Mother changes six-month-old son’s name because she ‘felt awkward’

A mother decided to change her son’s name after six months because she felt awkward telling others about her initial choice.Jen Hamilton, 32, claims people didn’t always react well when she told them her second son was called Aspen.So she confided in her sister Julia Koontz, 27, who suggested she just change the name if she wasn’t happy with it.Jen made sure her husband Brian, 35, an operating room nurse, was on board before the couple started trialing new names for their then six-month-old.Finally they settled on Luke, as it means ‘light’, and fitted their son perfectly as they say he is always happy and smiley.The couple had to wait a year until Luke’s name was officially changed, but Jen says she is glad she decided to switch names.Jen, a labour and delivery nurse, from Charlotte, North Carolina, said: ‘I started to feel really uncomfortable saying Aspen out loud as it just didn’t seem to fit him.’With our first child we’d been very set on a name but with our second we were struggling to find the right one and just settled on Aspen after seeing it on a Pinterest list of outdoor names.’I thought it would fit when he was born but after a couple of months I was struggling with it.’People suggested that he might be bullied if it was shortened to ‘Ass’ when he is older and I started to pretend I didn’t hear people asking his name.’It was an exciting time trialing names for him.’It’s hard to name a baby you’ve never met so it was easier now we knew him.’Now we love Luke and think it is perfect for him.’We’re so glad we changed it.’Jen and Brian had struggled to find the right name for their new son before he was born in 2016 but settled on the name Aspen as the one they liked the most.She said: ‘We weren’t in love with the name but thought it would become his name.’But after a few months it wasn’t feeling right and people’s reaction to his name would always be, ‘Ah that’s interesting’.They’d never say, ‘That’s a lovely name’ or something like that. I started to feel really awkward telling people what his name was.’After six months, mother-of-two Jen spoke to her sister about what she should do.’She just very nonchalantly said why don’t you change it,’ Jen said. ‘It kind of gave me the permission to do it.’He’s was still young and it’s not like he was attached to the name. I spoke to Brian and he was happy to change it.’So we entered a period of trying out new names – like trying on clothes.’The couple had a list of generic names they tried out and they started to delve into what each meant.’We both really liked the name Luke and found out it meant ‘light’,’ Jen said. ‘Our son was always so happy and smiley so that felt like it really fit him.’Jen then started the process of legally changing his name, but due to lost paperwork it took a year for the name change to go through.’I feel like it should be illegal to choose a name when you’re pregnant,’ Jen said. ‘We’re very glad we changed the name as it’s exactly what he’s supposed to be.’I want to let people know changing a name is an option if you don’t like it after their born.’Luke knows he was called Aspen for six months. It’s a fun part of his story.’