Mom Upset After Finding Out The Real Meaning Of Her Child’s Name
Choosing the perfect name for your child isn’t easy. Some people will simply go with a name they like, while others will pick ones that has meaning to them. But what happens if you find out that the name you chose doesn’t mean what you think it means? Well, that’s what one mom just found out, and the woman who let her know the truth is wondering if she did the right thing.
A woman shares on Reddit that she was recently visiting a friend and while there another friend, Mary, was also visiting. When Mary asked the OP her ethnic background she explained she was Ethiopian, which is when Mary informed her that she had picked an Ethiopan name for her baby daughter.
Mary explained that when she was younger she spent time in Ethiopia on an outreach program, and the people there gave her the nickname “Yema Yimchi,” which meant “beloved one.” She loved that so much that she decided to name her daughter that. But it turns out, the name doesn’t mean what Mary thinks it does.
"I asked her if she was serious. She told me she was,” the OP writes, explaining that the name actually means “uncomfortable/inconvenient/imbecile depending on how you use it.” Needless to say Mary was “very angry” and “refuses to accept” that it’s the true meaning of the name. On top of that, the OP’s other friend is angry that she told Mary the truth and hurt her feelings.
The OP wonders if what she did was wrong, and most people don’t think she is.
- “So she’s angry at you for being honest about something you had no control over,” one person commented, “as if she wouldn’t have been equally upset if she found out from someone else later and you hadn’t been honest with her now,” adding, "Also, the kid definitely would’ve found out through the Internet sooner or later even if no one ever told Mary."
- Another commented, “would you not CHECK your translations? I triple check my drinks order in Spanish before I say it and this woman took someone's word for her CHILD'S NAME."
Source: The Mirror
Thought Starters…
- As if that kid wasn’t going to be made fun of already…
- Do you think the OP was wrong for telling the woman the real meaning of the name? Do you think you’d want to know?
- Did you give your child a name that had a lot of meaning to you? What was it and how did you pick it?