Father-to-be doesn't want to name his baby after wife's coworker

Oh guys. Ohhhhhh guys, this is a crazy one. You might want to clean the floor because that's where your jaw will drop to when you hear about this post in Reddit's "Am I the A-hole?" It is a doozy.  

The father-to-be who posted explains that his wife is in her last trimester, so they've been talking a lot about what to name their baby. They had four solid options on the table that used some variation of their fathers' and grandfathers' names. "Now," he writes, "there is a fifth one thrown in as a serious contender from my wife's side." Guys. Ohhhhh guys. Wait 'til you hear this.  

His wife wants to name their baby Nate "because of a coworker 'Nathan' she is especially close to." Um. What. He explains, "there had been some drama at her workplace in which Nathan had her back, protected and defended her. 

They aren't friends outside of work but close at the office. I have met Nathan at holiday parties and he is a good guy. I don't have any problem with him, but I don't want our son to be named after him."  

Uh, yeah. That's perfectly reasonable. This is so weird. It would be one thing if his wife was like, "Hey, I really like the name Nathan even though that's the name of my coworker. How do you feel about that?" But it really seems like she wants to name their baby after this guy. Hold on just a second, I have to get rid of all the red flags that just popped up in front of my face. 

This poor dad-to-be said that he vetoed the name right away — obviously — and that his wife got annoyed at him. "When I told her I just don't want our son to be associated with a work friend," he recounts, she didn't say, "Oh of course, that would be insane."  

Instead, she said that "this was an important person to her." This is their baby. And she wants to name him after a guy who's nice to her at work? Something is very fishy here.  

So he flipped the situation on its head and asked his wife if she would be OK naming a kid Alyssa because he works with someone named Alyssa.  

"She said that it was different because Alyssa and I are just close work buddies, but Nate and her have been through some serious s--t together." Maybe she's referring to the work drama they endured...maybe she's referring to the illicit affair it really seems like she's carrying out with Nate! Who knows?!  

He didn't want to keep fighting about it, so he said he'd think about it. "But in my heart," he wrote, "I don't even want to consider the name, even though I can tell that it is bothering her." So he came to Reddit to ask if he was overreacting.  

The first comment snidely tackles the possibility you and I are both thinking about: "YTA [you're the a-hole] it's very normal for a mother to name her child after the baby's father." Commenters are convinced that this Nate guy means way more to the mother than just being a "close work friend." 

It's hard not to laugh at the situation because it's so absurd. But who innocently wants to name their baby after a coworker of the opposite sex that they happen to be close to? It's not normal! 

Look, people name their children different things for different reasons. Sometimes, there's no reason at all beyond the fact that the parents like the name. And all of that is fine. This situation, though? This is not fine.  

One commenter truly asked him, in all seriousness, if he's sure the baby is his, and he said with lots of confidence, "I am sure Nate is not involved in the making of this baby." OK then. Even if that's the case, it's still weird. 

One commenter said, "Think about this conversation: 'Nathan is such a great name! How did you pick that?' 'Oh, Nate is the assistant to the district manager where Peggy works.' 'Oh.'"  

No matter what the situation is, it's weird to name your baby after someone your wife supposedly only sees at work. Not to mention, both parents should love the name they ultimately decide on for their kid. Even if this weird thing with Nate wasn't in the picture, if dad didn't like the name, it should be off the table.  

Man, I had plans today, but instead, I'll just be over here refreshing Reddit waiting for an update on this post. I need to know.