Teen has bold response to parents pressuring him to change his 'unserious' birth name: 'They deeply regretted it'

Names are a big part of a person’s identity. While some people choose to change their names later in life, others remain deeply attached to the one given at birth. But one teenager found himself in a situation where his parents expressed regret over his name and tried to push for a legal change. The 16-year-old shared his experience on Reddit, under the username u/Fast-Emphasis-145, sharing how his parents wanted him to change his name, but he shut them down with a bold response.  

In his post, the teen explained that he is the youngest of his siblings and the only one whose name wasn't dictated by family tradition.“My siblings were all named after family members like both my dad's and mom's families prefer,” he wrote. But when they had him, they decided to name him what they liked and called him Sunny. The teen said he actually likes his name. “I don’t care. I don’t think Sunny is girly because it has a u vs an o,” he explained. But at some point, his parents started feeling differently. He recalled them occasionally calling him by his middle name and asking him whether he had ever gone by a nickname. Then, the hints became more obvious.

They started telling him how some kids change names before high school because "they want something more grown up." "I was like oh, I guess if people want that it makes sense. Then I said it must suck to hate your name." Then they told him he looked like a James, suggesting he could go by Jamie. "I asked them why they thought that and they said I just had that look,” he recalled. “They asked what I thought of the name and I said I like Jamie but prefer Sunny.” Soon after, they asked if he liked the name Luke and he said no. Later, his parents made it clear they wanted him to change his name. They admitted that, at the time, they had chosen his name as a rebellion against their families, and "they deeply regretted it." 

He reassured them he liked his name, even telling them he loved the way they had always spoken about finding it. "They felt like the name being cute and light and full of hope wasn’t great for going into my adult years," he explained. Finally, his parents presented him with legal name change paperwork and three options to pick from. "They said they really didn't want to live with the guilt," he wrote. He refused. "I told them I’m not changing my name because of their name regret. I told them how I feel about my name is more important now." His parents pushed back, saying he should at least think about their feelings and consider whether he’d be taken seriously in the future. Reddit was firmly on Sunny’s side.

u/TogarSucks suggested, "If they keep it up, or worse change it behind your back, tell them when you hit 18 you’re keeping (or going back) to Sunny and will change your last name out of spite." u/MissionHoneydew2209 added, "Your parents sound EXHAUSTING." u/paintedkayak commented, "I mean, this is just sad: ‘being cute and light and full of hope wasn’t great for going into my adult years.’ OP, please go forth into your adult years being cute and light and full of hope." u/Money_System1026 simply added, "If you like it, keep it."