2) Your aunt is also right. Your child is going to be bulied and will change her name the moment she is legally able to. And you already knew this yet still posting here anyways.

Edit: Since I’m tired of responding the same way… The Aunt was out of line for delivery. There are ways of telling someone bluntly that don’t involve treating the other person like a complete i**ot like she did with OP here. Had the Aunt had more tact, OP wouldn’t be here.

BlueGreen_1956 −  YTA. On the plus side, your daughter can change her name as soon as she turns 18. As for your aunt, she is not required to respect the name because you think she should AND if the names strikes her as being funny, she can laugh. You can do what you want BUT you cannot control how others react to it.. As for your daughter, poor Nixon.

HairyBBWEnjoyer −  Yeah… I mean there’s being unique, and then there’s Nyxiryn. I’m sorry but that sounds a bit like a different word and I can guarantee you your daughter is going to figure out what that other word is very quickly.

EDIT: Did not expect this to blow up like it did. As others have said, her name could sound like “dicks are in” but I was personally thinking of a word that rhymes with bigger. If you say “nix-er” too fast you’ll get it.

EDIT2: For anyone reading this trying to decide on baby names, I got a test for you. Go to Starbucks or some equivalent and pretend that is your name. “Hi, I’d like the blah blah blah, my name is \[UNIQUE AND COOL NAME\]”. Try it a few times. If it ends up being a pain in the ass, don’t name your kid that name. I’m sure if OP had to tell people “hi my name is Nyxiryn” and have to spell it out again and again, she’d get the picture.

StacyB125 −  YTA. You can’t even tolerate your family giving their opinions on this name without getting hurt and upset, and you are a grown person. Now, imagine your sensitive little girl having to deal with that from every teacher, classmate, neighbor, doctor visit, and so on. She will never escape it.

It will always be commented on, mispronounced, and misspelled. She will constantly be explaining it and correcting people. It will be exhausting. Her own family can’t even be bothered to PRETEND it’s not atrocious, how do you think school bullies will behave? But, yeah as long as YOU think it’s amazing, who cares what she will have to go through?

ETA- Your daughter will be waiting in line the day she turns 18 to petition the court for a name change. On that day, when you’re hurt by that choice, remember what the people in the comments here told you.

kuparamara −  YTA and you probably don’t know it, because you think you’re all creative and unique, but in reality just really annoying. Now your kid is going to be instantly hated by every teacher and peer who has to suffer trying to figure out how to say her name.

But at least now you have something to talk about, and you can pretend you’re smart by combining 2 different greek names. In the end that’s what you really wanted right, attention and something to talk about.

Do you think the Redditor’s choice of name was truly problematic, or do you believe parents have the right to name their child whatever they feel is meaningful? How would you handle criticism about such a personal decision? Share your thoughts below!