Well, well, well, it looks like it's time to debate and discuss another convo from Reddit's "Am I The Asshole" subreddit, where people try to find out if they acted correctly in certain ~precarious~ situations. This one, which recently went viral, deals with an argument a woman's having with her husband over what to name their unborn child.
Here's the story according to the OP (original poster), a 35-year-old woman who's married and pregnant with her first child: "We are overjoyed, as we have struggled with perceived infertility and miscarriages for the last decade. We want the gender to be a surprise, but may have to find out to settle this. I’m currently at the tail end of my second trimester."
Outside of the pregnancy, in another area of life, the OP's husband's grandfather — who he absolutely "idolized" — recently passed away. Her husband's understandably devastated, especially at the fact that his children will never get to meet their great-grandfather. For this reason, he suggested he and his wife name the child after his late grandfather: Theodore if it's a boy, or Theodora if it's a girl. "Either way, we will either call them Teddy, or Theo/Thea respectively."
Now, OP doesn't have an issue with those names on their own, per se, but the problem is that she and her husband's last name is Bounde (pronounced like bun-dee).
In case you haven't caught on, this means their child will generally be named/nicknamed Teddy Bounde, which sounds just like Ted Bundy.
If you aren't familiar with Theodore — aka Ted Bundy (I'd be VERY shocked if you've never heard of him, but just in case) — he's a notorious serial killer who sexually assaulted and murdered multiple young women in Washington, Oregon, Utah, and Florida between 1974 and 1978. He ultimately confessed to 28 murders, but some believe he committed even more. He died by electric chair in 1989.
So, naturally, OP is a little concerned. "I asked my husband, do you really see no issue in naming our kid Teddy Bounde? You don’t think that would raise any questions? He says no, he’s just honoring his grandpa. I told him he needs to think about how we will be perceived, how our child will be treated, and the implications that the name inherently carries. I literally had to spell out why that would be a horrible idea, and he still thinks I just hate his grandpa."
OP also tries to explain to her husband that his grandfather was born in the 1930s, decades before Ted Bundy committed the murders and gave the name such a bad rap. Now, there's "no feasible" way they can name their child that without any issue. Her husband keeps pushing, and eventually OP blows up and calls the suggestion "idiotic at best, sociopathic at worst."
Their fight has left the family divided. "His family is obviously on his side and wants to honor their grandpa via naming the baby after him. My parents are torn but on my side, as they understand the social pariah we would make our child by giving them such a similar name to the person who did such abhorrent and downright evil things to so many women. I mean, personally I don’t think anyone is just going to assume that we are honoring a passed loved one; they’re just going to think of Ted Bundy."
People in the comments had PLENTY to say about this ordeal. Many agreed that despite being well-intentioned, giving their child a name so similar to Ted Bundy is NOT the move:
"Please do not name your kid, in effect, Ted Bundy. Literally ignore everybody encouraging you to name your kid Ted Bundy."
"Someone please show him the documentary. It might actually help clear everything up."
"Bundy is probably THE most well-known serial killer. I’m sure if you ask a bunch of completely random people to name the first serial killer that comes to mind, most of them would say Bundy."
Others shared their experiences with names that had similar negative connotations:
"I have a friend who has a very similar name to a well-known serial killer. He has to wind up basically apologizing for his name wherever he goes, even though he has absolutely no relation to the guy. It’s pretty sad. There are many ways you can honor your husband’s grandfather without giving the baby such an unfortunate name."
"My initials were 'KKK' growing up. Not on purpose, my parents did not put that together. The kids at school, however, did so quickly. I was labeled a Klan member for a decade. Kids can be shitty, sure, but don’t make it easy for them."
And finally, some even provided suggestions for things the couple could do instead that still honored her husband's grandfather:
"Maybe they could give their child a middle name based on grandpa's middle name instead?"
"A great way to honor the grandfather may be to use a name that has the same meaning. Theodore means 'gift from God.' A quick google search should generate a list of names that have the same/similar meaning."