I Moved to a New Country & Now I’m Desperate To Change My Toddler’s Name

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So many parents agonize over what they will name their baby. Do they want a family name? A unique name? Is there a celebrity they adore? There's a lot to consider. Some parents wait until birth to name their baby to see what suits them. And while much thought goes into baby naming, we don't always think of everything.

We know that when we named our kids, we didn't necessarily think about what their names could mean in another language and whether their names would be deemed unsavory. Neither did one mom who recently moved to an English-speaking country and was horrified to learn that her son's name is definitely not appropriate for a child. So, she went to Reddit's namenerds forum for help.

Unfortunately, the name means something specific in English.

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OP had no idea that her son's name, Semen, is the word in English that refers to the bodily fluid that carries sperm. When she found out, she was understandably distraught.

"My son's name is Semen (Семен) [səmən] In our country, this word does not have the meaning it has in English — sperm : Now we had to move to an English-speaking country. And I want to fix this name while my son is 3 years old. I was looking for modifications (Simon, Simeon, Sam) but they are not ok for different reasons. Now I'm thinking about how to translate this name into English properly," she wrote.

She explained that in her country, the emphasis is on the second e and it has a completely different meaning.

She is totally befuddled.

OP would like to keep his name similar, but feels like that could be a problem, too.

She explained, "But I don't know how to write this sound in English letters. The closest variant, which sounds the same in google translate is Semaan. But I don't know how people will read and say it."

She needed help and hoped Reddit was the place to go.

Lots of folks definitely wanted to help.

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One person suggested Steven because it is close.

"The beginning sound and letter is the same," the poster suggested. "It'll make it easier for bub to recognize his name. The ending sound is the same. 'En' this is important for the same reason. In essence you're changing the middle consonant and since bub is 3 this should go really well. It sounds like the emphasis in his name is in the second syllable- so this might be the only sticking point linguistically. But honestly? This could be a lovely Choice, easily spelled and pronounced. It'll be recognizable in any English speaking country."

Others thought that using something even more similar could work, "Samin, which sounds like salmon if you emphasize the SA but it's an easier correction than Semen," a Redditor offered. "Spell it Samin, pronounce it Səmən, and no one will think twice, especially if you have accented English."

And one person did some research to try to help: "I just looked up the name to see its origin and I saw an alternate spelling on Wikipedia. Xemen. It can still be pronounced the same this way."

People applauded the mom for trying to help her son.

Kids are mean, and people know it. Redditors felt like the mom was doing the right thing to prevent bullying.

One person wrote: "I don't have any suggestions, but genuinely, thank you for acknowledging his name in a new country will harm him and taking appropriate action. I know some foreigners who insist that because it's 'not like that' in their culture, it doesn't matter, but it definitely does."

Plenty agreed.

"Teacher here," another comment reads. "Names matter. You gave your child a wonderful name. Shortening the name to just the first phoneme could be really helpful. I would not change it entirely though, you already did good work giving them the first name."

Another commented: "Former high school teacher here, kids can be turds. Any version of his name except Simon can be twisted into Semen. In order to keep his name (you should not have to give it up altogether) bump it into middle name territory where it will never be used and add an English name as his first which is what most will use at school."

OP, you're doing great.

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Redditors were quick to offer suggestions and not to shame the concerned mom. They felt like she was doing the right thing for her son and offered a ton of options. Hopefully, she can find a suitable name that makes her happy and prevents trouble for her little guy. Changing a child's name at the age of 3, is definitely a tricky one.