kids

"My 6-year-old wants to legally change his unusual name. Am I crazy to let him?"

People change their names for a variety of reasons. But what happens when the person who wants to change their name is your son, and he’s only six years old?

One couple has turned to Reddit for advice, saying their young son put in a rather bizarre request to have his name changed as a birthday present.

They explained the situation using false names to protect the boy’s identity – but they do say that his first name “is the name of a piece of a piece of furniture”.

“My husband and I adopted our son about 3.5 years ago. He had a rather unusual name but we decided to keep it. We researched a lot and although the name seemed awfully silly, it felt wrong to take his name from him,” the woman – who calls herself namechangename on the site – wrote.

“For the sake of the question, I will use the first name Table. His full name was Table Michael Harrison. My husband and I gave our son both of our last names and made Michael and Harrison both his middle names. Therefore, his name became Table Michael Harrison Smith-Jones.”

boys baby name
Would you let your child change their name? Image via iStock.
ADVERTISEMENT

When her son started kindergarten, he began to get teased for his unusual name, and the family decided he could go by one of his middle names - he chose Harrison - from that point forward.

"He gets upset any time he sees his actual first name written down on forms. He gets upset when he has a substitute and she calls him Table. He really doesn't like his first name and he said it makes him think of bad things," she wrote.

With his seventh birthday approaching, the boy has asked if his name could legally be changed to the middle name as his birthday present.

"Would you let your kid do it?" she asked.

LISTEN: Is having an original name ever a good thing?

Over 450 people have responded to the mother's call for advice, with many agreeing that they should allow their son to change his moniker.

"He says the name has bad memories for him. Listen to the poor kid. The name clearly is a source of nothing but distress," one commenter wrote.

"I think he would resent you more for not letting him change it!" said another.

Many were surprised at the completely logical reasons behind the child wanting to change his name.

"Before reading I was thinking, 'He probably wants to change his name to Frankenstein or Elmo or something'. This sounds totally valid though," one person wrote.

"I'd say in 99% of situations the kid is too young to make this decision. I'd also say this is the 1%," said another.

How would you feel if your child wanted to change their name? Tell us in the comments below.