With a world population of more than 8 billion, borrowing names from other people, objects, countries or even fruit is common practice.
One woman, however, took ownership of her name Mia, which is the 8th most popular name for girls in 2021.
Accusing her old friend of stealing “Mia” and giving it to her baby daughter, Mia voiced her complaints online, suggesting that using her name without permission, was out of line.
An online user took to Reddit, looking for advice on how to deal with a situation where her former friend (Melinda) stole her name and gave it to her baby.
Believing herself to be the inspiration behind the baby’s new name, Mia explains that her and Melinda were close when they were in their 20s.
“She was always a little odd, but we remained friends for a while,” she says, adding that before they drifted apart, they were bridesmaids in each other’s weddings.
Mia writes, “Recently, Melinda had a baby girl, announcing her name was Amelia but they refer to her as Mia. I found this odd as my name is Mia. I felt as if she were naming her child after me and we didn’t feel close enough for that, plus she didn’t even ask.”
Looking for validation, Mia spoke with a mutual friend, who admitted it was strange.
The original poster hadn’t intended to confront Melinda about the name stealing but when she ran into the friend and her husband at a party, her silence was broken.
“She was showing me the baby and I half-joked, ‘Yeah, my namesake’. She gave me an odd look and I said, ‘Her name is Mia… I’m Mia.’” The post continues, “Melinda said her name was Amelia and Mia was a nickname, while my full name is just Mia. I said I understood, but she still had to have named her after me, which I said was odd but cute.”
Her puzzled friend then addressed her claims by explaining the baby was named after her husband’s mother. “I nodded and she was clearly annoyed,” the poster adds.
And that’s when the mudslinging started.
Melinda asked Mia why she “assumed” the baby was named after her.
The poster answers, saying it must have been “a weird coincidence and seemed like something [Melinda] would do.”
Provoking Melinda, the friend sniped back, “you’re not important enough for me to name a baby after.” Before the conversation ended, Mia said: “that was rude,” and the old friend responded, “so is trying to imply [Melinda is] odd because her baby and I have the same name.”
Looking for advice from the Reddit community, Mia concludes her post saying, “our mutual friends feel I shouldn’t have brought it up at all. Some feel that in spite of that, she took it too far by saying I’m not important enough.”
Spoiler alert
The majority of users shared their confusion over Mia’s entitlement over her name, saying “the world does not revolve around you.”
“You’re not the only Mia. Mia isn’t even that unusual of a name. Spoiler: if a friend picked a name because of you, they’d tell you. That she didn’t, and that you’ve grown apart should be a big indication that it had nothing to do with you,” says one netizen, who penned the most popular comment on the post. “The world does not revolve around you. Why are you upset that she thinks you’re not important enough in her life to name a baby after you when you also think that? You literally noted that you’re not close enough to each other for that, so you should be glad that she confirmed she feels the same way.”
Another user shares, “she had the f—ing audacity to tell Melinda that naming her baby after her was ‘odd but cute.’ what an egomaniac, so cringe.”
Meanwhile, other cyber fans couldn’t help but poke fun at the original poster.
One writes, “I don’t know. My name is Lauren, and my childhood friend has a cousin named Lauren. Some people are just obSESSED!” Adding to Lauren’s comment, another quips, “Excuse me but that’s my name, your parents clearly named you after me. I was the first Lauren. So were the other four Laurens in my sixth-grade class.”
A third user jokes, “I named a cat Mia back in 2000. I think OP was probably named after my cat since she seems to be about the right age based on her behavior.”
Lastly, a cybernaut writes, “My bff is named after her Mom’s friend’s dog. I’m sure the dog is still pissy about it.”
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