AIBU to feel hurt by my partner's sibling's comment about our baby?

I think her comment was very mean.

I wouldn’t react but I would file her comment in your mind as an indicator of what else she could do or say.

Don’t feel like you to have to put up with her comments all the time and if you need to give her a wide berth, do it.

If that were the case they should have said ‘I don’t actually know, we just like it’.

I never researched the meanings of my kids’ names - just chose ones I like

My thoughts exactly.

That’s how I would see it too. No one has ever asked it of me and I have no idea what they ‘mean’. If someone asked me I’d be a bit baffled, I suppose. But no one ever has as they are normal ‘British’ names.

OP’s in-law clearly thought there was some sort of criticism in there to respond that way. None of us were there to witness the exchange so who knows.

Most parents think their baby is the most wonderful thing that has ever graced the earth.

But there are times when we should not verbalise this 🙄

Clearly, this was a bad joke that landed very poorly.

Try not to give it too much thought. Hopefully the awkward silence spoke volumes, the person who said it is a little embarrassed and will think better of it next time.

This one comment isn't going to set them on a trajectory for the rest of their lives - that bit is definitely the hormones and overthinking!

Take a breath and try to move on.

In over 20 years of motherhood I have never even thought about the meaning of my children’s names.

To me, asking the meaning of a name is like asking someone their star sign. Irritating.

Just brush it off.

Ffs ….

Really? I wouldn't expect anyone to know the meaning of English names either. Some parents do (usually the mum!), some don't. Some of my childrens' names have more than one meaning. I was and am more than happy to share this with other people if asked.

She was being unnecessarily snippy but she's probably overtired. I'd let it go and hope for the best but YANBU.

Because English names all have meanings too? For example Katherine means ‘pure’. But most people don’t know/care what a name ‘means’ because they just pick a name because they like it. So asking what a name ‘means’ is kind of othering it as you wouldn’t ask if the name was ‘Charlie’, even though Charlie has a meaning too.

In this case though it just seems like a tense relationship overall. Most people would just reply good naturedly or say ‘I’ve no idea what it means’

Don’t we all think our babies are the best? Such a sad state of affairs when we use what should be a joyful occasion within a family to score points off one another though……….and the person who thinks she is the very first person to ever have a baby!!!! Well, words fail me! Where did WE all come from?!
Move on OP, enjoy your own baby!

Are you serious? Why would an English person ask the meaning of an English name?

Yes, as questions around babies go, the meaning/reason for choosing their name is one of the most interesting in a rather limited pool of interesting information about somebody who has only been alive for a very, very short time. Way more interesting than their weight or time of birth.

If they don't know the meaning, well, what a shame there isn't anything call the internet for them to check in 20 seconds... but if they just picked the name because they liked the sound of it, there's nothing at all wrong in saying that.

People tend not to ask about the meaning of common names in Britain because they assume it will have been the sound of the name that they chose it for, or maybe naming after a family member; but an unexpected or unfamiliar choice, that isn't necessarily connected to the parents' heritage, is naturally going to be of more curious interest.

No it’s not exhausting to be asked the meaning of names. It's a perfectly normal part of a conversation about names

Are you serious? Why would an English ask the meaning of an English name?

I would ask for the meaning of an English name.

Warning - this may not continue in the future if there is tension like this. We had several great holidays and lots of days out with BIL and family whose DC are close in age to my DS1, but none of us are touchy like this. There will be incidents where one child takes a toy from another etc and I’ve known families where holidays were awful because of hostility over this.

Why don't you ask for the meaning of English names? I'd love to be asked what my kids' names mean.

This was my thinking too.

How is the relationship otherwise?

Joke that went wrong I think. If you get on well forget about it and enjoy your children . Having a cousin gang to grow up with is great.

Yeah it was a dick comment.

They probably have no idea what the name meant so shot back with that.

Id definitely say something to your partner along the lines of ‘that comment your sister made has really got under my skin - that’s why I laughed awkwardly and sat there like a dick head. It was uncalled for and mean’

I wouldn’t say anything to his sister - just mark her card. She’s unpleasant and I’d avoid like the plague - I doubt this is going to be the only time she says crap like this about your kids

I think yours was a perfectly reasonable question, especially as generally people these days are quite interested in the meaning of names, and their origin.

I think the response you got was actually very unpleasant. It may be that if it's such an unusual name there have been a lot of comments about it and she is feeling defensive about the choice.

I would try not to let this upset you and put it behind you unless you get other unpleasant signals from her. Then definitely your DH should support you.

What a bitch. Either way its bang out of order.

They might not know the meaning of the name. They could possibly have just picked the name because they liked it and done no research and felt stupid when you asked. To cover up because they didn’t want to admit they didn’t know they were a bit snippy.
Often when people are rude like that it’s not about being rude to you it’s to cover up their own stupidly, they’d rather be rude than stupid.