Choosing a name for your baby can be hard, especially when you want to keep everyone happy. Some names are already used by family, while others might remind people of someone they don’t like. This young mom didn’t share her daughter’s name until the last moment, but her choice might change her life forever.

Naming her daughter caused big family problems, even though she tried to keep the name a secret to avoid drama.

“I’m 26 and just had my daughter, Annabelle. I didn’t tell anyone the name before because a family member once stole a baby name, and it caused a lot of trouble. My mom really wanted to know, but I kept it a secret.

My mom and dad were in the room when I had the baby. When it was time to sign the birth certificate, my mom asked for the name, and I told her it was Annabelle. Her face went pale, and my dad didn’t look happy, but he said he liked the name. A few minutes later, my mom left, saying she didn’t feel well. She said she would come by in a few days to help with the baby.”

“Now I’m home with the baby, and my mom hasn’t talked to me much. We used to talk every day, so I was confused. My sister Emily still lives with my mom, so I asked her to come over and talk.

When she came, she told me she had heard mom and dad arguing. About 10 years ago, my dad had an affair with a coworker named Annabelle. Mom hasn’t been talking to him much, and he’s been trying to get her to talk. I guess Dad noticed Emily had come over, so he came by too.”

“He asked me if I could change Annabelle’s name. I asked why, to see if he’d tell me the truth. He admitted to the affair. He begged my mom not to leave him back then, and she stayed, but hearing the name Annabelle always made her upset. I told him I couldn’t change it because Annabelle is the name of my husband’s grandmother, who raised him.

My dad begged me to change it, saying my mom was packing her bags to go stay with her sister. I told him I wouldn’t change the name because it means so much to me and my husband.

He started to get angry, but my sister yelled at him to leave and not to stress me out about something he caused. He left right away. I’m not going to change my baby’s name, but I feel like this is breaking up the family. What should I do?