A parent has asked for advice after her pregnant sister announced her unborn daughter will be called Eloise, with the everyday nickname Ellie—the same nickname her four-year-old daughter Elodie already goes by.
In a Reddit post, the parent explained that she and her husband chose the name Elodie partly because they liked Ellie as a nickname, and almost everyone in the family has called her daughter Ellie since she was a baby. She introduces herself that way at preschool too.
Her younger sister, now pregnant with her first child, recently revealed the baby's name will be Eloise, with Ellie as the everyday nickname. The sister said cousins having similar names is cute and that nobody owns a nickname. Their parents agreed and jokingly started calling the two cousins 'big Ellie' and 'little Ellie'.
Husband suggests speaking up
The parent said she didn't say anything at the time to avoid turning the announcement into an argument, but later told her husband she found it strange. He replied that they should mention it before the baby is born, suggesting the sister might not have considered how confusing it would be to have two girls named Ellie at every future family gathering.
While she doesn't want to ask her sister to pick a different name, the parent acknowledged that raising the issue could make her look possessive. She noted that Elodie and Eloise are separate full names, and the girls will have their own lives.
Reddit users weigh in
Most people agreed the couple should talk to the sister about the potential confusion. One user suggested mentioning the practical issue once without presenting it as a veto, saying something like, "Just checking that you really want two Ellies at every family event, because ours already answers to it." They added that the sister may have considered that and still love Eloise, which is her choice.
Another user wrote: "She already knows they're both going to have the same nickname doesn't she? So I suppose you could gently say 'I feel really weird about it but if you love the name obviously I don't expect you to change it'. I think that's all you can do tbh. Personally I find it extremely weird that your sister would do that and don't understand other comments saying you're overthinking it/ being weird!!!"
A third commenter said that while they are two different names, the family already calls the daughter Ellie, so it's weird for the sister to want to use Ellie as well. They added that if she planned on calling Eloise 'Lou' or 'Lulu', they'd feel differently.
Concern over 'big Ellie' and 'little Ellie'
Others were more annoyed about the idea of 'big Ellie' and 'little Ellie'. One user wrote: "Your daughter should not suddenly have her established name modified to make the new choice work." Another shared a personal experience: "They tried calling me 'Big Sharon' and as a fat girl who was also about eight inches taller than 'little Sharon' I did not appreciate the nickname. They said it was all age but come ON."
A different user advised: "Do not accept 'big Ellie' for your daughter unless she likes it. The adults created this overlap, so they shouldn't solve it by renaming the older child." Someone else agreed, saying they fully understand being upset about the niece sharing a nickname, but ultimately there's nothing the parent can do about it. However, 'Big Ellie' would absolutely not fly, as they don't get to rename the existing child.
