Reddit Stories - I chose to name my INFANT in honor of my ANCESTOR RATHER than

Episode Date: November 13, 2025

#redditstories #askreddit #aita #familyhistory #babyname #tradition #ancestors #heritageSummary: I chose to name my infant in honor of my ancestor rather than following modern trends. It holds deep significance in preserving our family history and honoring our heritage, connecting the past with the present in a meaningful way.Tags: redditstories, askreddit, reddit, aita, tifu, familyhistory, babyname, tradition, ancestors, heritage, naming, honoring, significance, preserving, connection, past, present, meaningful, trends, modernBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reddit-stories--6237355/support.

I hope you enjoy this story. I chose to name my infant in honor of my ancestor rather than my factory, which led to a significant outburst. Security at the hospital had to intervene, and she later breached a legal order to stay away. Arrested which made Phil leave her. I gave birth to my first child, a baby girl, just two weeks ago. My husband and I decided to name our daughter after my late grandmother, who was a huge influence in my life and passed away last year.

We chose the name Evelyn, after my grandma Eva, and it means the world to me. My mother-in-law, M. I.L. Linda had been heavily hinting throughout my pregnancy that we should name the baby after her. She doesn't have any daughters of her own. My husband is one of two sons, and she kept talking about how her mother named all her daughters after their grandmothers as a family tradition. We never actually agreed to this. In fact, my husband and I had privately settled on honoring my grandma long before the birth. We purposely didn't reveal the name to anyone until our daughter was born, partly to avoid outside opinions. When my mill came to visit us at the hospital the day after I gave birth, we introduced her to baby Evelyn.

At first, she just said, oh, in a disappointed tone and went quiet. We expected her to maybe be a bit hurt or surprised that we didn't use her name, but we were not prepared for what happened next. After a few silent seconds, she started asking why we didn't use her name as either the first or even the middle name. My husband gently explained that our daughter's name was chosen Evelyn months ago. That's when MIL's expression changed dramatically. She began raising her voice, saying that we had promised to name the baby after her, which we absolutely had not. She had merely told us she expected it, and we'd never agreed. I calmly told her that I understood she wanted the baby named after her.

but we never made that promise. I said we were sorry she was disappointed, but the name was our choice as the parents. She lost it. M.I.L started screaming that I stole her only chance to have a name passed down and that I disrespected her in the most awful way. It was honestly terrifying.

This was in the hospital recovery room and I was literally holding my newborn. My husband and a nurse tried to calm her down, but M.I.L. was hysterical. She yelled that I'd done this intentionally to hurt her. that I owed her for everything she's done for us, and that my grandmother wasn't even alive to appreciate it, which was a cruel thing to say. My husband firmly told his mom to stop and that she needed to leave if she couldn't calm down. Instead of leaving, she lunged toward me as if she was

trying to grab the baby or confront me, I'm honestly not sure which, but I instinctively turned away to shield my daughter. That's when hospital security was called by the nurse who had been standing outside. It all happened so fast. Two security guards rushed in and basically pulled my M.I.L. back. She was screaming at us the entire time as they dragged her out of the room and down the hall. I was shaking and in tears, and my baby was crying from all the yelling. The guards had to escort her out of the maternity ward entirely. I later heard from a nurse that M.I.L. actually got escorted all the way out of the hospital because she refused to calm down and kept shouting even in the hallway.

My husband went after them at first but then returned to comfort me once she was gone. It was a horrifying and humiliating experience. Now that I'm home from the hospital, I've been bombarded with calls and texts from my husband's side of the family. Apparently, M.I.L. has been telling everyone that I deliberately excluded her and broke a family tradition, and that I caused her to have a panic attack at the hospital by being cruel. A few of my husband's relatives, like an aunt and a couple of cousins. cousins, are actually saying we should have at least used M. I.L.'s name as the middle name to keep the peace or that we should have let Miel have her outburst because she was just emotional.

My husband and I are both furious and deeply shaken by what happened. He has been fully supportive of me and is just as angry at his mother, but some of the family seem to think we caused this drama by not doing what Amiel wanted. I'm starting to wonder if we did the wrong thing by not just giving in to MIL's name request to avoid all this. I truly didn't expect her reaction to be so explosive. We just wanted to honor my grandma, who meant a lot to me. M.L's name is also quite old-fashioned and honestly not a name either of us like very much, but that's beside the point. She assumed our daughter would carry her name without us ever

agreeing. So, Reddit, am I the asshole for naming my daughter after my grandmother instead of my Emile? Comment 1. NTA. Your baby, your choice of name. Your M.I.L. sounds unhinged, sorry. She had no right to expect the baby to be named after her. The fact she caused a scene so bad that security had to escort her out is just, wow. Are you and the baby okay? That must have been traumatic right after giving birth. Op reply, it was definitely traumatic and not at all what I expected my first day with my newborn to be like. We're okay now, just still shaken. Baby is fine, at the time she was wailing from the noise, but once things calmed down I was able to soothe her. I'm physically recovering well from the birth, but emotionally I'm pretty rattled.

My husband and I are just focusing on keeping things calm at home. You're absolutely right, we believe it's our decision as parents to name our child. We never promised to my L anything. I still can't believe she went to that extreme. We knew she'd be disappointed, but we never imagined that level of anger. Comment 2. NTA. Did your husband back you up during all this? How is he handling it?

Op reply, My husband has been amazing through all of this. He absolutely backed me up at the hospital and told his mom to leave when she started screaming. He was just as shocked and horrified as I was. He did chase after her initially when security took her out, but she was just screaming and not listening to him. So he came back pretty quickly to be with me. At home, he's been the one answering most of the calls from relatives. He's made it clear to them that we together made the decision about our daughter's name and that his mom's behavior was unacceptable. He's pretty devastated that his mother put us through this on what should have been a happy day.

I can tell he's really angry at her, and also embarrassed by her actions, but he's mostly focused on making sure the baby and I are okay. We both are just stunned that she would do something like this. Update 1. First off, I want to thank everyone for the overwhelming support and validation in the comments. The general consensus was definitely that we were not the assholes, and honestly reading those comments helped me feel a lot more confident that we did nothing wrong in naming our daughter as we did. It's been a crazy week since the original post. I didn't get a chance to respond to everyone, but I did read and reply as much as I could. A lot has happened. The day after I posted, My Mill actually sent me

a text message apology, well, more like a non-apology, out of the blue. She said she was sorry for getting so emotional at the hospital but then immediately justified it by saying she was blindsided and hurt that we broke the family tradition. She wrote that she had been dreaming of having a granddaughter named after her for decades and that she overreacted because she was heartbroken. She did not actually admit that what she did was wrong, nor did she apologize for yelling or scaring us. It was mostly about how she felt hurt. She even said, I hope you understand why I was so upset, and I forgive you for how you spoke to me when I was in distress. Yes, she forgives us. That part really rubbed me the wrong way. It felt like a very

fake, self-serving apology overall. I chose not to respond to Mill's message, and neither did my husband. We agreed it was best to have zero direct contact with her for now. We informed my father-in-law, F-I-L, that Mill is not welcome at our home or around us and the baby until further notice. Phil was actually not present at the hospital meltdown. He was out of town for work and arrived back later that day, but he heard about it from my husband afterward. Initially, called my husband and sounded extremely embarrassed and apologetic on my mill's behalf. However, he also was urging my husband to please be understanding, she was just emotional and excited. It's clear he's in a tough spot, but we told him plainly that what she did was

beyond the pale. Now, here's the really scary part, I learned what my mill was yelling as security dragged her out of my hospital room. At the time, everything was chaotic and I only heard bits of her screaming. My husband hadn't told me immediately in the aftermath because I was already so distraught. But this week he sat me down and told me everything. Apparently, as the guards were pulling her away, she started screaming threats directed at me. According to my husband, she was yelling things like, that bitch is going to pay. And you'll suffer the consequences for this. She also shrieked, you can't keep my granddaughter away from me. I'll make sure you regret this. To say I was horrified would be an understatement.

I had no idea she had been screaming actual threats against me at the time. I was in shock when my husband told me. He said he didn't want to tell me when I was recovering in the hospital because he was worried it would stress me out more while I was still in the hospital bed. But now that I'm stronger, he wanted me to know the full extent of what she said. I'm honestly really grateful he waited, because hearing that while I was freshly postpartum might have sent me into a panic attack. Even now, it's chilling. She basically vowed to make me suffer for not bending to her will. I don't know what she meant exactly by consequences, but just that phrasing is threatening. We've decided that we need to take this extremely seriously for our safety

and sanity. My husband was absolutely furious all over again hearing his mother's words come out of his own mouth as he told me. He even went to confront Mill about the threatening language over the phone, and told her that he heard what she said. Apparently, she did not deny it. She yelled back at him that I deserve to feel some pain for what I did and that there are consequences to disrespecting her. He hung up on her before it escalated further. After that call, we have completely cut contact with Mill. We told Phil we will not speak to her or see her unless and until some very serious changes occur, and honestly, I don't know what those would even be at this point. My husband has been looking into potential legal options

in case she tries to follow through on any threats. We've started documenting everything, saving her messages, writing down the details of what happened at the hospital while it's still fresh, and so on. We haven't involved the police or courts yet, since aside from the hospital outburst she hasn't tried to contact us directly again, the one-text apology aside. But knowing she said those things and still feels that way makes us very wary. Phil is aware of what she screamed, my husband told him, and he has been trying to play mediator a bit. He keeps saying she didn't mean it and that she just felt hurt and talked crazy. I told him bluntly that whether she meant it or not, I consider it a threat and I have

to protect my baby and myself. He said he understood but also that Mill is a apparently a wreck right now, crying and saying we're going to keep her granddaughter away forever. As far as I'm concerned, that's on Mill for behaving the way she did. For now, we're just staying no contact and keeping our doors locked. We also informed the hospital to put Mill on a list of people not allowed to visit in case she tried to come back, just in case, since we were there a couple days post-birth. I'm not sure what our next steps are, but we're considering speaking to a lawyer to see what can be done if she keeps this up or if we can somehow ensure she doesn't cause more trouble. It's really sad that it's come to this. I'll update again if there

are any major developments, but for now we are safe and focusing on our baby. Thank you again for all the supportive comments and advice. It helped us not second-guess ourselves during this mess. Comment one, I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. Good on you for documenting everything and considering legal action. A restraining order might be a good idea if she's making threats. Even if she doesn't get violent, threats to involve CPS or to take the baby are not uncommon in these crazy mill situations I've read about. Don't wait for her to actually do something worse. Also, how's the rest of the family reacting now that this has escalated? Are they still siding with her or finally realizing she's in the wrong? Op reply, it's been a mix. The relative

who initially were saying just give her the middle name to keep the peace have quieted down a lot since they heard about the hospital incident in more detail. I think once words spread that she was removed by security, a lot of them realized how extreme it got. We haven't broadcasted the threats she made. I'm not really eager to start more drama by telling the whole extended family about it, but my husband did tell his brother and father. His brother is completely on our side and basically said mom needs help. As for my father-in-law, he's in protect mode for her but also seems really embarrassed. He's been trying to downplay it like she didn't mean those things. She just lost her head. But at the same time he hasn't tried to defend her behavior

at the hospital at all, he did say he was sorry about that and that she was way out of line. Update 2. About a month has passed, and we decided to take legal action. With a lawyer's help, obtained a restraining order against my Mill, effective for one year, the maximum the judge would grant. It bars Mill from contacting us or coming near me, my husband, or our baby. The judge had no issue granting it given what happened. Mill was served with the order two weeks ago. According to my fill, she was absolutely livid when it happened, granting that we betrayed her and that her own son was treating her like a criminal. We pretty much expected that reaction. The important thing is, the order seems to be doing its job, we haven't heard a peep from her since.

My Phil is still in touch with us and he comes by once a week to visit his granddaughter. We made it clear he has to come alone and not share any information with Mill, and he's respected those rules so far. The only problem is that he keeps trying to get us to forgive and forget. Nearly every visit, he'll gently suggest that maybe we could sit down with Mill or that she's learned her lesson now. My husband and I shut that down every time. We've told him plainly that we're not ready, and may never be, to be honest, and that pushing us is only going to strain our relationship with him. He usually backs off when we reiterate that, but I can tell he's really torn up about the whole situation. I do feel bad

for Phil. He's been married to Mill for 35 years and he's clearly in a tough spot, trying to keep the peace. He insists she's not a bad person, just emotional, and that this behavior was totally out of character. Still, we stood firm that it doesn't excuse what she did. Whether she meant it or not, we have to protect our baby and ourselves. He said he understood, even if he doesn't like it. On the plus side, things at home have been much more peaceful. Baby Evelyn is thriving, and I'm finally able to enjoy being a new mom without constant drama hanging over us. I don't really know what Mill is doing with herself these days. Phil doesn't talk about her much. when he's here, and we don't ask. I heard through a family member that she's beside herself

missing the baby, but honestly, that's on her. She hasn't made any effort to sincerely apologize or get help, so there's not much anyone can do. Our plan is just to keep our distance and enforce the restraining order. When the year is up, we'll reevaluate based on her behavior then, but if she's still a potential threat or hasn't changed, we'll likely seek to extend it. For now, we're just grateful for the breather the restraining order gives us. No more surprise visits or harassment, at least for the time being. Comment one, I'm glad you got the restraining order. Even if it's just a year, it sends a message that her behavior was beyond acceptable.

It's good that Phil is respecting it, but him pushing you to reconcile is not cool. Forgive and forget doesn't just magically apply when someone threatens to take your child. Has your mill done anything to show she's changed? Any therapy or real apology? If not, Phil is just wishfully thinking. Stay cautious, sometimes people like your Mill behave for a while then try something when they think the dust is settled. I'll reply, you're absolutely right, forgive and forget is unrealistic given the circumstances.

As far as I know, Mill has not taken any steps to change or get help. If she's in therapy or something, we haven't heard about it, and I feel like Phil would mention it if she was. We certainly haven't received any kind of genuine apology from her. The only communication was that one text a while back which was more about her feelings than anything. So yeah, Phil's stance is basically based on wanting things to go back to normal, not on any actual change on Mill's part. We are definitely staying cautious. We've read enough and been advised enough to know that just because it's quiet now doesn't mean we let our guard down. Trust me, the moment Mill does anything shady, will be ready to involve the police. I honestly hope she just

stays away and maybe uses this time to reflect. But I'm not holding my breath on that. Comment too, Phil is in denial. I get that it's his wife of decades, but come on. He saw what she did, or at least knows, and he still thinks this can just be smoothed over with an apology. I hope he isn't giving her info about you or the baby. You mentioned you told her. You told her him not to, but do you trust that? I'd be a bit wary that he might unintentionally slip up or even deliberately share baby photos or updates with her because he feels bad for her. Op reply, that's a fair concern. We did have a talk with Phil early on about boundaries. We told him explicitly that we do not want him sharing any information about us or the baby

with Mill, no photos. No, the baby smiled for the first time today's stories, nothing. He agreed and said he understood. Do I 100% trust that he's not sharing anything? I'll admit, I have some lingering worry. He might think a little update here or there is harmless to cheer her up. But my husband has emphasized to him that even a small slip could be a huge setback. We haven't caught wind of anything leaking back to Mill, and I think Phil knows that if we do, it would likely mean cutting off his visits too.

So I'm trusting him on this. He genuinely loves his grandchild and I don't think he wants to just. jeopardize being able to see her. Fingers crossed. Update 3. I really hoped I wouldn't be back with another scary update, but here we are. It's been about four months of quiet. The restraining order kept Mill away and we had no direct contact. We thought maybe she had finally backed off, at least for the time being. Unfortunately, we were wrong. A few nights ago, Mill violated the restraining order in the worst way. Around dusk, out of nowhere, there was a violent pounding on our front door and Mill's voice screaming outside. Give me my granddaughter. She was yelling.

You can't keep her away from me. My husband peeked through the front window and immediately saw that it was his mother on our doorstep. He shouted for me to take the baby and hide, so I grabbed our daughter and my phone and locked us in the nursery, then dialed 911 straight away. From the nursery, I could hear her screaming that we had no right to keep her from her granddaughter. I was trying to keep the baby calm while explaining the situation to the 911 dispatcher, absolutely terrified that Mill might try to break in. After a minute of incessant pounding and shouting, I suddenly heard the sound of glass shattering. Later we discovered she had grabbed some rocks from our yard and was hurling them at the house.

One had cracked the glass panel of our front door. My husband yelled through the door for her to stop and that the police were coming, but she screamed back that she didn't care. It felt like forever, but it was probably only a few minutes before the police arrived. The moment Mills saw the flashing blue lights pull up, her tone reportedly flipped, she went from rage to frantic pleading. By the time I dared to come out of the nursery, the officers had her in handcuffs on our front lawn. I watched them lead her to the police car as she babbled incoherently, alternating between

sobbing and yelling about her granddaughter. It was a completely surreal sight to witness my Mill being arrested. The police took our statements and documented the damage. They were already aware of the restraining order on file. Mill was taken into custody and they confirmed she'd be charged for violating the order, as well as for the property damage. After giving all the information, my husband and I spent that night cleaning up the broken glass and trying to calm our nerves. Needless to say, we barely slept after all that. The following day, my Phil came over, but not for a normal visit, it was to talk about what happened. He showed up looking absolutely distraught, like he hadn't slept either. As soon as he walked in, he began apologizing

profusely. He said he was so, so sorry for ever doubting us and downplaying Mills' behavior. He admitted, I was wrong. I never imagined she could do something like this. He explained that he had no idea she was planning to come to our house. She'd only told him she was going out for a drive. He only found out about the arrest when she called him from jail later that night. He didn't make a single excuse for her this time. He said he's ashamed and at his wits end with her.

He also promised he will respect whatever decisions we make going forward. He told us he won't ask us to forgive her or let her see the baby anymore, because he realizes she went way over the line. It was an emotional conversation. My husband told his dad that we're sorry he's going through this, but our first priority had to be protecting our child. They ended up hugging, both of them in tears. It was heartbreaking to see a family ripped apart like this. As of now, Mill is out on bail. We intend to press charges for the restraining order violation and the vandalism. There will likely be a court date soon, and we plan to cooperate fully with the authorities.

We have no intention of dropping anything or being lenient. Given how blatantly she violated the order, it shouldn't be hard to get it extended or even made permanent. We're not sure what's next on the legal front or within the family. Phil has been very supportive since the incident, he's been checking on us and even helped board up the broken door glass. It's a welcome change in his attitude, though it's sad that it took such a crisis for him to fully accept reality. I'll post a final update after the legal side is resolved. Hopefully the next update will bring some closure to this nightmare.

Comment, now that Phil has seen the light, how is he doing? I feel for him, losing the partner he thought he knew. Has he said anything about what he plans to do regarding Mill? Is he staying with her or what? Op reply, he's really shaken up and hurt. This is a man who by all accounts had a stable, normal marriage for decades, and suddenly his wife is acting like a different person. From our conversations, I gather he's struggling with a mix of anger at her and guilt,

like wondering if he could have prevented this or if he enabled her behavior over the years. As for what he plans to do, he hasn't gone into great detail and I haven't pride. He did mention that he told her to seek help or he can't see a way for. forward together. I don't know if she will. They are still living in the same house as of now, but he implied they're not really speaking much at the moment. I imagine this might lead to some kind of separation if she doesn't drastically change. He said to us, I can't believe the woman I love did this. I don't know how to even look at her right now. It was heavy. But I'm letting him handle that part and just making sure he knows we're not blaming him for her actions.

I do worry about him, but he's got other families supporting him too. Final update. It's been a little while, and we finally have some closure. The legal process wrapped up last week. We didn't have to testify because Mill ultimately pleaded guilty to the charges of violating the restraining order and property damage. The judge sentenced her to 100 hours of community service and a hefty fine of several thousand dollars. There's no jail time, likely since it was a first offense and she took a plea deal, but she's on probation for a year and must attend anger management counseling. The restraining order remains in effect and can be extended if needed. We haven't seen or heard from Mill at all since

that awful night, and she didn't contest anything in court. In bigger family news, my fill is now separated from Mill. He actually packed her bags and made her leave their house. They're taking a break, after 35 years of marriage. Phil told my husband he can't even look at her and needs time apart to see if he can ever forgive her. Mill is staying with one of her sisters for now. I don't know if their marriage will survive, but Phil seems pretty firm in his decision. It's sad that it came to this, but my husband and I completely understand why he did it. As for us, we're doing okay. Our baby daughter is healthy and blissfully unaware of all this drama. We're relieved this chapter is closing. We're staying cautious, we even added extra home security, but hopeful that

Mill will stay away and comply with the law. Phil continues to visit regularly to see his granddaughter and has been very supportive. We're grateful we can maintain our relationship with him despite everything that happened. This whole ordeal has been tough, but at least there were real consequences for Mill's actions. Thank you to everyone here who offered advice and support throughout. We're hopeful we can finally move forward and raise our daughter in peace.