Couple causes rift in family over 'appalling' parenting decision: 'They think we are messing up the child'

“You’re setting your kid up for a childhood of mockery and torment.”

Two parents-to-be are feuding with friends and family members after announcing that they plan on naming their daughter after a rather obscure character from a galaxy far, far away.

On August 13, the father-to-be took his feud to the r/AITA (Am I The A******) subreddit to get outsider opinions on the situation.

Posting under the username throwawayuscscar, he explained that he and his wife are “huge fans of the ‘Star Wars’ movies.”

“We met while camping out for the premiere of ‘The Force Awakens,'” he explained. “Our spark was instant, and just a year later, I proposed with a ring hanging from the arm of a Rey Funko figure and she said yes.”

‘They think we are messing up the child for this’

For the most part, throwawayuscscar says that friends respect his and his wife’s “Star Wars” obsession. When the couple shared their baby name, though, people were “appalled.”

Over Zoom, throwawayuscscar and his wife announced to family and friends that they would be naming their daughter Captain-Phasma. “The whole name, like Mary-Kate,” he explained.

“Once we announced the name on a Zoom meeting with our family and closest friends, they went from being happy and excited to appalled,” he said. “They think we are messing up the child for this.”

“We think a strong name would make other kids in awe of our daughter,” throwawayuscscar said in defense of the name. “Our daughter should be both respected and feared.”

‘Captain Phasma is a cruel and ridiculous name’

On the AITA_reddit Twitter account, throwawayuscscar’s post blew up with more than 2,000 replies.

Many people chastised the dad-to-be for even considering naming his daughter something so “ridiculous.”

“Captain Phasma is a cruel & ridiculous name,” one person said. “If your judgement here is any indication, your kid will face more serious issues with you two as her parents unless you grow up ASAP.”

“You’re setting your kid up for a childhood of mockery and torment,” another Twitter user added. “Eventually, she’ll grow into it and own it, but she’ll be miserable for years. I understand the thinking behind it, but hoo boy, this is a bad choice.”

Other people suggested that the couple name their daughter after another “Star Wars” character with a more traditional name.

“There are a lot of names in the Star Wars universe that would be good for a child — Leia came to mind for me, or maybe Carrie,” one Reddit user suggested. “Even Rey sounds like a person (or Daisy after the actress, if they love the character Rey).”

“If you have to name your daughter after a character, choose Cara, Satine, Rose, even Leia or Rey; something at least resembling normalcy,” another person added.

In response to the condemnation, throwawayuscscar said that he and his wife are now considering “other names,” though all of them are still “Star Wars”-related.

“We are definitely leaning towards Captain-Phasma as the middle name with possibly Gwendolyn as the first [name] if not Maz,” he said. “I know we got a lot of flack but I’m glad we’ve seen all the feedback and suggestions so thank you.”

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