AITA for leaking fake baby names to family?

A couple is expecting their first baby and got tiered of aggressive family members who demanded him to name their child. Multiple relatives—OPs MIL, SIL, BIL, aunt, uncle, and 2 sisters—made the decision themselves that nicely sounded, ignoring the entire freaking point of being not open for suggestions multiple times. Their relatives said normal names like Elizabeth, Cassandra, William and Patrick would spare the child a “weird, tragic” name.

To combat their families’ sense of entitlement, OP’s husband suggested leaking ridiculously silly fake baby names. So in comments online they started pulling out names such as Cuntley, Dicky and Sprite, and then photoshopping baby items with these names on them, in just to irritate their pushy family members. It was a tactic that worked — relatives became more and more upset until another family member caught wind of the ruse and blew the surprise. When challenged on this, OP and their husband said it was in jest and they were responding to the unwarranted expectations put on them. Some of my family deemed it juvenile, but others found it absolutely hysterical. OP is left wondering if they crossed a line in the first place.

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Here’s what top commenters had to say about this one:

This IS a familiar family conflict, the battle between tradition and self-determination. Choosing a name for a baby is something most parents take seriously, but family members often step in — mostly when they have a passionate opinion on what makes a ‘good’ one. Research into family dynamics suggests that this kind of interference often stems from inter-generational thinking, with older family members believing they are guardians of culture and traditions. The appeal to vintage names probably reflects a cultural unease with modern coinages that some parents see as silly or shameful.

But excluding this last part, boundary-setting is necessary for any healthful relationship. OP and their husband started with the direct approach—informing their families that they weren’t taking name suggestions—but their families were not respectful of that. Which is what led them to use humor as a shield. Their prank was misleading, but it was ultimately a tame means of taking back the conversation. While psychological research confirms that humor is an effective weapon against tension, it could help today by setting boundaries without confrontation.

In most countries, parents have the legal right to name their child, with only limited restrictions. Although legally, a name can be challenged (i.e., obscene and offensive names in some jurisdictions), family input is not legally binding. In this situation OP and her husband had no responsibility to consider any suggestions, and their prank—even if it was weird—was a humorous approach to send the message to their family that they were in control.

This line perfectly captures the heart of the conflict—while the family accused OP and their husband of being childish, it was actually the relatives who were acting entitled and overbearing. It flips the blame back onto them, highlighting the irony of their behavior.