What’s in a name?

As Shakespeare correctly wrote into our common consciousness, it doesn’t really matter what something is called.

What matters is what they are.

Whether you’re a Jeremy or a Juliet, a Janine or a Joe, your name changes nothing about your character, your morals or your ambitions – it is merely a label, and if you’re happy with it, that should be enough for everyone else.

Unfortunately for the girl in this story, she isn’t keen on her given name – but she does have a nickname she’s been using for most of her life and loves.

Simple, right?

Well, not really – everything is great about her chosen name except for her mother, who is standing in her way.

Read on to find out how her name became the source of family drama.

AITA for only using my nickname and not my full name and upsetting my mom by admitting I don’t like my full name?

I am eighteen and female, and I’ve never really liked my full first name, Elizabeth.

My parents loved it, especially my mom, and she/they believed I would only ever use the full version of the name.

But for years now I have exclusively used Eliza.

Let’s see how her parents felt about her using the shortened version of her name.

My mom doesn’t really like the name Eliza, even more so because of the association with The Wild Thornberrys.

She finds it tacky to name kids after fictional characters – which isn’t who I’m actually named after, but I do like the association with my nickname.

For years my mom has cringed when people call me Eliza or when I introduce myself as Eliza.

When I was 6 or 7 she corrected me for about a year and told me I had a beautiful name and should be proud to introduce myself with it, but when she realized I wasn’t giving up Eliza she stopped.

But she still grumbles about it often.

Over a decade later, her mom still isn’t cool with her nickname.

Ever since my eighteenth birthday, my mom has acted extra weird about it and has asked me more often why I don’t go by Elizabeth, or why I’m not outgrowing my “childish nickname”.

Then, it all kinda exploded the other night.

My mom told me I have such a gorgeous name and most kids would kill for such a normal name these days, and she pointed out all the names she found weird among my peers.

She told me it kills her when I never use it and she can’t understand why.

It was so obviously driving her crazy.

She even admitted she backed off hoping I’d come around, but I was still using Eliza day in and out.

Read on to find out how Eliza reacted to her mom’s words.

I told my mom I am Eliza now and most people know me as Eliza.

I told her I love having that as my name – to which she said it’s really not and I should love Elizabeth way more.

That’s when I admitted I never liked it and never wanted to use it.

Since I said that my mom has been extra weird.

She called me three times yesterday to have a talk with me, and got so upset that she never did.

My dad texted to ask why I couldn’t appease my mom just a little here.

AITA?

It’s absolutely a parent’s right to name their child upon their birth.

It is not their right to decide if their child – especially as it is here, their adult child – chooses to use the name they bestowed upon them.

That is the decision of the child, and the child only, and unfortunately Eliza’s mom is deploying some truly emotionally abusive tactics here in a bid to change her mind.

Let’s see what the folks of Reddit thought about this.

Many Redditors theorized exactly why Eliza turning 18 has intensified her mom’s guilt-tripping.

While this person had plenty of suggestions on how Eliza could appease her mom.

Though others pointed out that she had no obligation to appease her at all.

To truly believe that the name you gave your child is superior to the nickname they themselves prefer – and to then guilt trip and pressure them into sticking with the ‘better’ name you gave them is nothing short of narcissistic.

And the way Eliza’s dad is pressuring her too shows that she’s behaving just as abhorrently with him at home.

Eliza is an adult now – an adult with an excellent chosen name to boot.

Her mom has no say now.

If you liked that story, read this one about grandparents who set up a college fund for their grandkid because his parents won’t, but then his parents want to use the money to cover sibling’s medical expenses.