Choosing a name for your child is one of the biggest decisions parents have before them when having a baby.

And inevitably, there are names that are on each person’s veto list: childhood enemies, teachers they hated, ex partners, etc.

But very rarely does someone other than the couple feel the need to veto the baby’s name!

Rarely, but not never, because when this user’s sister-in-law decided to name her daughter the same name as OP’s son’s middle name, she was actually going to tell her she couldn’t use the name!

Check it out!

WIBTA if I made my sister-in-law change the name of her unborn baby?

My son (we’ll call him Jack Emmett Smith) was born just over 6 months ago.

We decided to use my grandfather’s name (Emmett) as his middle name to honor him and because I have always been close to my grandfather.

My sister in law is now pregnant with their second child unexpectedly after her first just had her first birthday. There will be about a 19 month age gap between them.

But when OP heard the name her sister-in-law had decided on, she was less than thrilled.

The big thing here is that they already announced the name of the baby when she is only a month along.

The name, is the same name as my grandfather and my son’s middle name- Emmett.

They already announced this to both sides of her family and announced that they won’t even be calling her by that name but by a nickname for her entire childhood.

OP was even more offended by the fact that she had not been consulted before her sister-in-law had chosen the name.

My brother with all of this doesn’t really care what they name the kids and really just lets my sister-in-law decide what she wants, which is fine.

But the fact that they announced the name and never even talked to us about it beforehand.

We only found out due to a group chat’s text strings, especially since my son is barely 6 months old.

And OP was reluctant to bring her grievances up with her sister-in-law herself.

My sister-in-law struggles with severe mental health issues.

I honestly don’t know if I can bring this up to her without her having a complete meltdown and her end up thinking that we hate her and so on and so on.

I spoke to my mother about it and she said that she thinks it’s great that we all like the same name and that name’s take on a different meaning for everyone and that it is completely fine.

My mother has also had to go through a lot of struggles in her relationship with my SIL due to the mental health struggles and all sorts of issues there.

WIBTA for telling my sister-in-law that she needs to change the name of her unborn child because it is too soon after my own son being born?

It might be different if OP’s son was named Emmet, but its literally his middle name! It’s not like they’re going to be calling him Emmet.

And her sister-in-law is going to be calling her by a nickname anyway! Is OP really so bothered she needs her sister-in-law to pick out an entirely new name?

Reddit was quick to remind her that she does not have any rights or claim to any name, even if it is her grandfather’s.

This commenter said shared names may be confusing at times, but never something to be upset over.

Others noticed OP’s snide mention of her sister-in-law’s mental health.

And this user could not relate less to OP, saying her and her sister have always planned to name their children similar names with no issue.

And finally, this user said OP would not survive a family where names are recycled with pride!

I’m just imagining how the conversation would play out.

“Excuse me, you actually aren’t allowed to name your daughter Emmet, because my son’s middle name is Emmet. I was here first. Back off.”

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.