A Woman Crushed Her Coworker’s Dreams of an ‘Exotic’ Baby Name & Reddit Says It ‘Sounds Like a Disease'

We’ve been on Reddit long enough to know that the cardinal sin of choosing a baby name is telling people the name before the baby is born. Before they’re born, the peanut gallery will descend, and the parents-to-be will be bombarded with [negative] opinions. After the baby is born, most people have the decency to zip it.

That said, there is one name, and one name only, that is appropriate to consult with others about, and that’s Cheelee. Because someone has to stop that atrocity from happening. (IYKYK.)

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Well, one pregnant woman clearly missed the memo when she asked her coworker what she thought about her proposed baby name. That coworker then turned the “Am I The A—hole? (AITA?)” subreddit to find out if her reaction was out of line.

The Name

So what is this drama-causing name? The woman who originally posted (the “OP”) said her pregnant coworker asked if she knew the name “Venus.” Well, the coworker said she’s going to add an “A” to the end of the name, making it “Venusa.”

“She said that it’s so exotic and unique sounding right?” OP wrote. “I said no, it sounds like the already existing name ‘Vanessa.'”

This did not go over well with the mom-to-be. She got “upset” and said her boyfriend and parents said it’s a name “that’s never been heard of before.”

“[I said] it’s kind of a dumb name to give someone since every time they say it aloud people will call them Vanessa and it will always be misspelled,” OP said.

Thus began the waterworks. The coworker reportedly called OP a b*tch, left her shift early, and said, “Great, people are already insulting my parenting choices.”

OP is now hearing from other coworkers who say she’s “disgusting” for making a pregnant woman cry, but OP thinks there’s nothing wrong with being honest when prompted. So, OP wants to know, is she the a—hole?

Reddit’s Reaction

Redditors are collectively shaking their heads and agreeing that while OP could have been more tactful, she’s not a full a—hole for being honest. Just play dumb.

“OP could have said, ‘Oh Vanessa that’s lovely.’ [Coworker,] ‘No Venusa.’ ‘Yeah that’s what I said, Vanessa.'” Hopefully that would make the coworker realize how similar the names sound.

That said, her coworker shouldn’t have shared her plan in the first place.

“I really think people need to stop asking questions they don’t want the answer to,” one person said and 3 thousand Redditors agreed.

“Or, at the very least, not pout when someone thinks your choice is nuts,” another responded.

And thus began the conversation about just how bad “Venusa” is:

“Sounds like a disease or flap on a body part.”

“I really need to get my Venusa checked out by a doctor.”

“Ask your doctor if Venusa® is right for you.”

“Side effects may include: bullying, mental health issues, people never saying or spelling your name right, and more than normal resentment towards your parents.”

And then there’s the discussion of how it’s actually pronounced. There could be slight variations.

“I can’t not pronounce it as ‘venooosa.'”

“It’s ‘Venooooosa’ not ‘Ven-e-us-ahhhhh,’” said [presumably] Hermione Granger.

Maybe what’s needed now is a magic spell that makes this coworker at least reconsider the name. If she wants “Venusa,” all the power to her. The parents get to make that call. But there’s no harm in giving it a second thought.

From Kylo to Terra, here are a fewfuturistic baby names for the age of A.I.

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