‘My sister stole my baby name – I want her to change it but she says I’m overreacting’

A woman who claims her sister ‘stole’ the baby name she had picked has asked her to change it – but others say no one ‘owns’ a baby name so there isn’t much she can do

Many people choose to keep baby names private until the very last moment for many reasons – whether it’s to ensure they have their heart set on it or want to avoid others stealing it. One woman instantly regretted telling her sister her favourite name, as she used it before she got the chance, leaving her devastated.

The anonymous woman, who was trying for a baby, told her sister that she and her husband had picked the name Lori for a girl. Explaining the situation on Reddit’s Am I The A**hole forum, she continued: “But my sister immediately decided she liked the name and wanted it. I dropped the conversation because I didn’t want it to turn into some weird competition.”

While the woman was battling with fertility issues and multiple miscarriages, the sister revealed she and her husband were also ready to try for a baby. Because they still wanted to use the name Lori, she decided to bring it up again.

Read More

The Reddit user continued: “I said, ‘I know I brought this up years ago, but we’d still really like to name our baby Lori if it’s a girl.’ And my sister basically said, tough luck, I want the name.

“I tried explaining to her that Lori had been on our list for so long, and after years of doctor’s appointments, bad news, miscarriages, and surgeries, it would mean a lot if we could use the name we picked.

“I pretty much begged her to let us have Lori, and for her to just pick a different name. She responded with, ‘You’re seriously going to play that card?’.”

The forum user said she was “really hurt” by her sister’s reaction, and they had essentially left the conversation on the note of “whoever gets pregnant first gets the name”.

After that, both sisters became pregnant, but the woman sadly went on to miscarry, and had named her unborn baby Lori.

Meanwhile, the sister later gave birth and announced that her name would be Loriana.

She explained: “We felt like their name decision was cruel, and we were (and still are) very upset. I didn’t say anything to my sister because I didn’t want to start any drama — but I confided in my mum how upset we were.

“She informed me that my sister and her husband were mad I asked them not to use the name Lori. In their opinion, Lori and Loriana were different enough names, and I am overreacting, and was wrong to ask them to pick a different name.”

In the comments of the forum post users were conflicted because they believe ‘no one owns a name’.

One person said: “I get that you are hurting, but you don’t ‘own’ a name. Who would have cared if both of your girls were named Lori? And she changed the name to a variant – a beautiful one that also respected your claim on ‘Lori’. So let it go.”

Another added: “I’m very sorry for your loss. But no one owns a name, and lots of family’s share names.”

However, many agreed it’s a matter of compassion and that the sister should have respected the name choice.

One person said: “She has said for years that she wanted a baby called Lori, and her sister should have respected that. There are literally MILLIONS of names out there she could have chosen but NO.”

Another said: “People really seem to be ignoring that this is about more than ‘claiming’ a name. I too agree that no one can claim a name, but if anyone I knew well enough to know that they were trying to conceive, confided their preferred baby name to me, I would never in a million years decide to use it myself.”

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.