Bestowing a name upon a human being is one of life’s greatest responsibilities. Will they like it when they grow up? Will it suit their personality? Will other people like it? Will there be a class full of the same name when they’re at school?
There’s a lot to think about and the pressure is immense, so when the baby name that you’ve painstakingly thought over is not well received, it’s a real ‘ooph’ moment.
Which is exactly what is happening right now for a mum who has taken to online parenting forum, mumsnet to vent the frustrations at her own mother, who refuses to accept the name she has chosen for her youngest child.
In a thread titled: “Bleeping mother!” the poster laments her own mother’s behaviour when it comes to using the name of daughter. Not only does her mother refuse to use the right name, she’s even taken to using a nickname, which nobody in the family can stand, instead.
“My youngest is called Cassia. It’s not hard. My four-year-old calls her Cass or Cassie. Fine,” she writes. “My flipping mother says she can’t do ‘exotic foreign names’ and calls her Candy which I HATE!”
“I’ve spoken to her about it a billion times (probably an exaggeration but not by much) she laughs it off. I’m scared it will stick.”
“My husband says he will start calling her Jelly if she carries on and she tells him not to be so disrespectful,” the distressed mum says. “Any advice apart from the very tempting gaffer tape over the mouth solution?”
“My flipping mother says she can’t do ‘exotic foreign names’!”
(Credit: Getty Images.)According to babynames.com Cassia, pronounced, CASS-ee-a or CASH-a derives from the word Cinnamon and has a Greek origin. It can also take the Polish form of Catherine, meaning “pure.”.
It’s hardly a difficult name to wrap one’s mouth around, so is this mum reasonable in her demands that her own mother use it correctly? According to the comments on the thread, she sure is.
Many were quick to reassure the OP that her daughter’s name was lovely. Others jumped in with some creative solutions to the problem.
“So rude. I’d be limiting time with her. ‘If you don’t even care enough to get our daughter’s name right I don’t think we’ll be coming over that often …'” suggested one commenter.
While another offered: “I would tell my mother if she doesn’t call my child by their correct name then they won’t be given the opportunity to call them their name at all.”
WATCH: Maori baby names and their meanings. Continues after video …
While others encouraged her to get the other children involved, like the commenter who offered up this idea: “I was also going to suggest having your four-year-old call her by her first name until she stops – it seems effective, going by stories I’ve heard.”
“If she does it again, tell her you are very concerned about her memory loss and think it should be reported to her doctor,” suggested one cheeky commenter. “Mutter something to your DH in an aside about “senile dementia and care homes”. That should straighten her up!”
An idea that was supported by this suggestion: “Make worried comments about “I’m a bit concerned that you appear to be getting Cassia muddled up with another person called Candace. Should you see your GP? Confusing two people can be a sign that your cognitive faculties are in decline….”
Surely Grandma could be trying a little harder, don’t you think?
