'You can't just rename us': Parents regret how they named their kids and try renaming them, kids refuse

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Jan 10, 2024 10:00 AM EST

Every moment that a baby is born in this world there is a chance that the parents will name it something crazy and unheard of. I know a lot of young parents want to be original and name their baby something unique, but I think this naming business is starting to get a little bit out of hand. But even so, if you have decided to name your child a name that will be remembered by everyone they meet, then stand by it. You can't go around and change your kid's name every time you feel like you found a better one, especially if the kid is old enough to understand what you are doing.

If you have yet to understand where I am going with this, a teenager named Cove (yes you read that right, Cove) turned to Reddit after he and his siblings got into an argument with their parents regarding their names. Apparently, the parents decided they were not happy with the name choices they made for their kids, and suggested their 3 teenagers to change their names to more conventional ones. The kids did not love the idea, and now the parents feel disrespected.

Scroll down for the full story, and the supportive comments on both the situations and the unique names. When you finish with this story, click here for a story of a dog owner who had to face a woman claiming to be the original owner of the dog.

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  • 01
    AITA for refusing to let my parents rename me?
    via u/Novel_Box3156
  • 02
    My (15M) parents gave my sister (16F), brother (13M) and me nature names and more specifically. Water nature names. My sister is Ocean, I'm Cove and my brother is River. They wanted our names to have a theme without being matchy with the same initial so
    via u/Novel_Box3156
  • 03
    we got our names. The story was told to us when we were little and my parents were proud of the names they gave us. Back when we were all stuck at home my parents started to express regret
    via u/Novel_Box3156
  • 04
    about their choices for us. They actually told us over dinner one night that they wish they had given us better names and apologized for making us live with the names we were given. A few months after that apology my mom and dad told us they
    via u/Novel_Box3156
  • 05
    wanted us to be Elizabeth (sister), James (me) and Michael (brother). They said since we were kids and weren't in college yet and nobody had their license at that point it would be the best time to do it. All three of us said we didn't want to change our first
    via u/Novel_Box3156
  • 06
    names. My dad looked into whether they could do it when we said no and all answers he got pointed to a very strong no. But it was also unusual to change your older kids first name so they went ahead and tried anyway but once we were asked if we wanted different names they were told no.
    via u/Novel_Box3156
  • 07
    My parents brought it up a lot to us afterward. My brother asked why they wanted to name him Michael and said the name was cpy. They told him Michael was a timeless name that would age well and gave him some nickname choices. He said he hated it.
    via u/Novel_Box3156
  • 08
    So they asked if he would consider Charles instead which he said was an even bigger no. Our parents focused really hard on him for a while because he had asked the question about the name so they figured he was the most open.
    via u/Novel_Box3156
  • 09
    So far none of us have agreed to the name change. I told my parents that I know they regret the names but we're all used to and like our names and don't want to go for more boring and common names. My parents argued that in the future we will regret it and
    via u/Novel_Box3156
  • 10
    we'd have to pay for it ourselves when we're adults and we realize having weird names does not age well. I asked why they can't let us get there if we ever do. They said we should be thinking more of our futures and they accused me of having a really bad
    via u/Novel_Box3156
  • 11
    attitude because I said James was as bad to me as Cove is to them now. They told me to look online and I did and I saw a lot of hate for our names. But I told them it still didn't change my mind.
    via u/Novel_Box3156
  • 12
    My parents said we should respect them enough as parents to allow this and that we're all being disrespectful. AITA?
    via u/Novel_Box3156
  • 13
    Nerdy-Babygirl · 19 hr. ago Partassipant [1] NTA, I think Cove is a bas name. Also it's wild to me that they just suggested names they wanted you to change to and didn't ask you if you had a name you'd rather be called.
    via u/Nerdy-Babygirl
  • 14
    If you're worried about the future you could always add a more traditional middle name (which you choose) and then you'll have the option in your professional life of going by your middle name if you prefer.
    via u/Nerdy-Babygirl
  • 15
    Novel_Box3156 OP. 19 hr. ago My parents said they felt they had to choose to right the wrong. But also because they knew we liked our names. So they didn't want us to change them to more of the same.
    via u/Novel_Box3156
  • 16
    I'm not worried about the future really. My parents are and they are pushing for us to. Not sure if my siblings have any doubts but I don't.
    via u/Novel_Box3156
  • 17
    Z_is_green13 · 18 hr. ago NTA. Your parents got one chance to pick your names. They will simply have to live with the regret and find peace that it's actually not a big deal T all.
    via u/Z_is_green13
  • 18
    I'm wondering what church your parents are trying to join where they are too embarrassed to state your names.
    via u/Z_is_green13
  • 19
    DanfromCalgary 17 hr. ago Pick out new names for them and immediately start calling Dad Bob Anytime he complains just explain to him that he doesn't understand all of the cool nicknames he will have access to
    via u/DanfromCalgary
  • 20
    now that he is a bob. Tell him he will get used to it And if bob really hates it, in a few years you can give him a new one if your mind changes
    via u/DanfromCalgary
  • 21
    lunchbox3 17 hr. ago Every time he gets annoyed with you doing it there's a "calm down Bobby" waiting for him. Then just get wilder and wilder. Bob Bobby Bobin Bobet Bobedy
    via u/lunchbox3
  • 22
    Esabettie 18 hr. ago Partassipant [1] Your parents are so selfish, they named you without thinking of all this, and now they want to fix it just to feel better about themselves without any input from you.
    via u/Esabettie
  • 23
    GroovyGram Pam - 16 hr. ago The kids are more mature than the parents...
    via u/GroovyGramPam
  • 24
    mxavierk 17 hr. ago "Righting the wrong" in this case amounts to asking if you want to change your name and shutting the when you say no. End of story. Trying to tell you what to change your name to
    via u/mxavierk
  • 25
    and forcing that on you is literally just doing the same thing they did before.
    via u/mxavierk
  • 26
    MOY Imaico-Auxitus. 19 hr. ago Yes, this!!! The craziest move was the parents both telling them to change their names AND not letting them choose their own!
    via u/Imaico-Auxitus
  • 27
    AHOY ubutterscotchpine - 19 hr. ago Cove is such a cool name! Definitely NTA. Ocean is really the only one I'd be iffy about.
    via u/ubutterscotchpine

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aita life entitled parents kids teenagers controlling askreddit reddit story parenting dad names Reddit raising kids mom funny weird parents
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