Man Sparked Outrage After Giving His Dog Name As His Niece

Choosing name for your dog can be stressful. In some cases, it can spark a debate amongst your entire family. And that's what happened to a man who got criticized by his sister and family for naming his dog the same name as his niece. His choice sparked outrage amongst his family, so he took to Reddit to explain his awkward position surrounding his dog's name and ask for advice.
In the popular subreddit "Am I The A—hole", the man explained that he had waited over a year to adopt a dog after the Covid-19 pandemic and spent all that time picking out the perfect name. However, his sister-in-law stole the name for her child. She forced him to change his dog's name even though he had chosen the name first. He refused to change it, so he had to face backlash from his family.

Source: Pinterest (not the actual photo)

"I am not really one to care about dog names. I have a dog named Centrifuge, for example, like usually I just give random names that I come up with on the spot," the man wrote via Reddit, adding: "But this dog I had planned for a year in advance."
"At the beginning of 2020, I got in touch with a breeder to get my dream dog, a beautiful clumber spaniel. The litter was born 10 weeks ago so this has been a plan for a long time," he explained.
He named the dog Maybeline and excitedly shared it with his brother and sister-in-law, who said they loved it. However, things got messy when his SIL had a baby girl. She wanted to name the girl Maybeline and asked if he could change the dog's name. The man refused as he had chosen the name first and he didn't want to change his dog's name.
"Fast forward and my sister-in-law is pregnant and finds out it is a girl. We are all so excited and happy and wondering about the name and she said Maybeline," he recalled. "I didn't really think much of it at the spot but I did make a comment about how that is what my puppy will be called. My sister-in-law took me aside and asked me if I can change the name to something else and I said I would think about it."

Source: Pinterest (not the actual photo)

When he refused to change his dog's name and decided to go with it, his SIL called him rude and unreasonable. She turned his family against him, and they became so angry, telling him that he was "insulting" his brother and niece.
He added: "When I told my family everyone was so angry with me saying I was being rude and insulting my brother and my niece. I had planned this name before my niece was even conceived. I am not going to change it but am I being an a****** about it?"
Wanting to mend their relationship, the man decided to call his pup May for short as a nickname. Thanks to this solution, he could appease his angry family while keeping his dog's name.
"I will call my dog May for short as a nickname while keeping Maybeline as her registered name," he said. "I. am not allowed to tell everyone their daughter is named after my dog. It's a bit of a dumb agreement because British people will shorten the shortest of names. Your name is James? Not anymore Jay. Your name is Amy? Not anymore Ames. So their kid and my dog will just both be called May for short. I find this hilarious and I will not tell them this changes nothing."

Source: Pinterest (not the actual photo)

While most Reddit users sided with the man and agreed that he was not wrong for refusing to change his dog's name, others wondered why his SIL would want to call her daughter Maybeline.
One user commented: "She knew what you were going to call your pup and asking you to change that now is rude.
"Now if I as a kid found out the dog had the same name as me I wouldn't be happy either."
Another said: "My sister is actually named this but it’s spelled Meybelin and my mum named her that because she liked the name, not because of the makeup brand.

Source: Pinterest (not the actual photo)

"It’s a pretty common name with Latinos and even though the spelling is different which is the way Latinos spell it, she still hears the Makeup brand references."
A third commented: "I don't know why people get upset about pets and children sharing names - they act like it's gonna bring such shame on the kid.
"I have a friend who's dog has the same name as a nickname everyone calls my daughter and she loves visiting her dog friend who has the same name as her, she thinks it's awesome."