A future mother is tangled in a name dilemma, fearing her unborn daughter will face taunts at school for the promise she made to honour her mother-in-law.
The distressed woman turned to Reddit’s r/namenerds to seek advice after promising to name her baby after her husband’s mother eight years ago.
She explained the name is of Arabic origin, and that they now live in the US, which she fears could be a problem.
Her post read: “We promised my mother-in-law eight years ago, I was super young and didn’t really think twice about it. For reference, it is highly honourable to have your grandkids named after you in our Arab culture.”
The name that’s causing her sleepless nights? “Dalal” – pronounced dah-lahl. She went on: “We’re in the US and I’m worried that her name would have kids bully her when she goes to school.”
She revealed she was considering giving her daughter a dual identity – Dalal among family and Delilah officially and at school.
The post read: “I was thinking of naming her Dalal solely within our culture/having family call her that, and putting her name down as Delilah on her birth certificate/for school etc.” The expectant mum then asked for advice from others online.
People flocked to the comments section to reassure the woman, with many asserting she likely has nothing to fret over regarding her choice to name her daughter Dalal.
One individual commented: “I think that within any contemporary classroom environment Dalal will not be the most unique or uncommon name by a long shot, so I do not share your concerns that choosing this name would set your daughter up to be bullied.”
Another chimed in: “If I learned anything from naming my daughter it would be trust your gut. If Dalal doesn’t feel right don’t use it. You shouldn’t feel the need to make a decision based on a near decade old promise that you made while you were young. Dalal is a lovely name and I would hope that we’ve come far enough in this world that children wouldn’t make fun of a name just because it’s not English.”
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