It's 'a child, not a goldfish': New dad-to-be is livid as wife pulls power play over baby's name

Unusual family drama lights up social media — most commenters side with the new dad

A couple who are about to have their first child together are fighting over what to name their baby — and 3,000 people as of Saturday morning have chimed in with comments about it, with another 5,000 or more giving a reaction.

A man who described himself as 25 years old shared in a social media post that he and his wife, who is 23, are "having our first child together."

He wrote, "She is currently 9 months pregnant and could give birth [at] any time."

TAYLOR SWIFT'S EXES: BABY NAMES INSPIRED BY THE SINGER'S FORMER FLAMES REVEALED

He added, "The only major fight we have had throughout her pregnancy happened a couple of days ago, and it was about what we were going to name our kid," he wrote on Reddit's AITA page ("Am I the a--hole?"). 

Said the man, "It all started when we found out the gender of the baby. We didn’t do a gender reveal and decided to find out the gender at one of her checkups because we didn’t want to spend time making two lists of names, then have to get rid of one after."

its a child not a goldfish new dad to be is livid as wife pulls power play over babys name

"After we found out we were having a boy, we sat down together and made a list," a husband and father-to-be shared with others. He then revealed what happened that has caused a rift in the marriage.  (iStock)

So, he said, "after we found out we were having a boy, we sat down together and made a list. Almost all of the names she suggested were normal, until the one that caused me to write this post."

He went on, "She suggested we name our son Mune. She told me the name was from this movie she watched when she was younger and that it always stuck with her."

Added the father-to-be, "I told her the name was a little out there and he [the new baby] would get made fun of for it."

The party "was fine for the most part until we started to open the gifts. Most of them were normal baby things like diapers and bottles, until we got to her mom's gift."

The man continued, "She claimed he wouldn’t and we started going back and forth trying to decide whether to add the name to the list or not. Eventually she agreed to keep the name off the list, we picked some that we liked — and I thought that was that."

TIKTOK USER OBSESSED WITH BABY NAMES HELPS PARENTS PICK THEIR CHILD'S MONIKER

Added the man who goes by the username "Public-Praline-3691," "Later on in her pregnancy, her mom decided to throw a baby shower, as it was her first grandchild, and my wife's pregnancy was almost over and we hadn't celebrated once."

its a child not a goldfish new dad to be is livid as wife pulls power play over babys name

The new father-to-be wrote that he "had family members come up to me and ask me about the name and why I hadn't told them." (iStock)

He said that the party "was fine for the most part until we started to open the gifts. Most of them were normal baby things like diapers and bottles, until we got to her mom's gift."

He went on, "My wife opened the gift bag and pulled out a blue handmade blanket. It seemed normal enough at first until my wife unfolded it, and [lo] and behold, there was the name Mune written on the blanket."

The father-to-be added, "When I saw it, I was pissed but didn’t want to cause a scene, so I stayed quiet."

BABY NAMES THAT STOOD OUT IN THE 1950S — FROM ROGER TO ROBIN

He said that "after that reveal, I had family members come up to me and ask me about the name and why I hadn't told them."

He added in his post that he "didn't know what to tell them, as I didn't have a clue about this either and just had to embarrassingly tell my family that — which pissed me off even more."

The man went on to share that "once the event ended and me and my wife went home, I started to question her about the name."

its a child not a goldfish new dad to be is livid as wife pulls power play over babys name

A man said that his wife, a mom-to-be, "left" after their argument "and told me she wouldn’t be coming back for a while." (iStock)

He added, "She got defensive and told me that it was a good name and that I was overreacting about it. I brought up the earlier points and told her it was a stupid name for a kid and if she wanted to name something Mune so bad, she could use the name for a dog."

Wrote the man, "She got upset and called her mom to come get her. After she left she called me and told me she wouldn’t be coming back for a while."

He concluded, "Everyone I've talked to about this has said I'm not the a--hole, but now that my wife has been gone and I've been thinking about it, I feel like I could have handled the situation better."

POPULAR BABY NAMES FROM ROARING '20S THAT COULD MAKE A COMEBACK, ACCORDING TO '100-YEAR RULE'

So, he asked others, was he in the wrong here?

Fox News Digital reached out to a psychologist for insight into the scenario as people on the platform shared their views.

"There are consequences and repercussions to choosing a name that is very unusual to begin with."

Among the top "upvoted" comments was this piece of advice: "You do not name a child something your partner does not agree with. You find a compromise. This is the start of many necessary compromises in life, and it is a total [a--hole] move to unilaterally decide on a child's name despite your partner's misgivings."

This same commenter added, "You need to put your foot down HARD on this because what she is doing is 100% not OK. She is absolutely not mature enough for motherhood if she cannot find a reasonable compromise on this."

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER

This commenter, who said she's the mom of "several kids," also wrote, "The only thing a name like Mune is good for is if your kid ends up the drummer in a metal band."

Another responder chimed in with, "This is a child, not a goldfish. There are consequences and repercussions to choosing a name that is very unusual to begin with ... To go behind the other parent's back and tell a grandparent what the name is going to be — that is unacceptable."

Someone else put it this way: Rather than worrying "about the name, I would be worried that your wife is deceitful and manipulative."

Another commenter wrote, in part, "What I would do if I [were] you is offer to let it be the middle name or — if she wants to call the child [by that] nickname, then that's on her. But you have to find a middle ground."

Still another said, "Both parents need to make this decision. She needs to realize it's not about what she wants. It's about what you both want."

For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.

Maureen Mackey is managing editor of lifestyle for Fox News Digital.

Authored by Maureen Mackey via FoxNews October 14th 2023