What to Know
As a person with a “unique” name, I’m often asked about its origins. I explain that my parents waited three months to name me, and my mom found my name in a book. Since they had gotten to know me a little bit, she found the name she felt best fit me and who she wanted me to become. There’s a lot of pressure to have the perfect baby name before your child is even born, but sometimes parents need time. Oona Zlamany, a content creator, went viral after revealing that her mom allowed her to “choose” her own name when she was only hours old. Many people found the unconventional move fascinating.
She initially told the story on her TikTok.
@oonazlamany I picked my own name. Yes, I am happy with my choice. #childhoodmemories #babynames #powerfulwords ♬ Satie "Gnossiennes No.1" (piano)(1118396) – Akira Orihata
“My first choice ever on planet earth was picking my own name,” Zlamany explained in the video.
She went on to say that she was born without a name, but the choice was “intentional.” Knowing that people would be curious as to how something like that is even possible, she went on to explain that her mom wrote down 100 names on 100 index cards and read them to her newborn during their time at the hospital.
At the end of five days in the hospital, she reasoned that there would be a “clear winner.”
“One name will rise above the rest that your child obviously has chosen as their name, or really clearly favors. When that was the case with me, it was clear at the five-day mark that Oona was the winner,” she said. “I probably really just liked the sounds of the vowels, Oona. And that was the name that I picked, and that is the name that I have.”
People had a lot of mostly positive feelings about this baby name process.
“Wait… I like this,” one person wrote.
“My parents did the same thing for me, 40 years ago! My Mom had the names on a sheet of paper, but she and my Dad both theorized the same thing- that I would react in some way,” another commenter said.
“Great taste even at such a young age. Lovely name!”
“I actually love this and love your name what a killer ice breaker fun fact,” someone else said.
“My mom did the same, it took six months to come up with my sisters lol,” one person wrote, to which Zlamany replied, “6?! is she okay?”
However, the story isn’t as simple as she made it seem.
@oonazlamany stunning! @ALICE + OLIVIA ♬ original sound – oona
In an interview with People, Zlamany explained that the hospital staff almost had to “force” her mom Brenda to choose a baby name “because she was taking so long trying to pick, trying to figure out what name I liked best.” Ultimately, it came down to two names: Imogen and Oona.
“They were like, ‘If you don’t name her, we’re going to pick a name for the birth certificate,’” she said.
Zlamany called her mom’s method “unconventional,” but also shared that it was just her mom’s way. Brenda Zlamany, an artist born and raised in Queens, New York, became pregnant with Oona at the age of 40 and raised her by herself.
The Brooklyn, New York based content creator says that her name has allowed her to embrace what makes her different. “I think it’s affected the kind of person that I’ve become in terms of my personality, but I’m very grateful for that.”
“I feel very proud of having the name, and I try to do the name justice every single day,” she said, adding that she would “without a doubt” choose the name Oona again. “I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
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