A mum has opened up about her choice to give her young son a completely different name 18 months in, knowing the one she originally gave him didn't suit him at all. According to mum Jen Hamilton, her eldest son is an "outdoorsy boy", as is her husband. She, therefore, naturally assumed her second child would follow in their outdoorsy footsteps and have the "soul of a river rafting tour guide".
With this in mind, she headed to Pinterest for name inspiration, typing in "outdoorsy baby boy names". They eventually settled on the name Aspen, which she thought was a "super cool name". However, after her son was born and his own individual personality began to shine, she realised it was indeed "a super cool name for someone else", and just didn't suit his temperament at all.
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In a TikTok video explaining her regret, Jen, who goes by the username @_jen_hamilton, said: "Because my boy, he gets carsick in the Chick-fil-a drive-thru. He gags at the thought of a blueberry. And on his first birthday, he lost his ever-loving mind when his toe touched his cake.
"He loves air conditioning and sitting down and at six years old loves being held by his mum, still. Constantly."
Describing her son as the "sweetest little boy", Jen revealed the couple eventually decided to change Aspen's name to Luke, which means 'light' and fits him much better.
Happy with her little boy just as she is, she added: "And while he may never guide river rafting tours, he will for sure be in a very comfortable location, being just as sweet as he can be."
Jen began noticing that the name Aspen just didn't suit her baby "early on", and decided to talk to her sister about it, before broaching the topic with her husband. Her sister advised her to just "change it", but she initially felt wary, feeling "nobody does that."
She continued: "I thought I was going to have to go my whole life calling him that name, even though inside it just didn't feel right. So we got a lawyer, did all the paperwork, and it took like a year to do but by 18 months old, he had his new name, officially."
The video has since clocked up more than 753.2K likes and counting, and many people could completely understand why Jen made the decision she did.
One person commented: "My friend from Denmark said it’s pretty common to not 'officially' name your kid until about 18 months old. You’re good! And maybe Danish?"
Another joked: "My name is Luke and I love the outdoors. Changing my name to Aspen asap".
Do you have a story of baby name regret to share? Email us at julia.banim@reachplc.com
