'I gave birth 4 days before my friend. So I did something horrible.'

When it comes to contentious decisions in life, what you name your baby is surely one of them. It's a big decision. Do you go for something unique, do you opt for something traditional, or maybe a family moniker? 

Or, if you're new mum Riley*, maybe you go for your close friend's favourite name? Yep, she really did that, brazenly and without guilt.

In fact, Riley went so far as to submit her story to Australian podcast LuAnna, explaining that she had heard her friend talking about her favourite baby names at an event. 

"I overheard [Tilly*] telling our other friend about her number one name choice," she shared. 

"I know it's awful, but in that moment I just knew I wanted that name for my baby."

In the end, whether or not she'd be able to steal the name came down to a matter of days and hours. You see, both Riley and Tilly were both pregnant and due at nearly the same time.

"It was risky because we were due within weeks of each other and you never know how these things work out," she explained. 

"As luck would have it, my little angel, although late, was born four days before hers and [I took the name]."

While Riley could have waited to share her new baby's moniker, she decided to jump the gun and share it directly with the friend, essentially 'baggsing' it.

While she didn't use the term 'dibbs', it was clear that she was claiming ownership of the name.

"I messaged her a photo of my baby with the name and weight," Riley explains. "She saw the message but didn't reply straight away."

Despite knowing that stealing a close friend's baby name isn't exactly amazing modern etiquette, Riley said that she couldn't bring herself to feel guilty for the decision.

"I knew she was upset but my baby was here and she had the perfect name so I didn't care," Riley admitted. 

"My friend replied later that day congratulating me. Her baby came days later and obviously she used another name that she also adores and that suits her baby completely."

Riley said that Tilly still has not brought up the name faux-pas, and that she will never admit to any of her friends that she knew she was committing the name theft when she did it.

Of course, this story ended up creating a maelstrom of comments from both sides of the name-stealing barrier. 

"Why can't both people use the same name? You can't expect to call dibs on common baby book names," one said.

"That's not a friend," another responded. "That's a horrible thing to do. I wouldn't even congratulate her."

The question is, would you ever do it?

Feature image: Getty

*Names have been changed for privacy reasons.