Husband refuses to sign daughter’s birth certificate over unusual name
The decision of what to name a baby is a big one, and it’s something that both partners should have a say in. But for some couples, naming a child is a lot more work than they may have intended, and they don’t always see eye to eye.
One husband is refusing to sign his daughter’s birth certificate if his wife doesn’t choose a different name. What name could be so bad that it’s causing so much family tension? Think Taylor Swift album or Bath & Body Works scented candle.
Naming A Baby
Whether it’s their first child or their fourth, parents-to-be give careful consideration to what name they want to give their baby. From trending names to names that hold a special family significance, the task of finding the perfect name is a big one—after all, it’s the name the child will have for their entire life.
One husband recently took to the AITA subreddit to get some perspective on a disagreement he and his wife are experiencing regarding baby names, and chances are, you’ve probably never heard this name before.
The Family Dynamic
He explains that he and his wife are soon expecting a daughter, and the couple is currently parents to a 2-year-old boy.
The husband and wife apparently have an arrangement where he got to name the first baby, and now she gets to name the second baby. The wife didn’t have any strong preferences regarding the name of their son, so he chose what he thought was “a strong, somewhat unique name but that could just as easily suit a musician as a lawyer or doctor.”
The Name Suggestion
The husband says that when his son was born, he picked the name Calvin Heath, and the choice in the middle name was to honor his brother who passed away.
But what should’ve been a fairly straightforward task became complicated once the wife revealed her name choice for their unborn daughter. He says, “My wife told me she wants to name our daughter Ever Winter Rain where Ever is the first name and Winter Rain is the middle name.”
Disagreeing Viewpoints
Needless to say, the husband isn’t a fan and explains his reason for disliking the name.
“I don’t think this is a good name and that it isn’t fair to our daughter because Ever is a word and I don’t think it passes the supreme court justice test—it doesn’t sound professional, it’s confusing because it’s a word and I don’t think it would suit her into adulthood.”
Am I The Jerk?
The husband—still detesting the suggestion offered by his wife—later suggests the name “Winter” as their daughter’s first name, but with something more common like “Emma” as a middle name. The wife however refuses to budge, citing their prior naming agreement.
The husband asks Reddit, “AITA if I refuse and don’t sign the birth certificate if she wants to name her Ever?”
Not The Jerk
Reddit voted and found the husband to not be the jerk after issuing his ultimatum. Many users addressed that the daughter will be stuck with that name forever, and will be the victim of subsequent embarrassment and bullying.
“Overall, I’ve changed my judgment to [not the jerk] for attempting to push back against ‘Ever Winter Rain’ because it indeed sounds like a new Taylor Swift track and no kid should have to bear that name forever,” commented one user.
Everyone Sucks Here
However, not all support was for the husband. Many users said that while the wife is at fault for letting the situation escalate, so is the husband for going back on his initial promise. They add that the couple should’ve added a veto clause in the event one partner truly loathed a name suggestion.
“Don’t make deals if you’re not prepared to follow through. Also if you refused to sign the birth certificate over something this stupid, you would be signing divorce papers soon after,” wrote one user.
Attempting To Compromise
In a later comment, the husband says that after giving it some thought, he’s not actually going to refuse to sign his daughter’s birth certificate, but that as a compromise, he’s going to try to sell his wife on the name “Everly Winter Rain” instead.
Ultimately, both the husband and Reddit users hope that a compromise between him and his wife will be enough to ease tensions, but only time will tell.
