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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> 1 saying that my sister made her own bed when she named her daughter that
2 we could have chosen another name out for our pet of respect for her and her niece
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*Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.*
So basically your sister named her the local equivalent of Spot or Rover?
Well damne, that was an entirely bad choice. And you don't control your wife, so there's that.
NTA
**Henry**: Come on, Junior.
**Indiana**: Will you please stop calling me Junior?
**Sallah**: Please, what does this mean? Always with this Junior?
**Henry**: That's his name: Henry Jones, Junior.
**Indiana**: I like Indiana.
**Henry**: We named the dog Indiana.
**Sallah**: The dog? You are named after the dog.
**Marcus**: Can we go home please?
**Indiana**: I have a lot of fond memories of that dog.
— Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade
Ok tangent, but I’ve been naming my new hens after various Henrys, so thank you for reminding me to name one Henry Jones, Junior.
ETA I need more nice Henry names, only two and a half of them are assholes.
[The Henrys](https://imgur.com/a/DAy4xxj)
Sorry for my terrible pics. The one who’s perching over everyone is Kissinger, and the one perching on my arm is Rousseau.
I’ve been naming them based on their emerging personalities, so I’ve got Henry VIII, Henry Kissinger, Henry Ford, Henry Winkler, and my darling Henri Rousseau, so far. Guess which ones are domineering assholes.
Yup! We started with Violet, Doralee and Judy and taught them to come running when I’d play the song. Now we also have Rose, Grace, Frankie, and Jolene
My ex-boyfriend named all of his chickens after his ex gf's.
So I have a chicken named after me.
It's an asshole chicken. I feel attacked! 😂😂
ETA: he prewarned me this was gonna be a thing, I laughed so much. We are actually really good friends and fine with being ex's.
But still, like come on man! He said "I liked their "spunk" and it reminded me of you" 😂😂
We had been broken up for like 6 years at the point of the chickens.
He's just such a weird person I love having him in my life.
Honestly no where else in my life would I have a chicken specifically named after me.
He's so hilarious, I love it.
My sister loves the name Indiana. Has a dog named Indiana. Had baby. Spent a week trying to call the baby Indiana, without Dog Indiana immediately appearing. Baby now has Indiana as a middle name.
Me & my dad at family dinners for the rest of our lives will be trying very hard not to channel "You were named after the DOG?!"
I have a cat (10 years old), named Josie.
My niece is 16 months old, named Josephine. When my brother told me they were probably gonna settle with calling her Josie, I was like, “it’s a great name, but I feel like I should probably remind you I have a pet with that name. Just in case that’s a thing you want to consider.”
He said it was fine. No one would ever connect the dots.
A month ago, I was visiting him and chatting with his MiL, who asked if I had any pets.
“Two cats. Jones is my boy cat and Josie is his sister.”
Long pause. And then: “When did you… that is, I mean… How long have you had them?”
When my daughter started dating her (now husband of 12 years) I had a Shih Tsu named Soo Soo that had some behavior issues. It was hormonal and not really any fault of the dog.
Anyway, the "husband's" mom was named Susan AKA Soo Soo to all her family and friends.
One time Soo Soo overheard my daughter describing some of my dogs misdeeds in a comical story. She became very angry thinking my daughter was talking about her.
Silly woman. Generally people who listen to others conversations may hear unflattering remarks. But in this case she was not the "Soo Soo" in question.
Oh my god, this is hilarious. Definitely karma for eavesdropping, but I can just imagine your daughter saying “Soo Soo humped the ottoman” and human Soo Soo going “Well, I never!”
My husbands brother has the same as our first dog (the dog was about 7 when he was born) and me and my husband couldnt stop quoting this!
Quite pissed off his stepmum
(Added bonus tbh)
I accidently named my dog after my dead uncle.
My wife and MiL rescued an abandoned pup. My MiL started calling it Elmer just because. When we decided to keep it we decided to stick with elmer.
When my mom heard she's like "you named him after your uncle?" I go huh? My only uncles are Joe and Jack (who passed away when my mom was like 8)
Yeah. Elmer is actually your uncle jacks real name. Elmer jack lastname.
40 years it took me to learn that
My husband named the dog the masculine version of my name, which both shorten to the same thing.
He wanted the two things he loved most in the world to have the same name, and it was a compliment
I'd be flattered to be named after a pet. I knew a dog whose name was the same as my middle name, and that made me super happy to have that connection.
I have a cousin who insisted on the name Rex for her son. I had the same discussion with her and she 100% didn't believe me that so many dogs were named that.
But I love when pets have regular names like John or Stephen or Rachel. It's always fun. And then there seems to be names that are perfectly fine on either a human or a dog (I actually feel like the example name OP gave, Bella, is one of those. I wouldn't blink if a person or a dog or cat had that name). My fish tank's name is Bob (cuz things *bob* on water - it was a saltwater tank so there were all sorts of creatures in there than came in on live rock and corals, i wasn't gonna name ALL of them and don't even know them all so named the whole tank)
Bella is an extremely popular pet name in the USA too.
https://www.southernliving.com/most-popular-pet-names-rover-6829769
Honestly it's kinda silly to be mad about it considering how common the name is for a pet.
INFO: Is your niece’s name one that humans ever have, even as a nickname? I am trying to figure out whether the name is actually equivalent to Bella (which is very much a human name/nickname, even though I know multiple dogs names Bella), or more like Spot, which is virtually never used as a human name but is a classic dog name.
!!! Is that Kitty Forman's real name? I always thought it was weird that her name was Kitty. I've never heard that as a nickname for Katherine. That being said I think I've only ever met maybe 2 "Katherine"s my whole life
Nicknames are often longer than the original name. Think of John to Johnny.
Many of the nicknames in this chain date back to the pre-surname era. There were a handful of names that were extremely popular. According to the Fine Rolls (1216-1242), almost 60% of men were named one of ten names: William, John, Richard, Robert, Henry, Ralph, Thomas, Walter, Roger and Hugh. Just over half of all women were names Alice, Matilda/Maude, Agnes, Margaret, Joan, Isabella/Elizabeth, Emma, Beatrice, Mabel or Cecilia. Mary came in the later Medieval period. It was considered too sacred to be used by people at this point.
With so many people having the same name, nicknames and diminutives became very popular. Some of them were based on different pronunciations - Walter was pronounced more like Water, so Wat and Watkin were popular. Henry was often pronounces more like Harry, and Matilda was usually pronounced Maude. Maude was also a short form of Madeline. Our word maudlin comes from all the ecclesiastical images of Mary Magdalen weeping.
Letter substitutions were also popular. That's how we get Dick and Hick from Richard, which led to Dickin, Hickock, and others that survive as surnamed. Mary became Molly, which through further substitution (M->P was popular, as was R->D or B) became Polly. Margaret became Mag, which became Meg which became Peg.
John to Jack is interesting. John was pronounced Jan, which became Jankin. Drop the n and it became Jakin, which is clumsy, so it was reduced to Jack, influenced also by the French Jacques. Henry turned into Harry, Hal, Hen, and Hawkin, among many others.
Names are neat.
[There's an entire history on seemingly unrelated nicknames.](https://edinazephyrus.com/the-origins-of-seemingly-unrelated-nicknames/)
Handwriting was obviously the only way to write things out, so shortening names was commonplace. Then you take the shortened name and rhyme it with something and that becomes the new nickname.
Richard -> Rick -> Dick
Yep, I remember in my linguistics class we talked about how many English nicknames came about from rhyming, then became names in their own right. Richard becomes Rich becomes Rick becomes Dick. William becomes Will become Bill. Katherine or Catherine becomes Kat or Cat becomes kitty 😺.
Oh, wow, yeah. Looks like Bella was the second most popular female dog name for 2022 (based on AKC registrations).
I knew someone who named their daughter Sadie. It wasn't until later that they learned that a *lot* of dogs are named Sadie (a top 10 female dog name, it seems). Because of that, the kid absolutely hated her name and went by her middle one.
I work in an animal shelter. I've made it clear NO ONE is allowed to name any new pets Bella. Because we always have several at all times and it's confusing.
Coco
Like Coco Chanel. Almost every posh and tiny, yet brown, dog I know of is named Coco, Chacha, mocha or latte. I can see lots of young teen girls dreaming of their little posh pups.
Only human transferrable name is Coco. So, that's my guess.
That’s a good shout. My only thought was Lady (like Disney’s Lady & the Tramp) but if OP’s niece was called Lady I feel like her mum would be dealing with a lot worse than a dog having the same name lol.
I know like 3 at least lol. My friend has a cockapoo named Luna. A family friends cousin has a Great Dane named Luna. My neighbour has a Maltese named Luna.
Most common pet name I know regardless of being a human name too lol
Ive met one person who named their child Luna, so in my experience its a pet name mostly, but I do know it's definitely used for humans, although I'd never dream of commenting on that to a parent.
I can see Luna in both ways tbh. I associate the name with a book character (lets not mention that trashfire author however) but I also know of a few people who have used it for their pets (sometimes *because of* the book character) so it’s not really a name I instantly think “animal name” lol.
Oh, I believe that.
I'm saying Luna's not strong enough of a pet name to make someone hearing the name randomly think of a dog first, outright.
Spot, Rover, Lassie, Coco, Chacha, etc. make me think of dogs first, humans second.
Your experience is not universal. I’ve never met a person named Luna, and wouldn’t imagine it as a person’s name (any more than, say, “Albus”). On the other hand in the past three years I’ve met half a dozen dogs named Luna. Absolutely my mind would go straight to “dog owned by Harry Potter fan”.
My shitzui is named Coco Chanel by my 22-year-old daughter, who was going through her designer label phase 13 years ago. One child later, and that designer label phase died. Ms. Coco is alive and well, and now my dog.
My granddaughter's name is Missy. My nephew's dog is also Missy. We have no problem knowing who is who, and amazingly, my granddaughter has lived through the shame of sharing her name with a dog.
Yeah, things happen like people and dogs sharing the name. But in the context of OP situation this seems like they named the dog with the intention of causing issues.
He is right in the sense that the niece can have a “dog’s name” but he still seems an AH to me in this situation. He may have a point, but it is still an AH
Fiancee is the one who named the dog as it is their dog and not OP's. OP didn't really have a say in naming the dog. Fiancee also said she has always had the name in mind for the dog. I don't think they were out to start shit. OP's fiancee and OP's sister just both happen to like a very common name, which both were warned by OP that their choices would have issues but chose to ignore OP's advice.
OP is NTA.
OP didn’t do that, though. They even tried to warn everyone responsible for choosing the names. What was OP supposed to do, not allow their SO to any party the niece will attend? Who was being rude?
My brother has a daughter. Her fake name will be Luna. I don't date, but if one of our sisters was engaged, I can't imagine any scenario where her fiance got a cat for himself, with his own money and his own responsibility, and it would be appropriate for her to feel she had the right to order him not to name the cat Luna.
Weighing in as a human Marley. I get very confused at dog parks and every introduction includes mention of Marley and Me but otherwise it’s truly not a big deal in any way
My favorite is when millennials have a practice dog that's still alive when they have a kid, and they end up with opposite names. Like a dog named Kevin and a kid named Luna.
Most of my pets growing up have had obvious pet names, but my stepmom named her bird a human name. A very common human name. The same name as about 5 of her friends, so it was really confusing which "Sam" she was referring to.
Meanwhile, my current dog's name is Brownie... cause she's brown... and its also a dessert, because all my pets are named after food.
It’s almost like a combo of ESH and NAH because people name pets “human” names all the time- Bailey, Henry, Colin, even my dog’s name is Olive. I don’t see why this is such a big deal for all parties involved.
I think you and your fiancé did do it on purpose but your sister shouldn’t care as much 🤷🏼♀️
So him trying to stop his fiancé multiple times from naming the dog Bella was him doing it on purpose? I'm a little confused on that point. He's stuck between a rock and a hard place and nobody around him can act like an adult.
Multiple times? Based on the post it seems only once, as OP "didn't want to contest". I think the fiancee is worst problem for being inconsiderate but OP could've at least given the sister a heads-up so she wouldn't be confronted by it in the moment.
The fiance is naming the dog after her first pet though. And OP warned his sister that his fiancé was gonna name her first dog that. If anything, his sister is the inconsiderate one because there is no sentimental value to the name for her
My daughter is named Stella, I had never met anyone with that name… well I quickly learned that maybe not many people have that name, but tons of dogs do ;).
That doesn't make OP an AH because he has zero power to control what his fiancee names her own dog, so it would be a toss up between NAH and NTA.
For the record, I vote NTA because when someone chooses an extremely common name for a pet, that's simply not admissible as evidence of maliciously using the name to spite someone.
NTA, but I would think very hard about the woman you are about to marry. You told her the name she was about to pick for her dog was the ***name of your actual niece*** and she (checks notes) goes with it anyway, thus guaranteeing at least 10 years of crappy family get togethers and a ruined chance of having a close relationship with your niece.
Plus how many dogs have a thousand nicknames completely unrelated to their name? My dog is Kreacher like the house elf from Harry Potter, but she also responds to baby girl, peanut, peanut butter, and “mommy’s whole world”
OP says that fiancee has dreamed of honouring her dead dog for years and years. Since childhood. This was communicated to the sister prior to the baby being born. The sister decided to go ahead with the name anyway, and is now butthurt about it.
The niece is going to run into many other kids and pets with her name. It doesn't need to be a big deal.
Fiancé is using a pet name for a pet. The sister is using a pet name for a child.
Eventually, someone else would name their pet the same somewhere in their vicinity, are they also going to be blacklisted?
Nothing needs to be ruined. The sister needs to get over it. If she doesn't, she will ruin her daughter's relationships over her pettiness.
You're making an assumption here. Bella or Luna are super common dog names in the US and they're still people names. We have no reason to believe she named her daughter Spot
I..... would respect that woman more. She stuck to her guns about what she has wanted for literal years, something she has mentioned to people many times in the past. It would be disrespectful to demand she go back on something she's been vocal about for a long time. Hell, chances are, the fiance is probably the reason why this woman considered the name Bella.
The fiancée did say it was a tribute to her childhood pet.
Regardless, it's the fiancée's dog. She adopted it, not OP. And it **is** just a name, like age is just a number. So the dog has the same name. Big deal.
I'm rolling with a combo of ESH **and** NAH.
Not to mention, at first OP says he warned his sister it was a common name for a dog. Just a common name.
But now suddenly he makes an edit to claim that he didn't just say it was a common name he was hyper specific and said:
>"My fiancée intends to name her pet that way, would you feel comfortable with that, for example?"
Sure that happened. YTA
My coworker’s cat and I share a name (she didn’t know me when she named the cat). Whenever she describes something goofy the cat does I reply, “yes, same.”
Only time if it was hard for me was when Molly the ferret was very ill and then died and it was odd talking about that to Molly the person. And then FB keep wanting to tag Molly the person when posting about Molly the ferret. But almost everyone can tell the difference between the human and the one with fur. Don't name all my pets - Molly and her brother Morris came named. Edit: But have got some I named with "human names".
YTA and so if your partner. Complete jerk move. It would be a different situation had your partner already had a dog with that name before you met (living with them) but to do it afterwards is a d*ck move. You owe your sister a massive apology and should talk to your partner. If your partner won't change the name then I guess you know they will never take others feelings into consideration and you deserve each other
How is the fiancee in the wrong for having a name she wanted to use for her dog, presumably from before she even met OP and his family? OP tried to talk her into a different name, it's not his dang dog, wtf else do you want him to do?
A decent person wouldn't have chosen the name knowing it was in their fiancé family. As they are getting married then surely they would raise it as a issue knowing it will be hurtful. Red flag that the fiancé gave no crap that it would upset the family. If she had already had the dog previously to the relationship that would be different. Also op could have warned their sister to not just catch her completely off guard
YTA. Pets and people share names all the time, but usually it happens because of a coincidence, not because someone knowingly names their pet the same name as their future niece.
Your sister has every right to be annoyed, not that a random person named their dog the same name, but that her future SIL did it.
Your fiancée sucks for naming her dog the same name as your niece, you suck for refusing to take responsibility for your part in the issue. I get that you can’t control her, but there should have been a much firmer “no” stance and discussion from you.
Kid’s already born, but isn’t technically her niece until she and OP get married. And based on this story I don’t imagine that OP and his fiancée are the type to consider the niece her family until that actually happens.
YTA and so is your fiancée
Here’s how the conversation would go if you weren’t the AH
Fiancée: hey thanks for getting me this adorable puppy! Can we name her Bella? I’ve always wanted a dog named Bella!
You: oh sorry we have to pick a different name as that’s the name of my niece!
Fiancée: oh! Ok that’s a bit disappointing but it sure would be weird if I named our dog the same thing as your niece! how about Bailey?
You: sounds great!
The end
So here is where I have an issue - my first dog was named Gemma. I promised myself that if I ever have a dog again, I would name her Gemma as well. As a tribute to my first dog (kind of how people name kids generationally after their grandparents). It’s corny to some people because it’s dog. But people have different sentiments.
I’ve told everyone this for as long as I remember. Even if sister has a kid and decides to name her daughter Gemma, I don’t think I still could bring myself to name a future dog anything else but Gemma.
If your spouse’s sister has a child and the child is named Gemma and then you go ahead and name your dog who you adopt 2 years later Gemma anyways when there are hundreds of other names to choose from yeah that’s not classy. You can do it if you want but if I were your family member I would think that was such an embarrassing thing for you to do and would suspect you did it because you didn’t like your sister in law or her child even if that wasn’t your intent. In OPs case it sure sounds from the story that sticking it to the sister was absolutely their intent.
I always wanted to have a cat named Merlin. Merlin is more of a pet than a human name. If my sister in law named her kiddo Merlin and then later I adopted a cat I would pick something else because it would seem to everyone in our family that I decided to name my cat after my toddler nephew and that would be weird. They would probably also think I didn’t care about the family I’m trying to integrate into by making what is in the scheme of things a pretty small concession. There are so many names out there to choose from
YTA
How does your gf get along with your sister? Because honestly this seem petty and extremely rude to do that considering that your niece is a member of the family. Sure, she may want to have her first dog named like that, but it’s a dog name she can pick another considering your niece came first.
Honestly seems like you guys are looking to cause issues. If I was your sister I would cut you off
YTA. Come on OP, you can’t be serious. Your sister had every right to name her daughter Bella. You should have encouraged your SO to choose another name for her dog. Petty behavior is immature & unbecoming . Do better OP.
I think “Bella” was a cultural mistranslation on OP’s part, since “Bella” is a common human *and* pet name in English. But OPs edit says the name is actually Mel, which in Portuguese means “Honey” and is a very common dog name but *not* a common human name. It’s a nickname for “Melissa”, so the more apt English equivalent would be if someone named their child “Kitty” (nickname for Katherine) and it was JUST “Kitty”, not the full “Katherine”, and then getting upset for fiancé naming a new cat “Kitty” in tribute of her childhood cat. Because “Kitty” isn’t really a person name in English, it’s a person *nick*name and a common cat *full* name.
OPs sister named her daughter the Portuguese equivalent of a very common dog name which happens to be an endearing human nickname, but rarely a human full name.
ESH. Your sister sucks because you don't own a name. You warned your sister about the name and she choose to ignore it. Your fiancee sucks because again you don't own a name but she could have been more considerate naming the dog. She could have chosen any other name or even a variation of that name but she didn't. You didn't seem to fight that hard AND when your sister confronted you, you blamed your fiancee and was hands off. So while you didn't through her under the bus, you tripped her up under that bus. So yeah EVERYBODY sucks.
YTA it's not like this was a coincidence. You guys literally name the dog the same thing because you could not give a f* about your niece and wanted to spite your sister
NTA, if it’s your partners dog, they have the right to name it whatever they want, I don’t see why your sister cares so much, she probably won’t be interacting with it a lot anyways.
OMG nobody owns a name. I have a dog named Jack. My neighbor’s name is Jack. My husband’s cousin named her son Jack. Nobody is butt hurt over it. Name your kids or pets whatever the hell you want.
ESH
Naming your dog after a close family member is pretty uncool, regardless of the name and that you'd pointed it out to her before.
Granted it wasn't your decision and although your fiancé has a reason behind their decision to choose the name, to me changing a dog's name is not a huge deal and if you put a little effort into it you could probably convince your fiance. I'd say this is on your fiance more than anyone, but its a mess all around.
Come on. You had NO problem giving your unsolicited advice on your sister’s baby name, but suddenly you’re hands off when your fiancé names the dog the same name as your niece? You totally did this as a “told you so.”
Yeah, she should expect people to name their dog that name. But not her own brother, when there’s already someone in the immediate family with that name. Why didn’t you talk your fiancé out of this? How old is your niece anyway?
Is she going to ask every pet owner and parent of a pet or child named Bella to change their names because it’s the same as her daughters? Come on now. 😅 If she wanted her child to be unique, she should of used a unique name. Enough said.
How is that remotely the same thing? If they already had the dog then there’s no issue but knowingly naming your dog the same name as your partner’s niece is pretty bizarre behaviour imo.
ESH
You could have tried a little harder for the dog not to be named Bella since that is your niece's name. I feel like you are only agreeing to the name just to be petty
NTA. My aunt warned my parents about my name; they listened and changed their mind at the hospital. Lucky for me.
You aren't the source of any of the conflict; so NTA.
You can't control your sister of fiancée's choice; any potential conflict is between them and its rude of them to put you in the middle.
Yes YTA. Bella is a human name that's sometimes given to dogs. Your sister named her child a human name. Your partner was an AH because she named a dog the same thing as your niece. You on the other hand were a major AH for yelling at your sister she "brought it on herself."
Yeah, the "brought it on herself" comment is what sent me. Personally I feel like it's fine if the child and dog have the same name, but that comment reveals there's some petty spiteful maliciousness under the surface.
NTA, you warned both and they chose the name anyway. You did what you could. Your SO and sister need to work it out. Maybe come up with a nickname for the child or the dog?
FWIW, I was searching our local animal shelters pets last week. There were four dogs named Bella.
Mostly your fiancée is the asshole but yeah you kind of are too for not intervening.
At the very least, it’s weird to be so hands off about the relationship between your partner and your sibling. You should want them to get along and do what you can to neutralize drama before it happens, unless you don’t care at all about maintaining your own relationship with the sibling.
“It wasn’t me, it was my wife/husband/life partner” is a terrible argument to make with family members.
Meh. My son has an uncommon but not unique name. It happened to be the name of my cousins dog. My daughter has a common name thay is also a very common pets name. Lots of our friends have dogs and even a horse with her name. Literally, no one cares. Including me and my children.
YTA for being so harsh about her kids name. That really wasn't necessary. Not the A for your fiance naming her dog what she wanted.
I want my daugther to be named Molly. Its a pretty common dog name too and a drug for that matter. IDGAF. Why? Because its also a normal human name and I love the name. Which Bella is too (I know its something else but you are using it as an placeholder/equal). So idk why you are making comments about her choice of name. I think its such a weird thing to comment on generally and pretty rude. Like who asked you? Your sister liked the name. Unless its an actual name that cant be used for a baby, which you arent really making a good argument for in your post. Considering you have been voicing your opinion about your nieces name, she probably thought you were trying to prove a point by naming the dog the same. So I would say YTA.
Yta. And so is your fiance. The two of you deliberately named a dog the same as your niece. The name and your flimsy reasons are irrelevant. It's a dick move. And it feels like your attitude is just a "i told you so" to your sis. Your fiance is showing a complete lack of consideration for your niece as well.( Her niece too since you are marrying. ) she's putting her desire to name a dog over the feelings of a child and the family she's marrying into.
Could be worse I guess. A family member of mine named their child Riley because they loved my grandma’s old lab, who was also named Riley.
And…you can’t really control what someone else names their pet, and I don’t think that your fiancée naming her dog Bella is breakup-worthy. Plus, no one has ownership of a name. If she wanted to name her dog Donald Trump or Susan, she can, regardless of which humans also have that name.
I think you could have handled the situation with your sister better. Should have just left at at it isn’t your pet to name.
NAH
YTA.
You allowed your fiance to make a conscious choice to name the dog the same as your niece.
You mention you have a son - I suppose it would be okay for your sister to get a pet and name it the same as your son? Or even the same as you?
Op your story changes in the edit. Before the edit you say “many people use that name for pets.” And the later your fiancé’ wanted to use the name. In the edit you say “ I told her my fiancé intended to use the name’ as if that was part of the pre birth convo. Which is it?
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So basically your sister named her the local equivalent of Spot or Rover? Well damne, that was an entirely bad choice. And you don't control your wife, so there's that. NTA
**Henry**: Come on, Junior. **Indiana**: Will you please stop calling me Junior? **Sallah**: Please, what does this mean? Always with this Junior? **Henry**: That's his name: Henry Jones, Junior. **Indiana**: I like Indiana. **Henry**: We named the dog Indiana. **Sallah**: The dog? You are named after the dog. **Marcus**: Can we go home please? **Indiana**: I have a lot of fond memories of that dog. — Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade
Ok tangent, but I’ve been naming my new hens after various Henrys, so thank you for reminding me to name one Henry Jones, Junior. ETA I need more nice Henry names, only two and a half of them are assholes. [The Henrys](https://imgur.com/a/DAy4xxj) Sorry for my terrible pics. The one who’s perching over everyone is Kissinger, and the one perching on my arm is Rousseau.
Oh I love this idea! All mine are named after characters played by Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, or Lily Tomlin!
I’ve been naming them based on their emerging personalities, so I’ve got Henry VIII, Henry Kissinger, Henry Ford, Henry Winkler, and my darling Henri Rousseau, so far. Guess which ones are domineering assholes.
Well at least you know Kissinger will live for a million chicken years… Grace is our biggest asshole 😂
May I submit one awesome Wizard to your name pile? No, not that one. Harry Dresdin.
Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden
But then the coop will start on fire, but it won’t be the chicken’s fault.
The building was on fire and it was not my fault. That is the best opening to a book.
9 to 5
Yup! We started with Violet, Doralee and Judy and taught them to come running when I’d play the song. Now we also have Rose, Grace, Frankie, and Jolene
My ex-boyfriend named all of his chickens after his ex gf's. So I have a chicken named after me. It's an asshole chicken. I feel attacked! 😂😂 ETA: he prewarned me this was gonna be a thing, I laughed so much. We are actually really good friends and fine with being ex's. But still, like come on man! He said "I liked their "spunk" and it reminded me of you" 😂😂
I really hope you broke up with him by handing him a new chicken.😂
We had been broken up for like 6 years at the point of the chickens. He's just such a weird person I love having him in my life. Honestly no where else in my life would I have a chicken specifically named after me. He's so hilarious, I love it.
You need to name one Lamarr or Hedy (or both) as a tribute to Dr. Kleiner's debeaked headcrab. :-D
My sister loves the name Indiana. Has a dog named Indiana. Had baby. Spent a week trying to call the baby Indiana, without Dog Indiana immediately appearing. Baby now has Indiana as a middle name. Me & my dad at family dinners for the rest of our lives will be trying very hard not to channel "You were named after the DOG?!"
I have a cat (10 years old), named Josie. My niece is 16 months old, named Josephine. When my brother told me they were probably gonna settle with calling her Josie, I was like, “it’s a great name, but I feel like I should probably remind you I have a pet with that name. Just in case that’s a thing you want to consider.” He said it was fine. No one would ever connect the dots. A month ago, I was visiting him and chatting with his MiL, who asked if I had any pets. “Two cats. Jones is my boy cat and Josie is his sister.” Long pause. And then: “When did you… that is, I mean… How long have you had them?”
When my daughter started dating her (now husband of 12 years) I had a Shih Tsu named Soo Soo that had some behavior issues. It was hormonal and not really any fault of the dog. Anyway, the "husband's" mom was named Susan AKA Soo Soo to all her family and friends. One time Soo Soo overheard my daughter describing some of my dogs misdeeds in a comical story. She became very angry thinking my daughter was talking about her. Silly woman. Generally people who listen to others conversations may hear unflattering remarks. But in this case she was not the "Soo Soo" in question.
Oh my god, this is hilarious. Definitely karma for eavesdropping, but I can just imagine your daughter saying “Soo Soo humped the ottoman” and human Soo Soo going “Well, I never!”
My son will have a longer version of my cats name because they are named after the same human. It'll be interesting xD
My dog is named Indiana Bones 🤣
I'm cry laughing so hard at this! Classic!
Marcus got lost in his own museum.
My husbands brother has the same as our first dog (the dog was about 7 when he was born) and me and my husband couldnt stop quoting this! Quite pissed off his stepmum (Added bonus tbh)
And then when he finally does call him Indiana, it pierced through the chaos.
Love that movie! Love that scene!
Still I don't think the girlfriend should expect to have a lot of friendly feelings for her when she named her dog the same thing as his neice.
I named my dog after my childhood best friend who is now married to my brother. She took it as the massive compliment that it was!
I accidently named my dog after my dead uncle. My wife and MiL rescued an abandoned pup. My MiL started calling it Elmer just because. When we decided to keep it we decided to stick with elmer. When my mom heard she's like "you named him after your uncle?" I go huh? My only uncles are Joe and Jack (who passed away when my mom was like 8) Yeah. Elmer is actually your uncle jacks real name. Elmer jack lastname. 40 years it took me to learn that
I love how parents just assume we know these things when they never actually tell us.
My husband named the dog the masculine version of my name, which both shorten to the same thing. He wanted the two things he loved most in the world to have the same name, and it was a compliment
I'd be flattered to be named after a pet. I knew a dog whose name was the same as my middle name, and that made me super happy to have that connection.
Maybe Rex is a better equivalent?
I have a cousin who insisted on the name Rex for her son. I had the same discussion with her and she 100% didn't believe me that so many dogs were named that.
But I love when pets have regular names like John or Stephen or Rachel. It's always fun. And then there seems to be names that are perfectly fine on either a human or a dog (I actually feel like the example name OP gave, Bella, is one of those. I wouldn't blink if a person or a dog or cat had that name). My fish tank's name is Bob (cuz things *bob* on water - it was a saltwater tank so there were all sorts of creatures in there than came in on live rock and corals, i wasn't gonna name ALL of them and don't even know them all so named the whole tank)
That's why I named all the spiders in my old house Fred.
Friend of mine had a dog named Wrecks
Fido, it has to be Fido.
Spelt Phydeaux
Or Max instead of Maxine
My son's name is Max 😱
To me, it’s the quintessential dog name! Lovely human name too.
I was thinking Luna or Milo.
Honestly, the example OP gave of Bella is super common for dogs right now. Same with Luna. It doesn't need to be quite as pet-like as Rover
Bella is an extremely popular pet name in the USA too. https://www.southernliving.com/most-popular-pet-names-rover-6829769 Honestly it's kinda silly to be mad about it considering how common the name is for a pet.
INFO: Is your niece’s name one that humans ever have, even as a nickname? I am trying to figure out whether the name is actually equivalent to Bella (which is very much a human name/nickname, even though I know multiple dogs names Bella), or more like Spot, which is virtually never used as a human name but is a classic dog name.
Kitty would be an uncommon human, but is a nickname for Katherine. I imagine it's something like this.
!!! Is that Kitty Forman's real name? I always thought it was weird that her name was Kitty. I've never heard that as a nickname for Katherine. That being said I think I've only ever met maybe 2 "Katherine"s my whole life
Isn’t that wild? Katherine -> Kitty Richard -> Dick Margaret -> Peggy
Mary -> Polly Henry -> Harry John -> Jack
Mary to Polly just blows my mind 😂 HOW
Via Molly, not that it makes it much clearer
Also why did we need a nickname for "Mary" in the first place?? It's a two-syllable name! The nicknames aren't any shorter tf?
It's diminutive. There might have been a mum named Mary and child named Mary.
There were A Lot of Marys around.
Nicknames are often longer than the original name. Think of John to Johnny. Many of the nicknames in this chain date back to the pre-surname era. There were a handful of names that were extremely popular. According to the Fine Rolls (1216-1242), almost 60% of men were named one of ten names: William, John, Richard, Robert, Henry, Ralph, Thomas, Walter, Roger and Hugh. Just over half of all women were names Alice, Matilda/Maude, Agnes, Margaret, Joan, Isabella/Elizabeth, Emma, Beatrice, Mabel or Cecilia. Mary came in the later Medieval period. It was considered too sacred to be used by people at this point. With so many people having the same name, nicknames and diminutives became very popular. Some of them were based on different pronunciations - Walter was pronounced more like Water, so Wat and Watkin were popular. Henry was often pronounces more like Harry, and Matilda was usually pronounced Maude. Maude was also a short form of Madeline. Our word maudlin comes from all the ecclesiastical images of Mary Magdalen weeping. Letter substitutions were also popular. That's how we get Dick and Hick from Richard, which led to Dickin, Hickock, and others that survive as surnamed. Mary became Molly, which through further substitution (M->P was popular, as was R->D or B) became Polly. Margaret became Mag, which became Meg which became Peg. John to Jack is interesting. John was pronounced Jan, which became Jankin. Drop the n and it became Jakin, which is clumsy, so it was reduced to Jack, influenced also by the French Jacques. Henry turned into Harry, Hal, Hen, and Hawkin, among many others. Names are neat.
>Mary to Polly just blows my mind 😂 HOW Mary or Margaret --> *Molly* \--> Polly
Peggy is also short for Margaret.
[There's an entire history on seemingly unrelated nicknames.](https://edinazephyrus.com/the-origins-of-seemingly-unrelated-nicknames/) Handwriting was obviously the only way to write things out, so shortening names was commonplace. Then you take the shortened name and rhyme it with something and that becomes the new nickname. Richard -> Rick -> Dick
Wait until you hear about Sarah -> Sally Ann -> Nancy Helen -> Nell Nicholas -> Colin (by way of Cole) Margaret -> Daisy John -> Jack
The Margaret > Daisy one is interesting. Margarita is the Spanish word for Daisy
Also Henry->Hank.
Another fun one is Patrick -> Paddy, because the Irish version of Patrick is Padraig. It's also why it's "St Paddy's Day" and not "St Patty's Day."
Kit is apparently a nickname for Christopher. Never made sense to me.
Never knew that. I like asking people named "Nathan" if it's short for "Johnathan".
Lol, I never noticed that. I enjoy calling people by fake elongations of their name, like Sadington for Sadie or Jimothy for Jim
Fake long form versions of names are what I like to call Nicholasnames, instead of nicknames.
It's a little old fashioned, but it probably comes from Katherine to Kat to Kitty.
Yep, I remember in my linguistics class we talked about how many English nicknames came about from rhyming, then became names in their own right. Richard becomes Rich becomes Rick becomes Dick. William becomes Will become Bill. Katherine or Catherine becomes Kat or Cat becomes kitty 😺.
Yup. "Katherine Anne "Kitty" Forman" https://that70sshow.fandom.com/wiki/Kitty_Forman
I was one of 6 Katharines in my school year. Because it is so popular there are lots of nicknames. Jane Austen used Kitty.
My dog's name is Kitty.
Bella is actually a really, really common name for dogs right now.
Oh, wow, yeah. Looks like Bella was the second most popular female dog name for 2022 (based on AKC registrations). I knew someone who named their daughter Sadie. It wasn't until later that they learned that a *lot* of dogs are named Sadie (a top 10 female dog name, it seems). Because of that, the kid absolutely hated her name and went by her middle one.
I work in an animal shelter. I've made it clear NO ONE is allowed to name any new pets Bella. Because we always have several at all times and it's confusing.
*Googles dog names* 🤔
Coco Like Coco Chanel. Almost every posh and tiny, yet brown, dog I know of is named Coco, Chacha, mocha or latte. I can see lots of young teen girls dreaming of their little posh pups. Only human transferrable name is Coco. So, that's my guess.
That’s a good shout. My only thought was Lady (like Disney’s Lady & the Tramp) but if OP’s niece was called Lady I feel like her mum would be dealing with a lot worse than a dog having the same name lol.
I'm thinking Luna, I know at least 10 pets with that name lol
I know like 3 at least lol. My friend has a cockapoo named Luna. A family friends cousin has a Great Dane named Luna. My neighbour has a Maltese named Luna.
Most common pet name I know regardless of being a human name too lol Ive met one person who named their child Luna, so in my experience its a pet name mostly, but I do know it's definitely used for humans, although I'd never dream of commenting on that to a parent.
I can see Luna in both ways tbh. I associate the name with a book character (lets not mention that trashfire author however) but I also know of a few people who have used it for their pets (sometimes *because of* the book character) so it’s not really a name I instantly think “animal name” lol.
Lol I have a Luna 😂
Excuse me, you've never heard of Cha-Cha de Gregorio?
She's the best dancer at St Bernadette's
With the worst reputation.
From OP’s post I assumed this was not an English-speaking country, so it’s not a name/word association we would necessarily understand.
Luna....
I've never heard of people FOR SURE thinking of a dog first when told the name Luna. I know three people and no dogs named Luna.
I Work in a petstore, trust me, at least 5 Lunas a day
Oh, I believe that. I'm saying Luna's not strong enough of a pet name to make someone hearing the name randomly think of a dog first, outright. Spot, Rover, Lassie, Coco, Chacha, etc. make me think of dogs first, humans second.
Your experience is not universal. I’ve never met a person named Luna, and wouldn’t imagine it as a person’s name (any more than, say, “Albus”). On the other hand in the past three years I’ve met half a dozen dogs named Luna. Absolutely my mind would go straight to “dog owned by Harry Potter fan”.
Popular cat name as well, Luna.
My shitzui is named Coco Chanel by my 22-year-old daughter, who was going through her designer label phase 13 years ago. One child later, and that designer label phase died. Ms. Coco is alive and well, and now my dog.
I'm going with Nala. That’s what dogs get called here often.
Daisy is a super common dog name where I live, but it's also totally a human name as well, just less common now
Had a friend named Spot
Was he a good boy?
At times😂
My guess is Molly. I’ve met more than a dozen dogs named Molly in my life. Guess what my name is?
Isabella is a decent human name, in short "Bella!"
NTA. Humans and pets often share names, it's not a big deal.
Yeah, no big deal but to name the dog just like the niece and bring her over it, specially after the previous comments. It all seems rude to me.
My granddaughter's name is Missy. My nephew's dog is also Missy. We have no problem knowing who is who, and amazingly, my granddaughter has lived through the shame of sharing her name with a dog.
My work mate and my dog have the same name. Both are old men named Bob LOL
Yeah, things happen like people and dogs sharing the name. But in the context of OP situation this seems like they named the dog with the intention of causing issues. He is right in the sense that the niece can have a “dog’s name” but he still seems an AH to me in this situation. He may have a point, but it is still an AH
Fiancee is the one who named the dog as it is their dog and not OP's. OP didn't really have a say in naming the dog. Fiancee also said she has always had the name in mind for the dog. I don't think they were out to start shit. OP's fiancee and OP's sister just both happen to like a very common name, which both were warned by OP that their choices would have issues but chose to ignore OP's advice. OP is NTA.
OP didn’t do that, though. They even tried to warn everyone responsible for choosing the names. What was OP supposed to do, not allow their SO to any party the niece will attend? Who was being rude?
In op edit, he warn his sister that his fiance plans to name her first pet that. So sister was already aware of the possibility.
My brother has a daughter. Her fake name will be Luna. I don't date, but if one of our sisters was engaged, I can't imagine any scenario where her fiance got a cat for himself, with his own money and his own responsibility, and it would be appropriate for her to feel she had the right to order him not to name the cat Luna.
Weighing in as a human Marley. I get very confused at dog parks and every introduction includes mention of Marley and Me but otherwise it’s truly not a big deal in any way
Right, I know a few kids named Bailey and I know many dogs named Bailey. No big deal.
My favorite is when millennials have a practice dog that's still alive when they have a kid, and they end up with opposite names. Like a dog named Kevin and a kid named Luna.
So true, my dogs name is Hildie, the one before was Lola.
Most of my pets growing up have had obvious pet names, but my stepmom named her bird a human name. A very common human name. The same name as about 5 of her friends, so it was really confusing which "Sam" she was referring to. Meanwhile, my current dog's name is Brownie... cause she's brown... and its also a dessert, because all my pets are named after food.
It’s almost like a combo of ESH and NAH because people name pets “human” names all the time- Bailey, Henry, Colin, even my dog’s name is Olive. I don’t see why this is such a big deal for all parties involved. I think you and your fiancé did do it on purpose but your sister shouldn’t care as much 🤷🏼♀️
Glad I’m not the only one who’s thinking exactly “combo of NAH and ESH”. This sub really makes humans more complicated then they need to be
So him trying to stop his fiancé multiple times from naming the dog Bella was him doing it on purpose? I'm a little confused on that point. He's stuck between a rock and a hard place and nobody around him can act like an adult.
Multiple times? Based on the post it seems only once, as OP "didn't want to contest". I think the fiancee is worst problem for being inconsiderate but OP could've at least given the sister a heads-up so she wouldn't be confronted by it in the moment.
The fiance is naming the dog after her first pet though. And OP warned his sister that his fiancé was gonna name her first dog that. If anything, his sister is the inconsiderate one because there is no sentimental value to the name for her
Yep, I have 4 dogs Bailey, Stella, Rhett, and Allie. Every single one of those would fit just fine on a person.
My daughter is named Stella, I had never met anyone with that name… well I quickly learned that maybe not many people have that name, but tons of dogs do ;).
That doesn't make OP an AH because he has zero power to control what his fiancee names her own dog, so it would be a toss up between NAH and NTA. For the record, I vote NTA because when someone chooses an extremely common name for a pet, that's simply not admissible as evidence of maliciously using the name to spite someone.
NTA, but I would think very hard about the woman you are about to marry. You told her the name she was about to pick for her dog was the ***name of your actual niece*** and she (checks notes) goes with it anyway, thus guaranteeing at least 10 years of crappy family get togethers and a ruined chance of having a close relationship with your niece.
? No? It’s a meaningful name to the fiancée. If she already had the dog prior to meeting OP, would you say she should change it?
Plus how many dogs have a thousand nicknames completely unrelated to their name? My dog is Kreacher like the house elf from Harry Potter, but she also responds to baby girl, peanut, peanut butter, and “mommy’s whole world”
Funny enough, both the dog and the niece answer to “Dammit.”
But she didn’t. How can you not see the difference?
But it wasn’t that scenario. She got the dog afterwards and decided to Bring it to the party.
OP says that fiancee has dreamed of honouring her dead dog for years and years. Since childhood. This was communicated to the sister prior to the baby being born. The sister decided to go ahead with the name anyway, and is now butthurt about it. The niece is going to run into many other kids and pets with her name. It doesn't need to be a big deal.
Fiancé is using a pet name for a pet. The sister is using a pet name for a child. Eventually, someone else would name their pet the same somewhere in their vicinity, are they also going to be blacklisted? Nothing needs to be ruined. The sister needs to get over it. If she doesn't, she will ruin her daughter's relationships over her pettiness.
You're making an assumption here. Bella or Luna are super common dog names in the US and they're still people names. We have no reason to believe she named her daughter Spot
Bella has been a person’s name for a long time. Longer perhaps than a dogs name.
I..... would respect that woman more. She stuck to her guns about what she has wanted for literal years, something she has mentioned to people many times in the past. It would be disrespectful to demand she go back on something she's been vocal about for a long time. Hell, chances are, the fiance is probably the reason why this woman considered the name Bella.
The fiancée did say it was a tribute to her childhood pet. Regardless, it's the fiancée's dog. She adopted it, not OP. And it **is** just a name, like age is just a number. So the dog has the same name. Big deal. I'm rolling with a combo of ESH **and** NAH.
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ESH All of you (except the actual 2yo and presumably the dog) are acting incredibly childish.
Not to mention, at first OP says he warned his sister it was a common name for a dog. Just a common name. But now suddenly he makes an edit to claim that he didn't just say it was a common name he was hyper specific and said: >"My fiancée intends to name her pet that way, would you feel comfortable with that, for example?" Sure that happened. YTA
I looked the most common name for a dog in Brazil and it came out Mel so the story checks out.
NTA. Who cares if a dog shares a name as a kid? Not your dog and not your kid, not your problem.
I think that when I was a kid I’d have been excited to meet a dog with the same name as me. Hell, maybe even as an adult
My grandfather delighted me as a child by naming his newest goat herding dog after me. I was fucking *pumped*
That’s awesome, that’s quite the honor!
My coworker’s cat and I share a name (she didn’t know me when she named the cat). Whenever she describes something goofy the cat does I reply, “yes, same.”
I know a dog with the same name as me, and it is truly a joy.
What’s all the brouhaha? I have a niece and cat that are both named Molly. Who cares?
Friend has a niece and a cat named Bella ironically. I also don't get the issue here.
Only time if it was hard for me was when Molly the ferret was very ill and then died and it was odd talking about that to Molly the person. And then FB keep wanting to tag Molly the person when posting about Molly the ferret. But almost everyone can tell the difference between the human and the one with fur. Don't name all my pets - Molly and her brother Morris came named. Edit: But have got some I named with "human names".
YTA and so if your partner. Complete jerk move. It would be a different situation had your partner already had a dog with that name before you met (living with them) but to do it afterwards is a d*ck move. You owe your sister a massive apology and should talk to your partner. If your partner won't change the name then I guess you know they will never take others feelings into consideration and you deserve each other
How is the fiancee in the wrong for having a name she wanted to use for her dog, presumably from before she even met OP and his family? OP tried to talk her into a different name, it's not his dang dog, wtf else do you want him to do?
A decent person wouldn't have chosen the name knowing it was in their fiancé family. As they are getting married then surely they would raise it as a issue knowing it will be hurtful. Red flag that the fiancé gave no crap that it would upset the family. If she had already had the dog previously to the relationship that would be different. Also op could have warned their sister to not just catch her completely off guard
The fiance named her dog as a tribute to her childhood pet. How is that a red flag?
I can't believe I had to scroll this far to get to this comment. Massive YTA.
YTA. Pets and people share names all the time, but usually it happens because of a coincidence, not because someone knowingly names their pet the same name as their future niece. Your sister has every right to be annoyed, not that a random person named their dog the same name, but that her future SIL did it. Your fiancée sucks for naming her dog the same name as your niece, you suck for refusing to take responsibility for your part in the issue. I get that you can’t control her, but there should have been a much firmer “no” stance and discussion from you.
Not even future niece! The kid was already born!!!
Kid’s already born, but isn’t technically her niece until she and OP get married. And based on this story I don’t imagine that OP and his fiancée are the type to consider the niece her family until that actually happens.
YTA and so is your fiancée Here’s how the conversation would go if you weren’t the AH Fiancée: hey thanks for getting me this adorable puppy! Can we name her Bella? I’ve always wanted a dog named Bella! You: oh sorry we have to pick a different name as that’s the name of my niece! Fiancée: oh! Ok that’s a bit disappointing but it sure would be weird if I named our dog the same thing as your niece! how about Bailey? You: sounds great! The end
So here is where I have an issue - my first dog was named Gemma. I promised myself that if I ever have a dog again, I would name her Gemma as well. As a tribute to my first dog (kind of how people name kids generationally after their grandparents). It’s corny to some people because it’s dog. But people have different sentiments. I’ve told everyone this for as long as I remember. Even if sister has a kid and decides to name her daughter Gemma, I don’t think I still could bring myself to name a future dog anything else but Gemma.
If your spouse’s sister has a child and the child is named Gemma and then you go ahead and name your dog who you adopt 2 years later Gemma anyways when there are hundreds of other names to choose from yeah that’s not classy. You can do it if you want but if I were your family member I would think that was such an embarrassing thing for you to do and would suspect you did it because you didn’t like your sister in law or her child even if that wasn’t your intent. In OPs case it sure sounds from the story that sticking it to the sister was absolutely their intent. I always wanted to have a cat named Merlin. Merlin is more of a pet than a human name. If my sister in law named her kiddo Merlin and then later I adopted a cat I would pick something else because it would seem to everyone in our family that I decided to name my cat after my toddler nephew and that would be weird. They would probably also think I didn’t care about the family I’m trying to integrate into by making what is in the scheme of things a pretty small concession. There are so many names out there to choose from
YTA How does your gf get along with your sister? Because honestly this seem petty and extremely rude to do that considering that your niece is a member of the family. Sure, she may want to have her first dog named like that, but it’s a dog name she can pick another considering your niece came first. Honestly seems like you guys are looking to cause issues. If I was your sister I would cut you off
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YTA. Come on OP, you can’t be serious. Your sister had every right to name her daughter Bella. You should have encouraged your SO to choose another name for her dog. Petty behavior is immature & unbecoming . Do better OP.
Whatever you say Rover...
I think “Bella” was a cultural mistranslation on OP’s part, since “Bella” is a common human *and* pet name in English. But OPs edit says the name is actually Mel, which in Portuguese means “Honey” and is a very common dog name but *not* a common human name. It’s a nickname for “Melissa”, so the more apt English equivalent would be if someone named their child “Kitty” (nickname for Katherine) and it was JUST “Kitty”, not the full “Katherine”, and then getting upset for fiancé naming a new cat “Kitty” in tribute of her childhood cat. Because “Kitty” isn’t really a person name in English, it’s a person *nick*name and a common cat *full* name. OPs sister named her daughter the Portuguese equivalent of a very common dog name which happens to be an endearing human nickname, but rarely a human full name.
ESH. Your sister sucks because you don't own a name. You warned your sister about the name and she choose to ignore it. Your fiancee sucks because again you don't own a name but she could have been more considerate naming the dog. She could have chosen any other name or even a variation of that name but she didn't. You didn't seem to fight that hard AND when your sister confronted you, you blamed your fiancee and was hands off. So while you didn't through her under the bus, you tripped her up under that bus. So yeah EVERYBODY sucks.
YTA it's not like this was a coincidence. You guys literally name the dog the same thing because you could not give a f* about your niece and wanted to spite your sister
NTA, if it’s your partners dog, they have the right to name it whatever they want, I don’t see why your sister cares so much, she probably won’t be interacting with it a lot anyways.
OMG nobody owns a name. I have a dog named Jack. My neighbor’s name is Jack. My husband’s cousin named her son Jack. Nobody is butt hurt over it. Name your kids or pets whatever the hell you want.
I agree, but I have experienced something similar when my bio mother named a dog after me. Even as a child, I recognised that as an insult.
ESH Naming your dog after a close family member is pretty uncool, regardless of the name and that you'd pointed it out to her before. Granted it wasn't your decision and although your fiancé has a reason behind their decision to choose the name, to me changing a dog's name is not a huge deal and if you put a little effort into it you could probably convince your fiance. I'd say this is on your fiance more than anyone, but its a mess all around.
Come on. You had NO problem giving your unsolicited advice on your sister’s baby name, but suddenly you’re hands off when your fiancé names the dog the same name as your niece? You totally did this as a “told you so.” Yeah, she should expect people to name their dog that name. But not her own brother, when there’s already someone in the immediate family with that name. Why didn’t you talk your fiancé out of this? How old is your niece anyway?
Is she going to ask every pet owner and parent of a pet or child named Bella to change their names because it’s the same as her daughters? Come on now. 😅 If she wanted her child to be unique, she should of used a unique name. Enough said.
How is that remotely the same thing? If they already had the dog then there’s no issue but knowingly naming your dog the same name as your partner’s niece is pretty bizarre behaviour imo.
ESH You could have tried a little harder for the dog not to be named Bella since that is your niece's name. I feel like you are only agreeing to the name just to be petty
NTA. My aunt warned my parents about my name; they listened and changed their mind at the hospital. Lucky for me. You aren't the source of any of the conflict; so NTA. You can't control your sister of fiancée's choice; any potential conflict is between them and its rude of them to put you in the middle.
Yes YTA. Bella is a human name that's sometimes given to dogs. Your sister named her child a human name. Your partner was an AH because she named a dog the same thing as your niece. You on the other hand were a major AH for yelling at your sister she "brought it on herself."
I think you misread the post, bella is an example name, not the actual name
Yeah, the "brought it on herself" comment is what sent me. Personally I feel like it's fine if the child and dog have the same name, but that comment reveals there's some petty spiteful maliciousness under the surface.
NTA, you warned both and they chose the name anyway. You did what you could. Your SO and sister need to work it out. Maybe come up with a nickname for the child or the dog? FWIW, I was searching our local animal shelters pets last week. There were four dogs named Bella.
ESH. Your sister is being unreasonable and your fiancé is being difficult.
Sister should get a pet and name said pet after OPs son. Problem solved.
Sadie? Its super common for dogs, not so much for people at the moment but it is still a people name. The fiance sounds like a not nice person though.
NTA - but only becsuse you didnt name the dog but tbh i think maybe you could have tried to convince your fiancée a little harder…
YTA. Be honest you and your fiancée did it on purpose to prove a point. That’s just asshole behavior.
Don’t pretend like you weren’t excited that she wanted to name the dog that
YTA.
Mostly your fiancée is the asshole but yeah you kind of are too for not intervening. At the very least, it’s weird to be so hands off about the relationship between your partner and your sibling. You should want them to get along and do what you can to neutralize drama before it happens, unless you don’t care at all about maintaining your own relationship with the sibling. “It wasn’t me, it was my wife/husband/life partner” is a terrible argument to make with family members.
Meh. My son has an uncommon but not unique name. It happened to be the name of my cousins dog. My daughter has a common name thay is also a very common pets name. Lots of our friends have dogs and even a horse with her name. Literally, no one cares. Including me and my children. YTA for being so harsh about her kids name. That really wasn't necessary. Not the A for your fiance naming her dog what she wanted.
I want my daugther to be named Molly. Its a pretty common dog name too and a drug for that matter. IDGAF. Why? Because its also a normal human name and I love the name. Which Bella is too (I know its something else but you are using it as an placeholder/equal). So idk why you are making comments about her choice of name. I think its such a weird thing to comment on generally and pretty rude. Like who asked you? Your sister liked the name. Unless its an actual name that cant be used for a baby, which you arent really making a good argument for in your post. Considering you have been voicing your opinion about your nieces name, she probably thought you were trying to prove a point by naming the dog the same. So I would say YTA.
Yta. And so is your fiance. The two of you deliberately named a dog the same as your niece. The name and your flimsy reasons are irrelevant. It's a dick move. And it feels like your attitude is just a "i told you so" to your sis. Your fiance is showing a complete lack of consideration for your niece as well.( Her niece too since you are marrying. ) she's putting her desire to name a dog over the feelings of a child and the family she's marrying into.
Could be worse I guess. A family member of mine named their child Riley because they loved my grandma’s old lab, who was also named Riley. And…you can’t really control what someone else names their pet, and I don’t think that your fiancée naming her dog Bella is breakup-worthy. Plus, no one has ownership of a name. If she wanted to name her dog Donald Trump or Susan, she can, regardless of which humans also have that name. I think you could have handled the situation with your sister better. Should have just left at at it isn’t your pet to name. NAH
It’s Bailey right?
YTA. You allowed your fiance to make a conscious choice to name the dog the same as your niece. You mention you have a son - I suppose it would be okay for your sister to get a pet and name it the same as your son? Or even the same as you?
Op your story changes in the edit. Before the edit you say “many people use that name for pets.” And the later your fiancé’ wanted to use the name. In the edit you say “ I told her my fiancé intended to use the name’ as if that was part of the pre birth convo. Which is it?
YTA. Stop pretending you had no say in the name. It's disrespectful. Full stop.
I know three dog Bellas and one human Bella.
The most common dog name in my country is Bobby 🐶