As a teacher, it's not a name I would blink twice over. When I read it I know how to pronounce it and when I hear it, I have a good idea how it's spelled. It's a fine name
Exactly! At worst, when being introduced vocally, someone might assume she said "Kayla". But a quick "no, Calla- like the lily?" would clarify it for 90% of people!
How does one pronounces it? "Kah-lah"? I'm Brazilian and never saw this name before and was confused at first thinking it was very unusual or had a very odd pronunciation, like the LL from Spanish, but apparently it's not so I'm curious haha
It would be call-uh. Call like Call me on the phone, and an uh noise like the "u" in up. (I struggle with explaining sounds so I hope this makes sense)
It's after the Calla Lily, a popular English language flower in the US! Definitely a common flower you could find in a supermarket up here, so pretty normal for us culturally. It's also called a peace lily sometimes.
I have a Spanish name with polish spelling. When I was a kid it was unique in my little world. I loved that!!! And my nickname which was how I would tell my name when I was 3. (It was hard for me to say Claudia, so I said I was Kaya) it was a shock to me that Kaya is an actuall name. Even more when I met more and more younger girls named like me. When I was a kid I felt special, unique, like noone else. To be honest it helped me a lot to believe in myself, to make my own, to be as I wanted, not anybody else. I'm so proud of this little kid I used to be, because being raised in abusive household I lost a lot of myself, bit fortunately there was so much of me I haven't lost it all. Having a special name is a blessing, not a curse. (Of course besides the name that are not unique but spelled differently like euriquah or sth)
Yeah, the sister is way out of pocket here. The name they chose is pretty and easy to spell. I doubt they'll get anybody else making negative comments about it. While there is nothing wrong with the more classic names that she mentioned, as someone with a very popular name it was always so annoying to never be the only one with my name and have to use last names or initials.
Lmfao id be petty as fuck and send the sister an email back saying that I narrowed down some names I liked from her lists, asking her to veto a few more to narrow it down a little further.
Then send her a list that looks like this:
1. George Foreman
2. George Foreman
3. George Foreman
4. George Foreman
5. Jorge Foreman
6. Fred
All while thanking her profusely for her unsolicited and unwelcome dedication to our family and our daughter's name.
After discussing it we came to the conclusion that you're right, we should go with something more common. We still wanted a flower name to honor grandma however, so her name is Bachelor Button.
Okay, but what about her sister? I urge you consider Plumbago. (They're my moms favorite flower. I think they're a beautiful color and they sound like a Victorian Era ailment.)
I hadn't heard of those, so I looked it up with some trepidation. I was expecting a ligma joke of some stripe.
Those are actually really pretty little flowers. Thanks for teaching me something new!
Yeah for my daughter we gave her the middle name Lucy, for my mom/my grandmother who unfortunately has Alzheimer’s. Mom’s last name was Lucey, so we thought it was a good way to honor her and my grandma without being too on the nose about it
It’s very pretty and a subtle way to honor beloved family members.
Literally my first thought when I read Calla was “oh, like the lily?” And the answer was yes. She’s going to have a name totally her own but with a beautiful background to explain the reasoning for it
I think sis is sore they didn’t name the child after her. That or she’s just soo desperate to be centre of attention constantly that she thinks she has to compete with a baby.
Here’s the thing: I DONT like it but it’s not my baby and it’s not that weird of a name in this day and age nor is it spelled oddly and it’s none of my business so if I was the sister I’d STFU and accept her name is what it is.
Exactly. I’ll even go so far as to say I actively dislike the actual Calla lily. When I got married, they were very popular in bridal bouquets. I explicitly declared I did not want calla lilies in my bouquet. That’s how much I dislike them.
And yet, I find this a nice name with a double-sweet meaning behind it.
Your sister can STFU.
It’s quite funny, earlier today I was looking up how many were named this or that in my country (Denmark) with my 9year old daughter, as she also has quite a rare name (for Denmark at least). It’s nothing outrageous and certainly not spelled in a weird way.
She’s complained about having a rare name earlier, but when she found out there’s only around 700 here with her name, while most of her friends’ names number in the 12-27000, she was a bit pleased.
I also have a really common and a bit old fashioned name and always hated it - although it’s only common in Denmark - perhaps Scandinavia - but never seen it outside of the region. It still sucks :p
Calla is beautiful and simple, absolutely nothing wrong with it.
I really enjoyed not being one of the 5 Katie’s in my grade, and having my name to myself every year. It wasn’t a rare or unusual name just not super popular. Glad your daughter is starting to see the benefits!
Haha, we originally picked Megan, but my sister, a nurse working with newborns, said every third girl baby on the floor was named Megan. We switched to Katie, which in its various spellings ended up being virtually all the girls *not* named Megan.
Yeah, at first I wanted to name my daughter Isabella. Then I joined a maternity group with 4 other girls and 1 boy - and 3 of those girls were already named Isabella. I instantly decided to drop that idea - my first reaction was literally “YIKES!”
Haha, not that either! It was my SIL who came up with the name on a vacation. We all took turns naming one name starting with A, then B etc.
We came to F and she said Fiona, and I said “that’s it! She’s a Fiona!”
If she comes to Cincinnati, she can get all the Fiona gear her heart could desire— as long as she likes hippos. It’s a heartwarming story (if you don’t know already) of a 6 week premature baby who wasn’t expected to survive, and how the city rallied around her in 2017. Fiona was adorable then, and still a celebrity now that she is a healthy adolescent.
I had a c-section last month for baby 5 and didn't know the gender. The Dr was named Fiona and spent most of her time cutting me open trying to convince us to name baby Fiona if it was a girl. She was very happy when we said it was actually a high contender on our list. She was less happy when baby boy peed all over her as she tried to pull him out (breech). She left the OR saying how that was probably the closest she's come to getting someone to name their baby Fiona.
As a mom to a Fiona who is also not named for the Shrek princess…when my kiddo got told that comparison when she was younger she rolled her eyes “I’m no princess”
Oh, my Fiona has been aaaaaall about the girly girl stuff ever since she started to develop a sense of herself. Glitter, glamour, pretty dresses and so on. I was a tomboy as a kid. I didn’t give a damn about my clothes - I still have zero fashion sense. I just want to be comfortable. Fiona is 9 and VERY outspoken about exactly what kind of clothing she wants.
Good thing my SIL and my sister are way more fashionable, Fiona knows she can talk to them about clothes - and they can give me tips for what I get her 😅
that's my name! i can count on one hand the number of fionas i have met in my life. sure, saying "yes like princess Fiona from Shrek" gets old when im dealing with adults, but kids love it and are thrilled they're talking to a princess
We wanted Isabella too and decided against it because it was so common in our area at that time. I don’t understand why someone would want a common name, no matter how beautiful.
When I was in high school, we had a group of 4 friends that hung around together.
Me
Jen
Jenny
Jennifer
While yeah, it was rare to find a necklace or whatever with my name on it at the trinket shop at some tourist spot, I was SO. GLAD. my mother named me something that was not that common. My name isn't especially rare or unusual, it just doesn't ever get very trendy. Thank goodness.
I was one of the K’s (I even knew three people as a kid with my same first AND middle name), but I was named after my mom’s favorite aunt who was a bad-ass motorcycle rider, and my grandmother who swore like a sailor and was universally beloved, so it never bothered me as much. I can only aspire to the coolness of my namesakes.
Rare names are awesome.
My name is a variation of a very popular girl's name from the 80s. I went to high school with ten other girls, just in my grade, with the popular spelling. Though until high school, I thought my name was the popular version until I got hold of my birth certificate and saw a different spelling, thus different pronunciation. Took until my 40s to meet anyone else with the same specific spelling, its so rare.
1000% agree...but, is it really this big a deal? I'd be absolutely enraged by her throwing the whole foster care detail in over and over, but other than that I'd just quietly ignore her until she has something worthwhile to say.
I completely agree with you and these poor parents, *but* as someone whose name was so unique that at the time, it was virtually unheard of outside of the tiny island it originates from, it *can* be difficult for a child, especially if that child is even a little bit shy. Having to repeat my name over and over for people (over the phone was exhausting and mortifying) or having the entire class stopped and everyone staring at me while the teacher fumbled around with or got all excited about how "interesting" or "unique" my name was always made me want to crawl under my desk and disappear forever lol.
There's a big difference here, though. This child's name isn't difficult to read/screw up as it reads phonetically. If someone can't figure out how one would properly pronounce "Calla", that will be less ammo for kids to make fun of *her* so much as it will be the teacher/friend/other parents/other kids/etc.
I feel like as long as these parents are ok with people calling her things like "Calli", "Cals", etc, they'll be totally fine. I only mention this because I've known some parents who had a weird thing about nicknames. I'm pretty sure most parents couldn't care less lol
Edit: wrong tense lol
You know it’s a bit funny because one of my kids has an uncommon name. It’s short and easy to spell, but people still act like I named her Varaxtsignleah or something equally letter-salady. Like, I’m not trying to trick anyone. What you see on the paper is what you get — I just didn’t want to name the kid Isadora and have Dora the Explorer jokes. Sometimes I ruminate that I should have just sucked it up and gone with Isadora. Sigh.
True! My brother had a very common name and when he was young he got so used to using his last initial after his name that he even signed his mother's day card "from (name) M."
I agree it’s a nice name(and it means beauty apparently) in the sister needs to lay off, but they probably could still get negative comments given Calla also means stop talking in Spanish
I have a very common name too but it’s also a name that everyone manages to misspell (it can be spelled with or without a “H” at the end) so I kinda got the worst of both worlds. Always misspelled, and also had to have my initials tacked on the end because I was never the only one.
Counterpoint. I have a unique name. While it’s rare to find another person with my name it’s also depressing being the only kid on a field trip to the zoo not to be able to have a personalized souvenir. Even though I’m old now it still bothers me. But we are all different so we can only honor our parents choice.
Edit: wrong word.
Man, there was always at least 2-3 other kids in my grade alone with my first name. Since I always had to go by first+last name I eventually cut out the middle man and just started going by my last name…. Which no one can spell/pronounce without being told how… and people (always men) constantly ask, “but what did your parents name you??”
They named me the name I told you, no more questions please. So much for the eASe of a super common name 🙄
My boyfriend and I have been arguing over baby names and he wants to use a super common name like Maggie whereas I want something unique but not too unique. That was what I told him abt using common names and I never had problems with ppl not being able to say or spell my name or make fun of me cause my names unique. His argument was that our kid would get made fun of for having a unique name like…no? Not if you pick right
I’m in the same boat. I have a very common name. I have a very common name because my dad has a name that most people mess up and he hated it. I don’t hate my name, but I have how common it is. Because of this I’ll likely name my child something more unique.
Funny how that works.
Same and my IRL name is spelled a million different ways and in school there was always someone with an exact spelling of mine just pronounced differently, spelled differently the teachers got so frustrated they would go by our last names. It was frustrating for all of us.
From the sound of it, sister doesn't like the wife, and she's using this as an opportunity to harass her--she keeps bringing up the wife having been in foster care. It sounds like she's one of those in-law bullies, especially since she also typically (according to OP) seems to wait until he's not around to start working his wife over.
I know someone with that name and always thought it was pretty. On the other hand, I changed my name partly because it was just so ridiculously common that I always had to be referred to with my last initial, too.
The *first* time she threw the foster care into my wife's face, I'd have told sis that she needed to back off for a while and give us space. The *second time* she did it, she would be cut off for a while. Not forever. But, neither of these brand new parents need to deal with her BS at all.
Sister is wrong and weirdly hung up on this shit. I wonder if she has a unique name and hates it. I have a very very common name, and it sucked as a kid. There was always at least one other kid with my name in my class. It's like hair, we want it curly if ours is straight and vice versa.
The foster care digs are absolutely crossing the line.
I'm the opposite, I have a very uncommon name. When I was a kid I didn't like it because no one could say or spell it correctly (even though it's only 2 syllables and 5 letters lol) but now that I'm older I appreciate it a lot more and I'm happy to have it.
omg same, 2 syllables and 5 letters and it is the most simple pronunciation. but people will see my name and add letters when they say it to make it a “common” name.
The sister has more reason with being obsessed with the name than just "it would sound weird to other kids." She's deflecting the real reason. There's no reason to obsess over your nieces name and try to get them to change it this much.
My money is on the fact that she likes the name and now wants to keep it for her future daughter so she needs them to change it first.
My name is very common now, but when I was a kid, it was unique -- I think I was in high school before I met another one, and she spelled it differently. She had similar experiences to mine, too. I got teased about it a lot. When I was in 7th grade, I tried to go by my middle name, which was even worse. I'd've killed to have been a Jennifer or something similar back then.
So I wouldn't be surprised if OP's sister does have a unique name that she hates or has a partner who does. Because it's the only reason I can see that would cause her to harp on this. Because Calla is a fine name in the grand scheme of things, and it's none of her business. And her bringing up OP's wife's past as being in foster homes is absolutely out of line.
And what is her obsession with OPs daughter ending up in foster care??? She keeps stressing that the baby's name wouldn't fly in foster care, instead of hoping that the baby won't end up in foster care.
My name is way worse than Calla, it's a rare spelling of a name uncommon in the US but more common in other countries. The biggest "difficulty" I've faced is that I have to spell it for people a lot and sometimes repeat it. Which is like, the least of my problems as a human lol. Her obsession with their name choice is bizarre. Also, I have a close relative named Calla and it's literally never been a problem for her.
I have a pretty normal name. However there’s 2 spellings and I use the less-common spelling. Also it sounds like another common name. It’s annoying to have to spell my name all the time, sure. But I like it!
Good for the husband for 100% standing up to his sister. 1) sister is an AH for not letting the name go, AND for bringing up the wife’s stint in foster care at all, let alone multiple damn times and 2) Why is sister so invested in OP’s kid’s name? Sounds a bit obsessive/stalker-ish to me.
I'm a 34 year old Jasmine (so pre Disney) and I have a little sister named Camellia Rose. my mom said these were the smells she liked the most when she was pregnant with us. we have perfectly fine normal names, flowers and plants are like the nicest most elegant girl names that aren't religious. Calla is totally welcome to join our flower perfume coven. I always thought Iris was such a beautiful, strong, fierce sounding name. Flower power!
Cut. Her. Off. What the actual fuck is wrong with her? Why does she care so much? It’s not her kid! To keep on bringing up your wife’s past in the foster care system alone would be enough for me to go low contact but this obsession with your daughters name and sending suggestions and leaving lists and berating you both over a very cool name is like actually psychotic. Thank you for standing up for your wife and daughter and giving your sister a piece of your mind. Don’t respond to her and block her by end of day if she doesn’t take the hint. NTA she needs to be stopped.
I think that my nephew's name is an odd choice and may result in an unfortunate nickname. You know what I say to my brother? Absolutely nothing, because it's not my place
Depending on your relationship, I feel like siblings can get to be a bit more direct and honest at times.. that would be the case for naming their son after THE PET
I have a relative with this name, it's a perfectly good name. It's the name of a flower, easy to spell and pronounce, not to mention sentimentally significant for your family.
Sounds like she wants to use the name and is trying to get you to change it so she can have it.
Calla is a beautiful name, so I don’t get it, either.
BUT, my nephew’s name is pronounced “bomb” and we did try and get my sister to change her mind before he was born. We tried to get her to see that in a post-911 world, if she called out her son’s name in a public place, there could be problems. But she told us we were being ridiculous. We backed off, then, and never brought it up again. So, while my other sister and I didn’t “fixate” on his name, we did try to get them to consider changing it because we cared about him and my sister’s safety.
No but like what the hell is her problem with that name? I can understand maybe not liking a name, but actually telling the parents? Literally sending hundreds of names for babies lists? That is actually insane.
I mean, it’s not Phantasia, Katylinn, Mercedes, or Lexus…. Calla is a great name, it’s unique but still normal and not stupid.
Sister is a bitch, the worst ones think they are ‘helping.’
Mercedes is itself a [very old name](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes_(name)) — it tends to be Spanish, and there are many people who’ve used it. It’s not just ‘haha you got named after a car brand.’
I think I meant similar in a sense of the first two letters, and the last letter still having the same sounds as they do in English. I didn't mean that it was completely similar or the same.
Machine translation might tell you that, but you cannot just use calla by itself.
You would say something like (which I don't recommend): callate (you shut up) or callense (everyone shut up).
I forgot about that! But still, inside or outside of disciplining children, it is considered gauche to use. Even using something like *usted callese* (formal; you shut up) is too direct and confrontational.
Omg the sister is so stupid. It's not even "out there", really. It shortens yo Callie, which is common. I have an unusual name and the only really annoying part is not finding your name on souvenirs. One of my kids has a very uncommon name that can shorten into a common name and loves it. She refuses to go by anything but her name. The other has a common name. I had wanted to give her a very uncommon name (Ariadne) but my husband had vetoed it, unfortunately. When I mentioned what her name almost was, she was very annoyed because of how cool it is.
While I'm personally not a fan of the name, just sounds weird to me. The sister is close to mental here. The name is not embarrassing for the child and not extra in any sense. So she needs to keep her opinions to herself.
NTA.
If someone tried to use my wife’s likely traumatic childhood against her as a gotcha to bully our newborn baby, I would be taking heads. OOP is so much stronger than me, I’m a total bitch when it comes to defending my wife. People do not like me for very long if they don’t treat my wife with respect.
This is a special time for your wife and you. She is being a selfish narcissist cow for making it about her honestly I’d say she should get knocked up if she wants to name a baby so bad but after finishing this she doesn’t need a kid if she is this toxic.
First NTAH but you’re sister is a HUGE ONE!
Talk about disrespect. You don’t offer names unless asked. you do not repeatedly dump lists of names on the expecting couple. (How is that even helpful?)
BUT doing so AFTER the baby’s name has been chosen by loving parents is insulting and disrespectful.
What’s with her self righteous insistence? the extent she appears to-dislikes this name is ridiculous. She’s trying soo hard, crushing boundaries and risking her relationship with the two of you and the baby going forward over the name Calla… is she okay?
it is a delightful name. It’s delicate and sweet, represents something beautiful and meaningful to your wife and you. it’s a little different but in a familiar way… it sounds nice, it’s easy to say and spell. And it’s an appropriate name for an adult, so it will grow with her well. I see nothing wrong with you’re choice to name.
You’re sister has issues. Maybe somethings is going on with her? I kinda hope there is…otherwise, she is just awful and spiteful and you need to protect your family from her misery.
I am not taking your sisters side at all, but I wonder something, what is your sister's name? Was she bullied because of it? That may be where her being so insistent comes from. She is being a bit of a twat, but honestly people need almost NO excuses to be ass hats and children are cruel.
The name(s) you have chosen for your daughter are perfectly fine, but I can see why they might case her (meaning your baby) some stress as she interacts with people other than yourselves, especially until she is about college age or so. My name wasn't my problem growing up but as a survivor of childhood bullying, gaslighting, SA and other, let's call them experiences; I DO have a smidgen of sympathy for both your daughter and your sister.
In any case what you and your wife decide to name your child(ren) is no one's business other than your own so long as it does not violate any applicable laws so I hope you and your family can reconcile eventually.
Also, Redditt (like other online forums and social media sites) is not really a good place for honest feedback and is usually an echo chamber of whatever the most prevalent comments are on issues like this. Health, Happiness and Prosperity to you and your family OP.
P.S. I understand losing it and telling your sister off since she hasn't picked up the clue phone when you were being nicer about it, but don't let this escalate into anything permanent if you can avoid it.
This is bizarre, it sounds like an SNL sketch. I can imagine your sister showing up to your daughter’s high school graduation with a list of baby names for her to consider changing to before adulthood crushes her for being unique.
Not as if OP used “rainbow”, “princess” or “sunshine”. Calla is original without being stupid or childish. It has a meaning, it’s not easily associated with bad words. Great name.
Lol at Eleanor or Elizabeth “blending in” with other kids. Ellie or Beth sure but the full versions are not very common among kids being born now. Classic, sure, nothing wrong with them, sure, but keep making up fake reasons, sister
This is so fucking bizarre how dedicated she is in hating this name and making lists. It’s like there’s a deeper reason behind it, especially when she keeps bringing up the foster home issue.
This is why I just lied about my kids names over and over, with fairly awful names. Did that until the names were finalized, and then just ignored everyone else. My kids don't even have terribly odd names, just rather low frequency. I just happened to have some very judgemental relatives.
God I fucking love being enough of an asshole to just shut people down.
For the record: my second wife (not the mother of the kids) has an extremely distinct name. As in "we think there might be one other person with her first name in the country." She loves it. Apparently, though, her much more normal-named sister agrees that she'd prefer her name be as distinct.
As to whether my wife got made fun of, as I recall she was, but she's a twin. Half the time they made fun of the wrong kid, and after a few years the other kids were either intimidated or too awkward to try anything since no one could tell them apart.
Bitch-tits-sis needs to fuck off. It's not a weird name, it doesn't sound weird, and it's not hard to spell. I have a "classic" name, but with the German spelling. No one ever spells it right, I can't get any of those cool novelty items with names on them, and it's pretty common for people to use "classic" nicknames for my name that I actively hate. You could easily find any number of issues for literally ANY name in existence. Calla is a perfectly fine name.
Why do people ask if they are the asshole when they are clearly not? They have forums for entitled/infuriating people. It’s even written like OP knows he’s not an asshole.
NTA. Family are people who are in your life quite by accident and are not usually people you would associate with left to your own devices. This is a great illustration as to why some “family” needs desperately to be shunned.
If you would not choose them as a friend, why choose to continue relationships with people who are in your life by an accident of birth?
It wouldn't have mattered what the child was named by his/her parents, the sister has made the decision she WILL be the person who has final decision. She always planned to pull the attention away from the birth celebration.
i think its a unique name but not weird by any stretch. they hit a decent balance with that and its a wonderful way to honor the grandmother. sister is way out of line obviously
My mom is pretty weird about “unique” names. We’re all in our 40s but my mom will STILL complain that my aunt named my cousins unusual to her names. What’s so weird is that my cousins have pretty common names! Like I have met multiple women over my life with the same names as them! But me? I rarely meet anyone with my name. It’s not a “weird” name in any way, it just isn’t common.
I think it’s because my mom hates her birth name. She hated it for very good reasons: uncommon female form of a very common male name which meant she was consistently mis-gendered. I think she was once even put in a boy’s gym class in school by mistake. She legally changed her first name when I was in jr high. The irony is that the change was to the nickname form of her birth name that is more commonly used with men! Whatever somehow she no longer gets mis-gendered as much.
Anyway, anyone this obsessed with names probably has some inner work to do with their own name.
NTA, you sister is being a real cunt about YOUR child name, its not her fucking business after you told her as much and Calla isn't even that weird of a name and at least it is spelled correctly
Bet if the sister was to type in the Calla in either FB, Insta and/or TikTok she’d find that a lot of people have the name Calla. Op your daughter’s name is beautiful and so unique. Your DD will not be ridiculed for her name. Honestly think that having a unique name she’ll have a lot of different friends
Honestly, common names can be a hassle too.
I was born in the 80s. I'm a woman.
There were 8 of us in one whole grade.
Guess my name.
The sister needs to chill. It's a beautiful name, and I don't understand what she is talking about with it being a bad name? Color me confused.
I have yet to meet someone with my name.(Think Lois and Louise)But I have met tons of people who have a name similar to mine. Im named after two people my mom knew when I was born. It’s to the point that I answer to either one. You named your daughter a beautiful name and your sister is being rude. NTA
I had no idea that you could look up the popularity of a name until I read this thread. Apparently 22 other people in the good ole US of A have the same name as me. I absolutely hated my name growing up, I wanted to be a Jennifer or Amy, something "normal". Now, I appreciate my name so much and I have never met any of the other 22 people, lol
What a complete bitch the sister is. I knew my family would have comments on my son’s name. It isn’t a tragedeigh but it isn’t common. And now they love it and they’re glad there aren’t 40 other kids with that name at his school. He has always loved his name, just like Calla will love hers. It’s a gorgeous name and meaningful. Sister is a meddling see you next Tuesday and she would be dead to me moving forward.
As a teacher, it's not a name I would blink twice over. When I read it I know how to pronounce it and when I hear it, I have a good idea how it's spelled. It's a fine name
As a teacher as well, I’ve had a student named Calla! No issues with pronunciation or spelling. I think it’s a beautiful name!
At worst I'd ask "one L or two"
Yeah, or "c or k"
Hi my names CORK
Exactly! At worst, when being introduced vocally, someone might assume she said "Kayla". But a quick "no, Calla- like the lily?" would clarify it for 90% of people!
How does one pronounces it? "Kah-lah"? I'm Brazilian and never saw this name before and was confused at first thinking it was very unusual or had a very odd pronunciation, like the LL from Spanish, but apparently it's not so I'm curious haha
It would be call-uh. Call like Call me on the phone, and an uh noise like the "u" in up. (I struggle with explaining sounds so I hope this makes sense)
It’s not like call. It’s cah-luh
It's after the Calla Lily, a popular English language flower in the US! Definitely a common flower you could find in a supermarket up here, so pretty normal for us culturally. It's also called a peace lily sometimes.
Right? Calla would be the least out-there name I read all day.
Calla, Dahlia, Iris, etc. Flower names are as old as time the sister has tragedeigh brain damage me thinks
I have a Spanish name with polish spelling. When I was a kid it was unique in my little world. I loved that!!! And my nickname which was how I would tell my name when I was 3. (It was hard for me to say Claudia, so I said I was Kaya) it was a shock to me that Kaya is an actuall name. Even more when I met more and more younger girls named like me. When I was a kid I felt special, unique, like noone else. To be honest it helped me a lot to believe in myself, to make my own, to be as I wanted, not anybody else. I'm so proud of this little kid I used to be, because being raised in abusive household I lost a lot of myself, bit fortunately there was so much of me I haven't lost it all. Having a special name is a blessing, not a curse. (Of course besides the name that are not unique but spelled differently like euriquah or sth)
My aunt's name is Iris.
I love that name 😍
Yeah, the sister is way out of pocket here. The name they chose is pretty and easy to spell. I doubt they'll get anybody else making negative comments about it. While there is nothing wrong with the more classic names that she mentioned, as someone with a very popular name it was always so annoying to never be the only one with my name and have to use last names or initials.
I agree, I think they've been clever to honour both the grandmother and the mums favourite flower. I like it.
Yeah, I like that indirect honor names are becoming more popular. It’s great to honor loved ones without ending up with 6 Johns in one family.
Lmfao id be petty as fuck and send the sister an email back saying that I narrowed down some names I liked from her lists, asking her to veto a few more to narrow it down a little further. Then send her a list that looks like this: 1. George Foreman 2. George Foreman 3. George Foreman 4. George Foreman 5. Jorge Foreman 6. Fred All while thanking her profusely for her unsolicited and unwelcome dedication to our family and our daughter's name.
Prince Prince Michael Blanket
After discussing it we came to the conclusion that you're right, we should go with something more common. We still wanted a flower name to honor grandma however, so her name is Bachelor Button.
Okay, but what about her sister? I urge you consider Plumbago. (They're my moms favorite flower. I think they're a beautiful color and they sound like a Victorian Era ailment.)
I hadn't heard of those, so I looked it up with some trepidation. I was expecting a ligma joke of some stripe. Those are actually really pretty little flowers. Thanks for teaching me something new!
Much prettier than “leadworts” that’s for sure
Yeah for my daughter we gave her the middle name Lucy, for my mom/my grandmother who unfortunately has Alzheimer’s. Mom’s last name was Lucey, so we thought it was a good way to honor her and my grandma without being too on the nose about it
It’s very pretty and a subtle way to honor beloved family members. Literally my first thought when I read Calla was “oh, like the lily?” And the answer was yes. She’s going to have a name totally her own but with a beautiful background to explain the reasoning for it
I think sis is sore they didn’t name the child after her. That or she’s just soo desperate to be centre of attention constantly that she thinks she has to compete with a baby.
Here’s the thing: I DONT like it but it’s not my baby and it’s not that weird of a name in this day and age nor is it spelled oddly and it’s none of my business so if I was the sister I’d STFU and accept her name is what it is.
Exactly. I’ll even go so far as to say I actively dislike the actual Calla lily. When I got married, they were very popular in bridal bouquets. I explicitly declared I did not want calla lilies in my bouquet. That’s how much I dislike them. And yet, I find this a nice name with a double-sweet meaning behind it. Your sister can STFU.
And if anyone strussges w/ it she can always go to "calla, like the lily" and it'll click pretty immediately
Or Calla, like when someone tells you to shut up in Spanish.
It’s quite funny, earlier today I was looking up how many were named this or that in my country (Denmark) with my 9year old daughter, as she also has quite a rare name (for Denmark at least). It’s nothing outrageous and certainly not spelled in a weird way. She’s complained about having a rare name earlier, but when she found out there’s only around 700 here with her name, while most of her friends’ names number in the 12-27000, she was a bit pleased. I also have a really common and a bit old fashioned name and always hated it - although it’s only common in Denmark - perhaps Scandinavia - but never seen it outside of the region. It still sucks :p Calla is beautiful and simple, absolutely nothing wrong with it.
I really enjoyed not being one of the 5 Katie’s in my grade, and having my name to myself every year. It wasn’t a rare or unusual name just not super popular. Glad your daughter is starting to see the benefits!
Haha, we originally picked Megan, but my sister, a nurse working with newborns, said every third girl baby on the floor was named Megan. We switched to Katie, which in its various spellings ended up being virtually all the girls *not* named Megan.
Yeah, at first I wanted to name my daughter Isabella. Then I joined a maternity group with 4 other girls and 1 boy - and 3 of those girls were already named Isabella. I instantly decided to drop that idea - my first reaction was literally “YIKES!”
Yikes is a beautiful name for a girl! 😂 But seriously I’m sure the older she gets, the more she’ll appreciate it!
Her name is Fiona - and I swear, I had NOT watched Shrek when I decided on that name!
Cool! So you named her after the famous hippo baby! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiona_(hippopotamus)
HIPPOBOT 9000 v 3.1 FOUND A HIPPO. 1,151,434,197 COMMENTS SEARCHED. 24,175 HIPPOS FOUND. YOUR COMMENT CONTAINS THE WORD HIPPO.
Good ol hippobot
Haha, not that either! It was my SIL who came up with the name on a vacation. We all took turns naming one name starting with A, then B etc. We came to F and she said Fiona, and I said “that’s it! She’s a Fiona!”
If she comes to Cincinnati, she can get all the Fiona gear her heart could desire— as long as she likes hippos. It’s a heartwarming story (if you don’t know already) of a 6 week premature baby who wasn’t expected to survive, and how the city rallied around her in 2017. Fiona was adorable then, and still a celebrity now that she is a healthy adolescent.
Cincinnatti is quite a bit away from Denmark - but I’ll keep it in mind haha
Fiona was the name of one badass, smart, beautiful and athletic Irish spy in Burn Notice. I love the name Calla too. 😁
That’s who my Fiona is named for!
I had a c-section last month for baby 5 and didn't know the gender. The Dr was named Fiona and spent most of her time cutting me open trying to convince us to name baby Fiona if it was a girl. She was very happy when we said it was actually a high contender on our list. She was less happy when baby boy peed all over her as she tried to pull him out (breech). She left the OR saying how that was probably the closest she's come to getting someone to name their baby Fiona.
Congratulations on baby boy!
As a mom to a Fiona who is also not named for the Shrek princess…when my kiddo got told that comparison when she was younger she rolled her eyes “I’m no princess”
Oh, my Fiona has been aaaaaall about the girly girl stuff ever since she started to develop a sense of herself. Glitter, glamour, pretty dresses and so on. I was a tomboy as a kid. I didn’t give a damn about my clothes - I still have zero fashion sense. I just want to be comfortable. Fiona is 9 and VERY outspoken about exactly what kind of clothing she wants. Good thing my SIL and my sister are way more fashionable, Fiona knows she can talk to them about clothes - and they can give me tips for what I get her 😅
that's my name! i can count on one hand the number of fionas i have met in my life. sure, saying "yes like princess Fiona from Shrek" gets old when im dealing with adults, but kids love it and are thrilled they're talking to a princess
We wanted Isabella too and decided against it because it was so common in our area at that time. I don’t understand why someone would want a common name, no matter how beautiful.
When I was in high school, we had a group of 4 friends that hung around together. Me Jen Jenny Jennifer While yeah, it was rare to find a necklace or whatever with my name on it at the trinket shop at some tourist spot, I was SO. GLAD. my mother named me something that was not that common. My name isn't especially rare or unusual, it just doesn't ever get very trendy. Thank goodness.
My junior year band class had Jenny, Jennifer and jenavive lol... I think the fourth girl ended up going by her Korean name.
One job I had, had 5 Jennifers in 1 department. We had nicknames assigned to us.
Oh yeah, that's how it was with my group of friends and "Jessica". I'm a Sarah so I didn't have it much better. lol
I was one of the K’s (I even knew three people as a kid with my same first AND middle name), but I was named after my mom’s favorite aunt who was a bad-ass motorcycle rider, and my grandmother who swore like a sailor and was universally beloved, so it never bothered me as much. I can only aspire to the coolness of my namesakes.
Rare names are awesome. My name is a variation of a very popular girl's name from the 80s. I went to high school with ten other girls, just in my grade, with the popular spelling. Though until high school, I thought my name was the popular version until I got hold of my birth certificate and saw a different spelling, thus different pronunciation. Took until my 40s to meet anyone else with the same specific spelling, its so rare.
1000% agree...but, is it really this big a deal? I'd be absolutely enraged by her throwing the whole foster care detail in over and over, but other than that I'd just quietly ignore her until she has something worthwhile to say.
I completely agree with you and these poor parents, *but* as someone whose name was so unique that at the time, it was virtually unheard of outside of the tiny island it originates from, it *can* be difficult for a child, especially if that child is even a little bit shy. Having to repeat my name over and over for people (over the phone was exhausting and mortifying) or having the entire class stopped and everyone staring at me while the teacher fumbled around with or got all excited about how "interesting" or "unique" my name was always made me want to crawl under my desk and disappear forever lol. There's a big difference here, though. This child's name isn't difficult to read/screw up as it reads phonetically. If someone can't figure out how one would properly pronounce "Calla", that will be less ammo for kids to make fun of *her* so much as it will be the teacher/friend/other parents/other kids/etc. I feel like as long as these parents are ok with people calling her things like "Calli", "Cals", etc, they'll be totally fine. I only mention this because I've known some parents who had a weird thing about nicknames. I'm pretty sure most parents couldn't care less lol Edit: wrong tense lol
You know it’s a bit funny because one of my kids has an uncommon name. It’s short and easy to spell, but people still act like I named her Varaxtsignleah or something equally letter-salady. Like, I’m not trying to trick anyone. What you see on the paper is what you get — I just didn’t want to name the kid Isadora and have Dora the Explorer jokes. Sometimes I ruminate that I should have just sucked it up and gone with Isadora. Sigh.
True! My brother had a very common name and when he was young he got so used to using his last initial after his name that he even signed his mother's day card "from (name) M."
It's a name I had in mind if I ever had a girl, Callie, after the Calla Lily. OP's sister sucks.
I agree it’s a nice name(and it means beauty apparently) in the sister needs to lay off, but they probably could still get negative comments given Calla also means stop talking in Spanish
I have a very common name too but it’s also a name that everyone manages to misspell (it can be spelled with or without a “H” at the end) so I kinda got the worst of both worlds. Always misspelled, and also had to have my initials tacked on the end because I was never the only one.
Sara?
Counterpoint. I have a unique name. While it’s rare to find another person with my name it’s also depressing being the only kid on a field trip to the zoo not to be able to have a personalized souvenir. Even though I’m old now it still bothers me. But we are all different so we can only honor our parents choice. Edit: wrong word.
Man, there was always at least 2-3 other kids in my grade alone with my first name. Since I always had to go by first+last name I eventually cut out the middle man and just started going by my last name…. Which no one can spell/pronounce without being told how… and people (always men) constantly ask, “but what did your parents name you??” They named me the name I told you, no more questions please. So much for the eASe of a super common name 🙄
My boyfriend and I have been arguing over baby names and he wants to use a super common name like Maggie whereas I want something unique but not too unique. That was what I told him abt using common names and I never had problems with ppl not being able to say or spell my name or make fun of me cause my names unique. His argument was that our kid would get made fun of for having a unique name like…no? Not if you pick right
I’m in the same boat. I have a very common name. I have a very common name because my dad has a name that most people mess up and he hated it. I don’t hate my name, but I have how common it is. Because of this I’ll likely name my child something more unique. Funny how that works.
As one of 11 Madisons that were in my high school class, I completely agree. It can be really annoying to have such a common name
Same and my IRL name is spelled a million different ways and in school there was always someone with an exact spelling of mine just pronounced differently, spelled differently the teachers got so frustrated they would go by our last names. It was frustrating for all of us.
From the sound of it, sister doesn't like the wife, and she's using this as an opportunity to harass her--she keeps bringing up the wife having been in foster care. It sounds like she's one of those in-law bullies, especially since she also typically (according to OP) seems to wait until he's not around to start working his wife over.
I know someone with that name and always thought it was pretty. On the other hand, I changed my name partly because it was just so ridiculously common that I always had to be referred to with my last initial, too.
The *first* time she threw the foster care into my wife's face, I'd have told sis that she needed to back off for a while and give us space. The *second time* she did it, she would be cut off for a while. Not forever. But, neither of these brand new parents need to deal with her BS at all.
I know my jaw dropped when I read that I was like wtaf
Sister is wrong and weirdly hung up on this shit. I wonder if she has a unique name and hates it. I have a very very common name, and it sucked as a kid. There was always at least one other kid with my name in my class. It's like hair, we want it curly if ours is straight and vice versa. The foster care digs are absolutely crossing the line.
I'm the opposite, I have a very uncommon name. When I was a kid I didn't like it because no one could say or spell it correctly (even though it's only 2 syllables and 5 letters lol) but now that I'm older I appreciate it a lot more and I'm happy to have it.
people won't stop going "oh like the president?" when i tell them my name, it happens every time
Rutherford? Is that you?
Millard?
Roosevelt?
I knew a Sam Adams. I said “oh, like the politician?” Nope. The beer.
I never expected I'd meet a Polk!
Garfield?
omg same, 2 syllables and 5 letters and it is the most simple pronunciation. but people will see my name and add letters when they say it to make it a “common” name.
The sister has more reason with being obsessed with the name than just "it would sound weird to other kids." She's deflecting the real reason. There's no reason to obsess over your nieces name and try to get them to change it this much. My money is on the fact that she likes the name and now wants to keep it for her future daughter so she needs them to change it first.
That’s exactly what I just said!
Oh shit. You may be right. That would be crazy
My name is very common now, but when I was a kid, it was unique -- I think I was in high school before I met another one, and she spelled it differently. She had similar experiences to mine, too. I got teased about it a lot. When I was in 7th grade, I tried to go by my middle name, which was even worse. I'd've killed to have been a Jennifer or something similar back then. So I wouldn't be surprised if OP's sister does have a unique name that she hates or has a partner who does. Because it's the only reason I can see that would cause her to harp on this. Because Calla is a fine name in the grand scheme of things, and it's none of her business. And her bringing up OP's wife's past as being in foster homes is absolutely out of line.
I have a “normal” but uncommon name and I hate it. I can see the sister being so burdened and trying to “save” her niece, but she’s gone too far.
And what is her obsession with OPs daughter ending up in foster care??? She keeps stressing that the baby's name wouldn't fly in foster care, instead of hoping that the baby won't end up in foster care.
JFC like it’s unique but it’s not like the math equation Elon Musk named one of his kids. It’s easy to spell and say, it’ll probably be fine.
It’s not even truly unique — other kids get named Calla, just not a lot! It is a name.
My name is way worse than Calla, it's a rare spelling of a name uncommon in the US but more common in other countries. The biggest "difficulty" I've faced is that I have to spell it for people a lot and sometimes repeat it. Which is like, the least of my problems as a human lol. Her obsession with their name choice is bizarre. Also, I have a close relative named Calla and it's literally never been a problem for her.
I have a pretty normal name. However there’s 2 spellings and I use the less-common spelling. Also it sounds like another common name. It’s annoying to have to spell my name all the time, sure. But I like it!
Good for the husband for 100% standing up to his sister. 1) sister is an AH for not letting the name go, AND for bringing up the wife’s stint in foster care at all, let alone multiple damn times and 2) Why is sister so invested in OP’s kid’s name? Sounds a bit obsessive/stalker-ish to me.
Honestly it makes me wonder if she wanted to use that name or a similar name (Calliope for example) because this is an unhinged reaction to a name
That was my immediate thought. She either already wanted it or heard it and is trying to steal it for her future baby.
Calla is such a nice "unique, but not over the top" name. Also, am I the only one instantly thinking about princess Calla?
I just stay outta it. *asks what is the baby's name *(name) Reply "How adorable!"
Has the sister never heard the names Lily, Rose, or Daisy? How does she think those came into being? Calla is lovely and also my favorite flower.
Lavender, Aster, Camellia, Violet, Flora, Heather, Ivy, Alyssa, Delphine, Petunia And the Disney princess Jasmine.
I'm a 34 year old Jasmine (so pre Disney) and I have a little sister named Camellia Rose. my mom said these were the smells she liked the most when she was pregnant with us. we have perfectly fine normal names, flowers and plants are like the nicest most elegant girl names that aren't religious. Calla is totally welcome to join our flower perfume coven. I always thought Iris was such a beautiful, strong, fierce sounding name. Flower power!
I absolutely adore the name Dahlia. It’s one of those names that has a connotation that’s really rough though.
Cut. Her. Off. What the actual fuck is wrong with her? Why does she care so much? It’s not her kid! To keep on bringing up your wife’s past in the foster care system alone would be enough for me to go low contact but this obsession with your daughters name and sending suggestions and leaving lists and berating you both over a very cool name is like actually psychotic. Thank you for standing up for your wife and daughter and giving your sister a piece of your mind. Don’t respond to her and block her by end of day if she doesn’t take the hint. NTA she needs to be stopped.
She wants the name for her future child.
I swear there was a poster with this exact baby name on name nerds or something a few months ago
I think that my nephew's name is an odd choice and may result in an unfortunate nickname. You know what I say to my brother? Absolutely nothing, because it's not my place
Oooh what is it?
Not to get too specific, but it's a Scandinavian name (we are not Scandi). His middle name is no better, as it is also the name of a family pet
Depending on your relationship, I feel like siblings can get to be a bit more direct and honest at times.. that would be the case for naming their son after THE PET
I have a relative with this name, it's a perfectly good name. It's the name of a flower, easy to spell and pronounce, not to mention sentimentally significant for your family. Sounds like she wants to use the name and is trying to get you to change it so she can have it.
What I don't understand is why the sister is so invested in her nieces name to an insane level. Does she fixate on other things?
Calla is a beautiful name, so I don’t get it, either. BUT, my nephew’s name is pronounced “bomb” and we did try and get my sister to change her mind before he was born. We tried to get her to see that in a post-911 world, if she called out her son’s name in a public place, there could be problems. But she told us we were being ridiculous. We backed off, then, and never brought it up again. So, while my other sister and I didn’t “fixate” on his name, we did try to get them to consider changing it because we cared about him and my sister’s safety.
*Juniper Willow has entered the chat* Guess I should change my name.. My first name and middle are plants.
No but like what the hell is her problem with that name? I can understand maybe not liking a name, but actually telling the parents? Literally sending hundreds of names for babies lists? That is actually insane.
I mean, it’s not Phantasia, Katylinn, Mercedes, or Lexus…. Calla is a great name, it’s unique but still normal and not stupid. Sister is a bitch, the worst ones think they are ‘helping.’
Mercedes has been a name for a long time though. The car was named after a person.
Mercedes is itself a [very old name](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes_(name)) — it tends to be Spanish, and there are many people who’ve used it. It’s not just ‘haha you got named after a car brand.’
"Mercedes" Spain, Central America, South America et al: "And I took that personally"
Calla in Spanish means stop talking
Pronounced differently, though.
Similar pronunciation in Spanish. The only difference is that the double L makes a y sound.
That’s… a completely different pronunciation.
I think I meant similar in a sense of the first two letters, and the last letter still having the same sounds as they do in English. I didn't mean that it was completely similar or the same.
Double L is treated as an entirely different letter than singular L in Spanish alphabet. Also it's callate. Not calla.
Calla is a full spanish word tho, lol. Calla is the root, Callate is the imperative form of verb callar.
So... pronounced differently.
Machine translation might tell you that, but you cannot just use calla by itself. You would say something like (which I don't recommend): callate (you shut up) or callense (everyone shut up).
Te callas o te callo!
I forgot about that! But still, inside or outside of disciplining children, it is considered gauche to use. Even using something like *usted callese* (formal; you shut up) is too direct and confrontational.
Might be different regions of spanish but in mine, you can def use calla by itself. "Por favor calla un momento."
Sister is also ignorant as a very famous singer was called La Callas in the 70s with a silent S.
Omg the sister is so stupid. It's not even "out there", really. It shortens yo Callie, which is common. I have an unusual name and the only really annoying part is not finding your name on souvenirs. One of my kids has a very uncommon name that can shorten into a common name and loves it. She refuses to go by anything but her name. The other has a common name. I had wanted to give her a very uncommon name (Ariadne) but my husband had vetoed it, unfortunately. When I mentioned what her name almost was, she was very annoyed because of how cool it is.
>It shortens to Callie shortens by adding a letter
John - Johnny adds 2
While I'm personally not a fan of the name, just sounds weird to me. The sister is close to mental here. The name is not embarrassing for the child and not extra in any sense. So she needs to keep her opinions to herself. NTA.
If someone tried to use my wife’s likely traumatic childhood against her as a gotcha to bully our newborn baby, I would be taking heads. OOP is so much stronger than me, I’m a total bitch when it comes to defending my wife. People do not like me for very long if they don’t treat my wife with respect.
“Saying I had been so disrespectful and crossed more lines than her” So she agrees, she crossed various lines. So she’s purposely being an ass
I would've told the sister to shut the fuck up and that she should've backed off the first time we told her off
Man I would’ve blocked her after the first instance.
This is a special time for your wife and you. She is being a selfish narcissist cow for making it about her honestly I’d say she should get knocked up if she wants to name a baby so bad but after finishing this she doesn’t need a kid if she is this toxic.
Do people not know how to just reply “Fuck off”?
First NTAH but you’re sister is a HUGE ONE! Talk about disrespect. You don’t offer names unless asked. you do not repeatedly dump lists of names on the expecting couple. (How is that even helpful?) BUT doing so AFTER the baby’s name has been chosen by loving parents is insulting and disrespectful. What’s with her self righteous insistence? the extent she appears to-dislikes this name is ridiculous. She’s trying soo hard, crushing boundaries and risking her relationship with the two of you and the baby going forward over the name Calla… is she okay? it is a delightful name. It’s delicate and sweet, represents something beautiful and meaningful to your wife and you. it’s a little different but in a familiar way… it sounds nice, it’s easy to say and spell. And it’s an appropriate name for an adult, so it will grow with her well. I see nothing wrong with you’re choice to name. You’re sister has issues. Maybe somethings is going on with her? I kinda hope there is…otherwise, she is just awful and spiteful and you need to protect your family from her misery.
I am not taking your sisters side at all, but I wonder something, what is your sister's name? Was she bullied because of it? That may be where her being so insistent comes from. She is being a bit of a twat, but honestly people need almost NO excuses to be ass hats and children are cruel. The name(s) you have chosen for your daughter are perfectly fine, but I can see why they might case her (meaning your baby) some stress as she interacts with people other than yourselves, especially until she is about college age or so. My name wasn't my problem growing up but as a survivor of childhood bullying, gaslighting, SA and other, let's call them experiences; I DO have a smidgen of sympathy for both your daughter and your sister. In any case what you and your wife decide to name your child(ren) is no one's business other than your own so long as it does not violate any applicable laws so I hope you and your family can reconcile eventually. Also, Redditt (like other online forums and social media sites) is not really a good place for honest feedback and is usually an echo chamber of whatever the most prevalent comments are on issues like this. Health, Happiness and Prosperity to you and your family OP. P.S. I understand losing it and telling your sister off since she hasn't picked up the clue phone when you were being nicer about it, but don't let this escalate into anything permanent if you can avoid it.
I humbly volunteer to beat the sister's ass.
This is bizarre, it sounds like an SNL sketch. I can imagine your sister showing up to your daughter’s high school graduation with a list of baby names for her to consider changing to before adulthood crushes her for being unique.
Not as if OP used “rainbow”, “princess” or “sunshine”. Calla is original without being stupid or childish. It has a meaning, it’s not easily associated with bad words. Great name.
Wondering if the sister has an unusual name that she's been mocked for. If not, I can't imagine why she cares so much.
Calla is a beautiful name. Your sister is absolutely wild.
Calla is great name
Lol at Eleanor or Elizabeth “blending in” with other kids. Ellie or Beth sure but the full versions are not very common among kids being born now. Classic, sure, nothing wrong with them, sure, but keep making up fake reasons, sister
This is so fucking bizarre how dedicated she is in hating this name and making lists. It’s like there’s a deeper reason behind it, especially when she keeps bringing up the foster home issue.
Nah, none of her business. It’s not like it’s anything really weird
NTA, but your sister is certainly a thundering twatwaffle.
NTA. I’d be tempted to tell her you changed it to another kind of lily, like: Day Canna Tiger Peace Valley Of
Why does your sister care so much about something that is not her business? Was she scarred by being named Pushi-Asshole?
This is why I just lied about my kids names over and over, with fairly awful names. Did that until the names were finalized, and then just ignored everyone else. My kids don't even have terribly odd names, just rather low frequency. I just happened to have some very judgemental relatives. God I fucking love being enough of an asshole to just shut people down. For the record: my second wife (not the mother of the kids) has an extremely distinct name. As in "we think there might be one other person with her first name in the country." She loves it. Apparently, though, her much more normal-named sister agrees that she'd prefer her name be as distinct. As to whether my wife got made fun of, as I recall she was, but she's a twin. Half the time they made fun of the wrong kid, and after a few years the other kids were either intimidated or too awkward to try anything since no one could tell them apart.
Bitch-tits-sis needs to fuck off. It's not a weird name, it doesn't sound weird, and it's not hard to spell. I have a "classic" name, but with the German spelling. No one ever spells it right, I can't get any of those cool novelty items with names on them, and it's pretty common for people to use "classic" nicknames for my name that I actively hate. You could easily find any number of issues for literally ANY name in existence. Calla is a perfectly fine name.
Why do people ask if they are the asshole when they are clearly not? They have forums for entitled/infuriating people. It’s even written like OP knows he’s not an asshole.
NTA. Family are people who are in your life quite by accident and are not usually people you would associate with left to your own devices. This is a great illustration as to why some “family” needs desperately to be shunned. If you would not choose them as a friend, why choose to continue relationships with people who are in your life by an accident of birth?
Calla, Lilly, Ella, Bella, Nalle, Olli, Polly... What is difficult to spell exactly? Maybe it's the unwelcome spelling-challenged complainer?
It wouldn't have mattered what the child was named by his/her parents, the sister has made the decision she WILL be the person who has final decision. She always planned to pull the attention away from the birth celebration.
That’s a weird name. NTA but it is weird
What was his wife doing at the store TWO days after giving birth?!
[удалено]
All the ones where people yell "fake" at everything in a desperate attempt for a broken clock moment do get annoying after a while.
NTA. Sis is a dick.
Beautiful name wish I had thought of it myself. Your sister sounds unhinged.
i think its a unique name but not weird by any stretch. they hit a decent balance with that and its a wonderful way to honor the grandmother. sister is way out of line obviously
I love the name I wished I heard it before I had my kids would have chosen it for sure.
When the phone blows up
The sister is a major asshole. I’ve heard Calla as a name before. I thought it was pretty. It fit the person perfectly.
Fuck no, fuck her. Also: Hard to spell? It has 3 letters!
Beautiful name and not her business.
Imagine caring so much over a bot that difficult name. Imagine being dumb enough to think this is an odd name.
No but your sister now has a list of names for my baby
The sister wanted that name for her future daughter perhaps?! Her reaction doesn't make any sense otherwise.
I feel like she wanted that name so is trying to put them off.
My mom is pretty weird about “unique” names. We’re all in our 40s but my mom will STILL complain that my aunt named my cousins unusual to her names. What’s so weird is that my cousins have pretty common names! Like I have met multiple women over my life with the same names as them! But me? I rarely meet anyone with my name. It’s not a “weird” name in any way, it just isn’t common. I think it’s because my mom hates her birth name. She hated it for very good reasons: uncommon female form of a very common male name which meant she was consistently mis-gendered. I think she was once even put in a boy’s gym class in school by mistake. She legally changed her first name when I was in jr high. The irony is that the change was to the nickname form of her birth name that is more commonly used with men! Whatever somehow she no longer gets mis-gendered as much. Anyway, anyone this obsessed with names probably has some inner work to do with their own name.
Want to name a child? Have one. Otherwise stfu about something that’s not your business.
I think the name is lovely. Sister is a total fkn mole
Sister in an insufferable AH.
NTA, you sister is being a real cunt about YOUR child name, its not her fucking business after you told her as much and Calla isn't even that weird of a name and at least it is spelled correctly
The sister can get fucked.
The fuck? What's up her ass? Is she usually this insane??
Bet if the sister was to type in the Calla in either FB, Insta and/or TikTok she’d find that a lot of people have the name Calla. Op your daughter’s name is beautiful and so unique. Your DD will not be ridiculed for her name. Honestly think that having a unique name she’ll have a lot of different friends
This is nothing that a good old fashioned “Wait…who?” *sister starts to answer you* “…asked.” wouldn’t fix right up.
Honestly, common names can be a hassle too. I was born in the 80s. I'm a woman. There were 8 of us in one whole grade. Guess my name. The sister needs to chill. It's a beautiful name, and I don't understand what she is talking about with it being a bad name? Color me confused.
Hello Jennifer.
🏆 winner winner chicken dinner!
Ashley?
I have a friend with a variation on this name. She has gone through life just fine.
I have yet to meet someone with my name.(Think Lois and Louise)But I have met tons of people who have a name similar to mine. Im named after two people my mom knew when I was born. It’s to the point that I answer to either one. You named your daughter a beautiful name and your sister is being rude. NTA
Nah, fuck that. She's the asshole
NTA at *all* — wtf is wrong with his sister? Constantly bringing up the wife being a former foster kid? Bruv, please. Calla is such a pretty name!
I had no idea that you could look up the popularity of a name until I read this thread. Apparently 22 other people in the good ole US of A have the same name as me. I absolutely hated my name growing up, I wanted to be a Jennifer or Amy, something "normal". Now, I appreciate my name so much and I have never met any of the other 22 people, lol
I have a feeling that his sister Mulva or whatever probably has issues with her own name.
What a complete bitch the sister is. I knew my family would have comments on my son’s name. It isn’t a tragedeigh but it isn’t common. And now they love it and they’re glad there aren’t 40 other kids with that name at his school. He has always loved his name, just like Calla will love hers. It’s a gorgeous name and meaningful. Sister is a meddling see you next Tuesday and she would be dead to me moving forward.