The other day I was listening to a podcast featuring two Black mothers talking about their decisions on whether to give their children traditional African names or not. These two women live and work in the UK and ultimately decided against it because they know the challenges having African names might present for their children.
They argued that it takes a certain level of privilege to give your child a unique name. But many of us without that privilege know that you can be judged without ever stepping into a room. This is a sentiment a popular baby name TikToker shared and it’s getting quite a bit of attention.
The TikToker shares uncommon names parents might consider for their newborns.
The woman who goes by @dreambabynames on TikTok launched her account in 2021. She quickly amassed 22,000 followers thanks to her quirky and creative suggestions. But someone noticed that in all of her suggestions about baby names, she posts pictures of adults. In a video that has gone viral, she explained why.
When people asked her about using adults in her videos, she shared an interesting take.
In a video that has been viewed over 3 million times, this baby name influencer said: “I didn’t realize how many people thought it was so odd that I used pictures of adults in my baby name videos, my baby name recommendations. Because all of these other accounts are posting babies in swaddles and bear suits and so cute. Then she hit her followers with the gotcha gotcha: I feel like it’s really important to remember, you’re naming an adult. You’re not naming a baby.”
'A baby is around for two seconds …'
“A baby is around for two seconds and an adult, literally, is going to be around for about 80 years,” she noted.
She said naming your baby boy Mars or Moon might be something you reconsider if you think about him as a grown man applying for a job or becoming a scientist. She said if you don’t, then that’s fine, too.
One user said adults giving children weird names can be a 'red flag.'
There were plenty of people who understood exactly what she was saying and agreed.
“Baby name lasts 7 years,” one user wrote. "Adult name lasts 70 years."
“People love to tell me my daughter has ‘such a grown up name’ like all names will eventually be grown up names,” wrote another commenter.
“It’s such a red flag for me,” one user commented. “Because all it tells me is that the parents want a pet baby not children who will become real grown people one day.”
Others wondered why we have to consider so many factors when naming our children.
Some people wondered why we have to consider so many external factors as we name our own children.
“I hate how our world is always focused on getting jobs,” one user wrote. "Like yes, a job helps but why is it seen as our goals in life and not just be happy."
“One day we’ll be beyond judging a person by a name they didn’t even choose,” another user wrote.
The TikToker said that as someone who is under a lot of financial strain, she is absolutely concerned about money and the ability for her children to get a job. Honestly, we get it, too, but we never really even thought about from this particular perspective. Her take is so valid!
