A woman has left her husband stunned after revealing that she wants to name her unborn baby Charles - a name that has an unfortunate connection when paired with his surname.
In a post shared on Reddit's Am I the A***ole forum, an anonymous account wrote about his and his pregnant wife's dilemma over what she wanted to name their unborn child.
The 31-year-old man explained that his partner, Melissa, is eight months pregnant with their son and that they share his last name, Manson.
He penned that his surname "sucks" but said that "it's what I have," continuing: "Neither of us have ever had a problem with that until now."
He went on to reveal that recently, Melissa's brother Charles "unexpectedly passed away of a heart attack at the age of 35," and the loss left them both "shocked and devastated".
"He was a great man who was always healthy, and we were very close to him. Nobody saw it coming. He left behind his wife and three kids," he noted.
But here lies the problem, the husband wrote: "Melissa now wants to name our son after her brother. I would not have any issue with this if her brother’s name wasn’t Charles."
This would mean their son would be named Charles Manson when he is born, which the husband said he was "not OK with" - clearly because the name belongs to the notorious cult leader who was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to murder after the deaths of seven people in 1971.
However, Melissa insisted "that nobody would notice or care" that their son would seem to be named after the criminal and called her husband an "a**hole for disrespecting her brother".
"So, should I let this go and just name our son after a guy who has been so important in Melissa’s life?" he asked users. "I really do not want our kid to have to go through life having the same name as a serial killer. Imagine how hard it would be to get a job."
While many people in the comment section were understanding of Melissa's grief, the majority agreed that her husband was correct in not wanting to name their baby boy Charles Manson.
One user said: "NTA (not the a***ole) - you are truly protecting the kid. Use Charles as a middle name if you must, or maybe honour her brother using his middle name? A nickname she used to call him? But seriously, don't call your kid Charles Manson. Or after any particularly well-documented serial killer."
Another interjected: "I am with you on this. It sucks because I understand the wife wanting to honor her brother. But, ultimately, that kid is going to be stuck with the name that will conjure associations with a serial killer and may give the impression that the parents admire him.
"Name discrimination (as much as it sucks) is a thing that the kid is going to have to deal with, not to mention the teasing from peers," they added.
A third commented: "Everyone still knows who Charles Manson is, there was a movie made about him with Brad Pitt just a couple of years ago. Your son will be seen as weird and picked on constantly with that name. What was her brother’s middle name, maybe that would do? Your wife is grieving and irrational, be kind but firmly no. NTA"
A fourth said: "She is setting your son up for a life of torture. And yes, people will notice and care. They will also judge you, as the parents, for giving that name and question your morals and values. Lastly, kids' names are a two-yes, one-no scenario. You both should agree and have veto rights."
Charles Manson - who was born Charles Milles Maddox - spent more than four decades in prison after ordering members of his Manson Family cult to go on a brutal two-day rampage in 1969.
During the rampage, his followers murdered seven people: pregnant actress Sharon Tate, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, hair stylist Jay Sebring, writer Wojciech Frykowski, teen Steven Parent, and married couple Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.
The slayings were carried out in mostly white neighborhoods of Los Angeles so that the crimes could be blamed on African Americans - in the hope of sparking what he termed a "Helter Skelter" race war, per Daily Mail.
Manson was also later convicted of the tragic deaths of musician Gary Hinman and stuntman Donald 'Shorty' Shea. He passed away in prison in 2017 at the age of 83.