‘My best mate is using my toddler’s name for her baby boy’

"I feel like it makes me a bad friend, telling her she shouldn't name him that," the mum says. Is she right to be annoyed?

Laura Jackel

3 min read

July 2, 2024 - 6:43PM

Woman roasted choosing baby name that will 'ruin her child's life'

Parenting

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Choosing the right name for your new baby can be very exciting, but it can also be a fraught decision. Especially if you love the moniker that a friend or family member has chosen for their little one.

One woman messaged Today Show hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager asking for their advice, because her best friend is copying her and naming her new baby the same as her fifteen month old toddler.

“One of my best friends Charlotte is expecting a little boy,” she shared with the duo.

“When Charlotte announced she was having a baby. She also declared to be giving him the same name as my 15 month old son Cooper. She never asked if that would bother me and I haven't said anything to her because I feel like it makes me a bad friend - telling her that ‘she shouldn’t name him that’.

“Do I have the right to be annoyed? Should I talk to her about it?”

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"I would be flattered"

The two hosts respond to the baby name dilemma with a unified response.

“I mean, I would be flattered,” begins Hoda.

“I would be flattered if someone said, ‘I love the name you chose so much’. I wouldn't be like ‘hey, that's my kid's name’, because there are other Coopers!”

Jenna responds by agreeing with her co-host and saying she had a boyfriend named Cooper.

“Cooper is a great name,” Hoda adds, saying she thinks it will be fun in the future.

“And I think it's kind of cool. Imagine they'll be friends growing up saying ‘hey Coop’ to each other.”

Jenna concludes: “They might go by 'Cooper one' and 'Cooper two'!”

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"I would be honoured"

Many agreed with the hosts’ take on it being a form of flattery.

“I would be honored,” said one woman.

“Take a breath and remember how much you love your best friend… and her babies… and your babies. It is all going to be okay!”

“It’s not so bad,” wrote another.

“My cousin and I both are the same. My husband has a few cousins/siblings with the same name. It doesn’t bother them a bit. I think the friend maybe should have honoured their friendship and approached it differently to saying she’d be picking that name.”

"I feel so guilty about it"

A third added: “A close friend asked if it was ok to name her daughter after mine. My daughter was 23 at the time. I was flattered and said, ‘ of course’! Her second daughter is named after my granddaughter”

One woman gave her unique opinion from the perspective of the person seeking approval from a friend to use the same name.

“I did this once to a friend and years later I still feel so immature and guilty about it,” she wrote.

“I wish I would’ve had the wisdom I have now to realise it really doesn’t matter in the long run and no one has a claim to a name.”

"I would be mad!"

On TikTok, one woman commented below the Today Show clip that she felt annoyed when her mate used her baby’s name.

“I told someone the name we were going to use,” she wrote.

“They had another name picked out and then switched to the name we were choosing before we could. I was annoyed but didn’t say anything to them.”

A few comments completely disagreed with Hoda and Jenna's generous take, writing that Charlotte has every right to feel upset.

“Oh heck no way, the comments are too nice,” wrote one TikTokker seeing red.

“I don’t think I would start a fight but I would be mad and there’s something wrong with Charlotte for not asking, so I’d be put off by the type of person she is.”