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They will have the same first name and surname.
By Megan Quinn — Written on Mar 08, 2023
A teenager is at odds with her father over his plans to name her future half-sister the same name she's been living with for 18 years.
Taking to Reddit's r/AmITheA--hole subreddit, the 18-year-old says she's "confused" about whether she is in the wrong after falling out with her father and his new wife over their planned baby name.
The teen, Roseanne, explains that she's never been close with her dad until recently. "My parents didn't want to have children but a mistake happened," she writes in her post.
However, in the past year, their relationship seems to have improved as she's now living with him — which makes what is to come all the more complex.
The woman’s father wants to name his new daughter ‘Rosanne’ since roses are his wife’s favorite flowers.
Yes, you read that correctly. Rosanne's father wants to have two kids with the same name.
The original Roseanne explains that her relationship with her dad's wife isn't the best. “My dad has a new wife and I met her last year, we don't really like each other,” she wrote. “Now she is pregnant, the baby will be born in June around my birthday.”
She claims that her father is “super excited” about the new baby, however, she does not seem to be excited herself considering the baby’s name choice. “He and his wife want to name the baby Roseanne since her favorite flowers are roses,” Rosanne explained. “I don't like the idea at all. It will be my exact name and surname.”
Although she claims to go by the nicknames “Ro” and “Rosie” she is still not too fond of her sister having the exact same name as her. “I suggested other similar names, the most obvious being Rose but they don't like anything at all,” she wrote.
Her stepmother and father disagree with her and believe that her feelings are unreasonable. “My stepmom says that I'm being selfish because I'm ‘jealous’ of my dad wanting this baby,” Rosanne revealed. “My dad is upset at me and says I should be mature and not gatekeep a name.”
Of course, gatekeeping would imply Roseanne doesn't want anyone in the whole world to have her name which isn't the case. She just doesn't want her own sister to have to share a name with her. A reasonable request if you ask us — and Reddit.
Redditors agreed with the woman that it was strange that her father wanted to give his new baby the same name.
“That’s incredibly weird that your dad would even think that’s a good idea,” one user commented. “It would be unfair to both you and the baby to have the same exact name.”
“There are millions of names, they don’t need to take yours,” another user wrote.
“Tell your dad and stepmom that you two will face a lot of challenges in the future if they do this,” another user advised. “If you do something illegal, maybe your step-sister will have to fight about it. Get a credit card? It could impact her. I would ABSOLUTELY tell them not to name the baby after you.”
Others suggested that naming the baby the same name as his first daughter was a serious character flaw on his part.
“This naming highly suggests he's seeing the baby as his chance to correct the mistakes he made with you,” one user believed. “She's to be your replacement. I honestly think you should start preparing to move out and be independent.”
“This sounds like a do-over baby thing. I think your stepmother wants to have a Roseanne that your father wants, and not you,” another user wrote. “As a way to be very petty and cruel. I think it's f–ked up.”
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.