A dad-to-be has said he refuses to name his daughter in memory of his mother-in-law as he’s worried their child will be bullied.
He explained that he and his wife recently found out they are expecting a little girl and, having never previously discussed baby names, agreed each of them had the right to veto suggestions they didn't like.
After discussing possible names, both parents revealed they would like to name their daughter after their late mothers, reports the Mirror .
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The dad said he refused to entertain the idea of naming their baby after his wife's mother, whose name was Karen, as he feared it would always carry links to the meme associated with the name.
He wrote: "I told her the baby can take my mum's name as her first name and her mum's name as a middle name, or have an entirely different name, but I can't okay 'Karen' as a first name in any case.
"She got offended because she just wants to honour her mother and thinks I have a problem with that. I just don't want to set our daughter up to be bullied throughout her life.
"I told her I'd be fine with whatever first name she picks as long as it doesn't lead to the baby being picked on later in life, but she's pretty insistent on Karen."
After asking for advice on Reddit, some were in agreement with the dad, while others
One person said: "It was a normal name, now it's a joke. Imagine 'baby Karen'. People are gonna make jokes all her life."
A second added: "Karen isn't just a phase or fad, it isn't just a meme anymore either. It's pretty much the definition of middle aged entitlement, and I highly doubt that definition is going anywhere in the next 20 years."
Others disagreed, with one person writing: "It's a joke with our generation. It's doubtful it will be a joke in hers."
Since then, the dad has provided an update to say that he’d discussed it with his wife and she has admitted that ever since her mum died when she was just 14, she had always planned to name her daughter in her memory - and had never had to consider a meme to be a potential obstacle.
He said he withdrew the veto and agreed with comments which suggested the name wouldn't have the same association by the time their daughter grew up.
However, the parents decided to compromise after finding their mothers both had the same middle name of Elizabeth, and chose that name to honour them both instead.
