I Refuse to Let My Wife Name Our Baby After Her Deceased Dog

One dad-to-be turned to Reddit to share a story of a family scandal between him and his pregnant wife. He can’t wait for his baby daughter to be born, but his wife’s quirk turns a happy anticipation into a total nightmare.

A man turned to Reddit community and shared his story

The OP shared, “I, 31M, am expecting my first kid with my wife of 2 years, 26F. We have been together for 3.5 years. We met at a bar and instantly clicked. She has always wanted to be a mom and considers herself a ’maternal’ person. She is 6 months pregnant and it has been an easy pregnancy.

We both have relatively established jobs and make well above our means. We both have debt remaining from school, but we make our payments on time etc. All of this is to say that our relationship is stable and developed and there aren’t really any external problems. Our families love each other, we have friends separate from each other, and everything is healthy.”

There’s one serious issue that spoils the idyllic life of the new family

The OP goes on with his story, saying, “We have one problem though. She is absolutely dead set on naming our kid after her deceased dog from when she was a child. I honestly think this is really strange.

We are having a girl and the name isn’t a ’human’ name (in my opinion). I don’t want to say exactly what it is but it’s pretty similar to Lucky. I feel uncomfortable about naming our daughter a dog name. I don’t think that dogs’ lives are less valuable than human lives, however our daughter is going to have a life beyond us.”

The OP is concerned about his baby’s name and refuses to follow his wife’s quirks

The man confessed, “I would be weirded out if I were named after a dog. I don’t know how to approach this subject with my wife because she has wanted to name her future child after her childhood dog since she was a teenager. Will I be in a wrong if I refused to name our kid after her dog? I don’t want a blow up fight over this but I feel like this will affect our future child in the long term.

Edit to add: Yes, the name is Lassie. I don’t think this post makes sense without the context of the name. I am going to suggest alternatives to my wife tonight such as Lacy or Lacie. I did not expect this post to blow up this much at all and it’s difficult to read all of the comments. Thank you for all the advice though!”

Redditors were overwhelmed by the situation and rushed to the comments to express some opinions

OP has added some thoughts as for why he thinks he might be in a wrong and asked people if they agree. He wrote, " 1. If I were to go through with what I’m thinking, I would be preventing my wife from honoring her dog. 2. I would be crushing a dream she’s had for a long time. She’s also the one carrying the baby so I think she deserves to have more of a say over it than I do but I am completely against this.“

One user suggested, “OP is not in a wrong, but people really need to start having this conversation before kids are involved.”

Another person commented, “They need to talk about what to name kids before trying to conceive? That doesn’t make much sense to me. Since it seems everyone thinks I am discouraging discussing names. How to raise a child is a must-have conversation. How many children and on what timeline is a necessary conversation.

What to name a child, while it may come up organically in conversation prior to getting pregnant, is NOT a must-have discussion before that point. It’s great for those of you who agreed on names in advance. Good job, gold star! However, let’s not pretend those people who don’t discuss names before getting pregnant are wrong, irresponsible, or poor communicators.”

One more user wondered, “I mean if you’re dead set on naming your future child after your deceased childhood dog, wouldn’t you mention that at some point before pregnancy?”

Another one said, “Names are always 2 yes, 1 no. If you say no that should be it. That’s so weird though and I agree with you, I’d feel weird if I knew I was named after a dog.”

One more redditor wrote, “Since OP is being vague, I’m not sure how to rule because I think that it all depends on the actual name. If it’s something like Joy, it might fly. I’m not sure what sort of a dog’s name is remotely close to Lucky; but I do know a least one man whose nickname is Lucky.

You need to talk this over with her and to tell her directly about your concerns and objections. Remind your wife that (a) she does not want to name your daughter to something that creates a lifetime of ridicule, especially at school; (b) you will support your daughter if she ever decides legally to change her name; and © your daughter is the person who will choose her nursing home.”

And here’s a story of a woman who filed for divorce immediately after learning that her husband calls her “SWMBO” in texts to friends. Read the woman’s story and have your say about what would you do if you were called this nickname by your spouse.