Mum defends giving twin sons same name after she is branded 'idiotic'

Parents who have twins might find it cute to dress up their bundles of joy in matching outfits - but as they get older, many of them are going to want to choose their own identities.

However, one mum made that quite difficult for her twin boys as she gave them the same name.

That's going to make family dinners a bit confusing, to say the least!

One of the parents' co-workers called her an 'idiot' for the questionable name choice, and we know this as they took to Reddit to ask AITA (Am I the A**hole) for doing so.

The poster kicked off by sharing their disbelief that there is a 'split opinion' about the whole thing at their office before explaining that the mum in question is 39 years old and she recently gave birth to twins after a battle with infertility.

They wrote: "When asked what she had named the boys (as up until this appearance she was undecided) she told me that she was naming them 'Sean'.

"When I asked about the other baby, she said, 'No, they are both Sean, one with an 'A' and one with an 'E' so Sean and Seen'."

FYI, both of their names are pronounced 'Shawn'. And if you have some thoughts, just brace yourselves - there's more.

The Redditor continued: "This co-workers' last name is also 'Sean'. When I pointed this out she said, 'Yes, like Tom Tom or Jay Jay'."

And no, they don't have middle names either - so that would make them identical twins with the full name of Sean Sean. Sorry, Sean Sean and Seen Sean.

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"I immediately and without thinking said, 'That is the most idiotic thing I've heard, and it's going to be so confusing,'" added the co-worker.

"A bunch of people laughed and a bunch immediately looked away. After she left, I got a few text messages saying it's not my place to comment on people's choice of name."

They finished by asking: "Am I the a**hole for saying that that is a terrible naming idea?"

In short, most of the Reddit community is on the OP's side.

As said by one: "Even if they're pronounced the same, poor Seen is going to be called Seeee-n for at least his whole time in school by his peers so good job setting your kid up for that.

"I agree with other comments saying if this lady can handle people's reactions now, imagine the kind of bullying the poor kids are gonna get."

Another who drew from their own experiences wrote: "As an identical twin, please for the love of GOD don’t name your twins similar names!

"Twins are lumped together enough as it is; the last thing they need is a constant reminder that their own parents see them as a unit and not as individuals.

"These are your babies, not your pets."

A third pointed out: "If they thought the naming process was 'overwhelming' wow they have a long road of parenthood ahead of them."

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It took a bit of searching, but we found one commenter who doesn't agree with the OP's reaction - although they do think the double naming was a bad idea.

"YTA only because other people's idiocy is none of your business," they wrote. "That being said you are indeed correct that is very bizarre."

The Redditor has since shared an update about the situation after their co-workers caught wind of the post.

As well as being called into what turned out to be an uneventful meeting with HR - no, they didn't lose their job - the woman's husband got in touch to say he also agrees that it was a bad idea.

Although the parents had already sent off the paperwork, they called up the Brisbane office and it had only been provisionally processed, giving them some much needed time to reassess.

Here's hoping they made the right decision.