Mom Accidentally Names Her Child ‘Lasagna,’ Discovers Only Months Later

Parents-to-be spend months picking out the perfect name for their impending arrival, but one new mom’s sweet intention to honor her late grandmother-in-law inadvertently led to a humorous moniker. In a Reddit threat first reported on by Cafe Mom, a newly-minted mother recalled how she had accidentally named her daughter “lasagna.”

In the post, the mother explained how she and her husband had welcomed their first child, a daughter, about nine weeks ago. After learning that they were expecting a girl, they immediately decided on a name: Elizabeth Jane, with the intent to call her EJ. However, those plans changed when, seven months into her pregnancy, her husband’s grandmother Anya lost her battle to breast cancer. Wishing to pay tribute to her, the expectant mom decided to change her daughter’s name to Anya, writing that “my husband and his family were touched and agreed so our daughter became Elizabeth Anya Jane Last-Name.” It wasn’t long before she realized the uncanny nickname her daughter would have.

“We’ve been having frequent group Skype sessions with family during the stay-home mandate so our families can see the baby, see us, see each other and stay connected,” she continued. “My sister pointed out that we named our baby ‘Lasagna.’ I hadn’t made the mental connection but if you put her first and second names together ‘Liz Ayna’ it really does make ‘lasagna.’”

Now, the mother wrote, the nickname seems to have stuck and “everyone keeps calling my daughter ‘Lasagna.’” Although it may seem like something to laugh about, the mother expressed her fear that the moniker will lead to mocking once her baby girl enters school. The name has even stuck with her family, with her sister telling her that if she didn’t want her daughter to get teased “then I shouldn’t have named her what I did.”

“They won’t stop and every time I protest they remind me that I’m the one who named her so I’ve made my bed,” the mom continued, revealing that she is no longer speaking with her family after she requested that they stopped calling her daughter “lasagna” and they refused. “Have I brought this on myself?”

Of course, Redditors were quick to show their support, with one person writing “it’s ok that you didn’t catch it” while a second person commented that “your family should drop it once you said it bothered you.” Several other suggested that she change her daughter’s name to Elizabeth Jane Anya or Anya Elizabeth. In an update, the mom said that after discussing it over with her husband, they came to the decision “to legally have her middle names switched around, so we just need to figure out a time to get down to the courthouse and do that.”