Dispute over naming: Who owns the baby name?

A conflict over a child's name has sparked debate within a family, prompting a 40-year-old mother to seek external judgment. In the new interactive series "Am I the Problem?" from Die Zeit, individuals anonymously share genuine disputes from their lives, asking readers to weigh in on who is at fault.

The mother recounts how, after her father passed away some time before her son's birth, she decided to give her son a second middle name in his honor. While the name wasn't the primary focus of her naming plans, she found it complemented the baby's first name beautifully.

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I became a mother a few years ago and gave my son a second middle name after my father, who had died some time before his birth.

This decision, however, has apparently led to friction with her children and siblings, though the specifics of their objections are not detailed in the provided text. The series aims to dissect such interpersonal conflicts, allowing readers to cast their votes on the situation before a social psychologist, Johanna Degen, offers her expert analysis. The reader's verdict can then be compared against the psychologist's professional opinion.

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We didn't plan his name around this second name, but it fit nicely with the first name and the baby.