A woman has been warned that her son faces a ‘lifetime of ridicule’ after she decided on a last-minute name change in memory of her late father.
She explained that she and her husband have been married for 10 years and recently had their first child.
They had originally planned to name him Louis, which they had both settled on, but during the pregnancy, she says she ‘tragically and unexpectedly’ lost her father.
She wanted to honour her dad, who was called Harry, by naming her son after him rather than calling him Louis.
When the mum married her husband, she took his last name of Potter – meaning their son’s full name would be Harry Potter.
She said: “I decided to not let the book series and movies rule my emotions and decision, and my lovely little boy with big blue eyes and bright-red hair is called Harry Michael Potter.”
After sharing a photo of her son with the birth announcement on Facebook, the mum says she’s been getting an “unending amount of ridicule and shaming” from people for calling her son Harry.
She wrote: “My husband and I love the name, there’s no question of keeping it, but I’m at the point where I’m considering asking my husband if he would mind if we change Harry’s last name to my maiden name, so he’d be Harry Michael Vaughn.”
The mum continued: “I’m pretty sure he’d agree since he’s getting annoyed too”, reported the Mirror.
Seeking guidance on Reddit, one user remarked: “If you think you get ridiculed it’s nothing compared to what your son is going to get.”
Another warned: “This kid is going to get made fun of his whole life. He’s never going to hear the end of it, whether it’s friendly jokes or actual bullies. He’s going to have to constantly explain to people that yes, that’s my real name, I’m not joking’.”
One advised: “You seem to only be considering how you feel about the name and not how it will affect him the rest of his life. I’m not saying this makes you a s****y person and I understand why you want it but why not make Harry a second middle name?”
A third suggested: “You have set him up for a lifetime of teasing, comments, and annoyance. Change his last name. He will resent you if you don’t.”
Following the online advice, the mum revealed they decided to change their son’s surname from Potter to Vaughn, with her husband opting to take the hyphenated surname Vaughn-Potter to match hers.
She concluded: “It’ll be a process but Harry is worth it.”
