When we found out during the ultrasound that we were expecting a girl, my mother-in-law’s first question was if we had picked out a name yet. She said choosing a name was a serious responsibility that needed a lot of thought.

My husband and I had already decided on the name Olivia if we were having a girl. We both loved the name, and it sounded perfect with the middle name we had in mind—Olivia Marie. Our last name has an “L” in it, so the combination sounded bright and harmonious.

My mother-in-law didn’t say much at the time, but I could tell from her pursed lips that she wasn’t a fan. She kept quiet, though, so I thought the issue was settled.

Then, about a week later, she started making suggestions. Apparently, she consulted with a friend who’s into astrology and all kinds of mysticism. She came to us saying, “That name doesn’t suit your daughter. You need to pick a different one.” She then suggested a name that had been her grandmother’s. In her opinion, it was the perfect fit.

I won’t name it here to avoid offending anyone, but trust me, it was a nightmare. It was one of those old-fashioned names from a century ago, but not the kind that has come back into style—more like something you’d hear in an old folk tale. Honestly, it made names like Egbert sound normal in comparison to what she suggested.

Luckily, my husband is reasonable and didn’t listen to his mother. So, we named our daughter Olivia, and she’s now six months old.

What’s funny is that, for the first few months, my mother-in-law wouldn’t even say her name. She just called her “the baby.” But now she insists on calling her by the name she picked. She’s even come up with this theory that if you call someone by two names, they’re protected from evil. And she also claims that Olivia will be teased in school with names we gave her.

We’ll deal with it somehow, but what really stings is that my husband’s sister recently had a baby too. We were pregnant at the same time. My mother-in-law suggested a name for her grandson, and they actually went with it. So now her grandson is the favorite, and our daughter is just “the baby” with two names.