Sister-In-Law Takes Baby's Name, Regrets Decision After The Couple Reacts

Dec 02, 2021 by apost team

When it comes to having a baby, picking out the child’s name is one of the most exciting parts. You can pick a name you always wanted for yourself, one that you’ve grown to really love or one that has sentimental value. Even though the possibilities are endless, it’s still common for people to be given the same names every now and then.

A man went to Reddit in November 2021 to share the story of how he and his wife picked out the perfect name for their future son — and the family drama that shortly ensued. The original poster (OP) and his wife were ecstatic about their name choice, as it was the name of the OP’s grandfather. They posted it on social media, which they later realized was a mistake.

It turned out that the OP’s sister-in-law was also pregnant and wanted to use the same baby name to be spiteful. She and the OP’s wife were half-sisters, and they had a very strained relationship to the point that they barely spoke to each other. The OP and his wife explained that the name was very important to them, but the sister-in-law was persistent about keeping the name.

This resulted in a lot of arguing between the OP and his wife against the sister-in-law and her partner. The rest of the family was completely divided on whose side to take. Finally, the sister-in-law gave birth to a baby boy and named him the same name that the OP and his wife wanted to use. However, she immediately regretted her decision once she found out what they named their own baby a few months later.

Posting in the r/EntitledPeople forum on Reddit, the OP said, “Entitled sister-in-law stole our baby name. Now she regrets it.” He explained that he and his wife are both 33 years old and struggled for years to conceive a baby, but finally did and were thrilled to welcome their son into the world. 

However, the pregnancy was not as smooth as they had hoped thanks to the OP’s sister-in-law. “The woman is entitled and toxic, and also her mother’s golden child,” he said. She and the mother even tried to steal the OP’s wife’s jewelry box a few years ago that had several heirlooms. 

Nonetheless, the OP and his wife were ecstatic when they found out they were having a baby boy and started looking into names. “I ended up suggesting the name of my Scottish grandfather, and my wife loved it,” he said. “So that’s the name we settled on.”

It turned out that the sister-in-law was also pregnant and was a few months ahead of the OP and his wife. When she saw the name posted on social media, she decided to claim it for her own son. The OP and his wife immediately let her know how upset they were, but the other woman wouldn’t budge.

It seemed like the sister-in-law was just being spiteful. “And she thought that by taking the name for herself, we’d not be able to use it,” the OP said. “I laughed and told her that while what she did was dirty and underhanded, we would keep our chosen name. And she could just deal with it whether she decides to go through with copying us or not.”

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Family drama ensued, and the sister-in-law’s partner even threatened the OP. A few months later, the sister-in-law had her baby and named him the same name the OP and his wife had chosen. They didn’t show up for the birth.

The OP continued, “Two months later we were blessed with our son. He came out perfect, and we named him just as we’d intended.” This didn’t go over well with the sister-in-law, and a few days afterward, she called to complain that the OP and his wife had copied her son’s name. “I pointed out she was the real copycat since she had no familial ties to the name and we did,” the OP reasoned. “And anyone who looks at our family trees could see that.”

The OP and his wife decided to cut ties with the sister-in-law, leaving the family pretty divided on whose side to take. However, the sister-in-law still pressured them to change their baby’s name. “I said SIL didn’t even her son out of love, but out of spite just to try and stick it to my wife for no good reason,” the OP said.

After some time had gone on, the sister-in-law called the couple to reveal some shocking news. She and her partner had broken up because he was mad that she didn’t want to give their son a name from his family. She also ended up changing her son’s name, which she claimed cost around $500 to do.

Since then, the couple has had no contact with the mother-in-law or sister-in-law, but the OP’s father-in-law comes by often to spend time with his grandson.

What did you think about this story? Were you surprised by the couple’s reaction to the sister-in-law taking their baby name? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your loved ones, too.