A father-to-be has taken to social media to ask for advice after his own mother said that the name he has chosen for his future son "would be better for a horse".
Taking to the Reddit subreddit "Am I The A**hole?" - where users post about a recent grievance or conflict they've experienced and the online community then votes on whether or not the original poster was in the wrong - the father-to-be detailed the strain his mother-in-law's comments has placed on his relationship.
Writing under the handle 'DevinKaley', the expecting dad titled his post: "[Am I The A**hole] for not talking to my parents after they made my wife cry over our baby name choice?"
Prefacing his post, Devin explained: "I have always had an interest in philosophy and mythology.
"I am literally a name nerd. Since my wife and I are currently in the process of adopting, we have been talking about this a lot. When we broke the news to my parents, they were so happy for us. But last weekend, they asked if we have a name in mind... This is where the trouble began."
The father-to-be then reveals the name he has selected for his unborn son: "When I first read the name Nikiforos 1 1/2 years ago, I knew it would be that of my future child."
However, despite landing on a name he loved, the Redditor revealed that his mom is less impressed, saying: "My mother freaked out and said she might name a horse that, but not a child.
"We were very upset by this comparison. Mother doesn’t even own a horse, so we felt she just said that to hurt our feelings."
After revealing that he and his wife were planning on adopting a boy, the mother then said "that other kids would think [their] son is a girl".
He continued: "[My mother] asked if we ever thought about being out in public and having to call for him. 'Nikiforos! You forgot your lunchbox!'.
"Then she tried to imitate horse sounds and stomped up and down the stairs. My father was suspiciously quiet while my mother was ridiculing our personal choices."
After revealing that his wife preferred the French spelling, "Nicephore", the man reveals that his mother asked if the whole discussion was "just a prank".
"My wife started crying at this point," he adds.
"My mother seemed annoyed and asked to see the rest of our name list. She said none of them fit our last name," he continues, explaining that because he studied archeology in college, he knows a "little bit more about these things than most people" and that he is "entitled to pick a big name with a lot of history" for his child.
He continues: "I really don’t think my kid will care about this. Funnily, my mother doesn’t remember all the times I was called Kevin or Steven by others. Either way, America is such a diverse country that I really don’t think this is an issue."
Devin then told his parents that his second favorite name is "Didaskalos". He adds: "It means teacher. This would honor my lovely wife, who is an elementary school teacher.
"This is when my father burst out into laughter and claimed it sounded like Adidas. Then he noted that we could go with 'Nike' for a nickname, should we name the kid Nikiforos or Nicephore."
At that moment, Devin explains: "I grabbed my jacket and my wife and left. We felt so ridiculed, we didn’t even want to eat dinner that night and went straight to bed. We still haven’t spoken to them since."
He then asked the Reddit community if he was the a**hole for wanting my child to have a historical name and for not talking to his parents.
Perhaps unbelievably, the majority of people agreed that Devin is in the wrong.
One user replied: "YTA. I'll probably get downvoted for this, but you and your wife are the assholes.
"As an elementary school teacher, your wife should especially know how brutal kids are to each other. With a name like Nikiforos, you're pretty much signing your kid up for constant teasing throughout school.
"Sure, it wasn't nice for your parents to mock you guys if you're serious about the name, because like you said, you're entitled to pick the name of your child. But that doesn't mean you aren't an asshole if you give them a name that they will definitely get made fun of for."
Another user agreed, writing: "YTA because the names you picked are over-the-top. Your child will be bullied.
"Don't punish your child with a crazy name that will lead to them just changing it when they can and resenting you.
"Also, unless you are adopting an infant, the child will already have a name."
And a third added: "YTA especially with your wife being a teacher.
"Kids will bully them. They will have trouble their whole lives with people spelling their name correctly. Hell, it's even been shown that often when applying for jobs people will toss resumes away if they get several applications and one comes in where they cant even pronounce the name."
What do you think of Devin's baby names? Let us know in the comments section below.
