Anyone ever recovered from a "stolen" baby name?

[bee2121]

I did the biggest mistake of my life by giving a true answer when a co-worker asked what baby names I like. I was caught off gard and I am a terrible liar. She is not going to have children so I was like whatever, better just say it as it is. Unfortunately another co-worker where closer than I though, she walked in just seconds later, my guess is that she overheard us because a few months later she announces she is pregnant and guess what name her baby got? My name!

If it where to be a common name I wouldn't have batted an eyebrow, but knowing she overheard us and the fact that it's a very uncommon name (but still old/classic, not a weird name) makes me believe she "stole" it.

I know the fault is mine for sharing in the first place, but it was hard not to feel a jab in the heart when I heard the name for the first time. She spelled it slightly different but it is pronounced exactly the same. I didn't confront her but man did it sting in my baby-longing heart.

I no longer work there, but I did for about a year after her baby arrived.

Thing is I love this name, it was a name from my heart really. But having someone else reference their kid as that name over and over it just feels so weird naming my own that name. I love names that are somewhat unique (but not weird, I'm not that tragedeigh mom!) and probably couldn't name a baby something really common. It's like I want them to have their "own" name that no one else has, at least not someone we know.

Did this happen to anyone else? I wonder if it's possible to overcome this feeling or if the name is "ruined" forever for me? It feels like it's ruined but I don't want it to be.

@mitsky are you suing?!!

This is batshit.

I don’t know how old you are but I don’t think you’re mature enough to be a parent 🤣

DD has a name that was not very common at all in the UK when she was born over 30 years ago. When DD was quite young someone commented on how lovely they thought the name was and a few years later gave her DD the same name. Far from thinking "the cheek of the cow "stealing" the name I gave DD", I thought " aww that's nice, somebody else actually loves the name enough to give it to their own child". But then, I'm a mature adult.

I think this post has made me laugh more than any other I’ve ever read on here. Literally shaking crying

Nothing stopping you from using the name yourself, especially if you were planning on spelling it differently. I work in a school and it's not uncommon for several children in the class to have the same name. Currently, I have two Harry's in my class, two Jack's and two Oliver's! Last year I had two Sophie's. It varies year on year. You need to let the name being 'stolen' go, it's not the end of the world. Sometimes we have a baby, decide on a name beforehand and once the baby arrives, decide the name doesn't suit the baby. We didn't tell anyone what name we had chosen for our son, only gave them a list of possibilities!!

Biggest mistake of your life? I hope this post is a wind up.

How petty.

If you are serious, you need significant help.

Ridiculous - is the only word I can think of!

Are you likely to see this person ever again...?

Both me and DD have extremely rare names. There's a name uniqueness calculator online which uses birth data to say home many of each name are used a year. If it is less than 5, it says there are none. My name has none. Despite this (fewer than 5 children being born per year with my name) I've met a handful of other women with my name and there are quite a few tv characters with my name. 🤷‍♀️ even if the name you chose was unique, it won't be THAT unique, trust me. Would you cope if you may another one in the wild?

Both my DC have relatively uncommon names, I get really excited when I meet another one!

This is really pathetic.

OP, the trouble with unique names, as opposed to unusual names, is that there is usually a very good reason why nobody else has given their baby that name.

If it's just an unusual name then there's every chance you will come across other people with the same name, or even that it becomes THE name that suddenly becomes massively popular out of nowhere and there are 3 others in your child's class.

Just use the name you like. It really couldn't matter less that someone you no longer work with named their child the same thing.

And this is why you should never base your choice of name on how uncommon it is - despite the mad posts here on MN.

I remember my friend and her partner gave their son a very unusual (for this country) name - stand-out youneeqness was very important to her partner, and they had no connection whatsoever to that country. I did have a quiet smile to myself when a family from that country moved to our neighbourhood with a son of the same name. Moral of the story - there will always be a chance that someone else will pitch up with a child with the same name. Give it to your child because you love it, not because you’re obsessed with them being the only one with that name within a hundred mile radius.

You don’t own a name. Get over yourself.

You don’t work there anymore and don’t know this other person really. In 10 years you probably won’t know them at all.

Use the name you like and stop worrying about it.

I think of it was someone close to me like my sister or best friend, and we'd had a conversation where I'd shared the name and had intent to use it etc etc then it would be reasonable to be annoyed.

I don't think being annoyed at a co worker is going to get you anywhere. We don't own names and once time passes and either of you move on from your job you work even remember it.

I like an unusual girls name. Someone at work has named her daughter it. We've never ever discussed it. We just happened to liek the same name.
Does that mean I can no longer use it if I ever had a daughter?mfunnily enough she's had a son and named him my sons name! We're not friends etc, we just must have the same taste!

Would you be upset if I 'stole' the expression "batted an eyebrow"? 😆

This is all so weird I don't know where to begin.

My sister ‘stole’ mine, it’s a name that I never heard before in my home country or England and it’s absolutely gorgeous. Her daughter is now named that and only that, not even a middle name. She’s 13. Still stings a little, I don’t think it suits her in any shape or form.

I don't understand this post. Names are not owned by anyone. I don't understand why the name you love has been tainted because someone you used to know used it to name their child.
All names, unless they are strange 'made up' names, are shared. And even names that are made up often became popular and used by other people

I don’t know. I kind of like it. 😉

She left the job so she doesn't even know them now- never mind in 5 years time! OP are you even pregnant? How ' Yooneeq' was the name anyway? ( It's not actually Yooneeq is it? Because thst isn't unique!)

Well I’m assuming that you had to hear it somewhere so where did you “steal” it from, OP? Unless you have invented the name yourself…

‘Recovered’ 😂😂😂😂😂

Have a word with yourself