Is there anything as personal as a name? Names carry the legacy of our ancestors, the history of our culture, and the desires of our parents. Naming a baby is a special part of parenthood, many parents spend hours fantasizing about who their baby will grow up to be and the mark they will leave on this world.

Choosing a name for your baby is an extremely personal decision, so it makes sense that one new mom felt like her spouse's family was crossing a boundary by inserting themselves in the baby-naming process. The mom took to Reddit to vent about her experience with her mother-in-law (MIL), who she says has been pushing her to pick from a select list of baby names, despite her wanting to name her child something else.

Reddit user and first time mom @Dee-lishous took to r/BabyBumps to explain that ever since her and her fiancée announced they were pregnant, her MIL has been sending her baby names. At first, she brushed it off as excitement.

That is until she brought a list of over 100 names (that she printed) to the gender reveal. A name even fell from the pile and her MIL joked that that was the name they should use. And when the gender was revealed, her MIL kept insisting that she picked a name from the list she brought. Even her sister-in-law (SIL) began recommending a list of names for them to pick from.

"This whole situation is just really stressful since my fiancée and I can't agree on many names," the mom writes in her post.

When the couple did finally settled on a name they felt reflected them both, they decided to keep it a secret "so no one would ruin it." And, so her fiancée won't change his mind.

Eventually, the mom decides to fill the family in on their baby name pick. "I thought I may be exaggerating so I told my fiancée we could tell his family, which was a mistake," she explains.

After revealing the name, she says that her MIL and SIL began poking fun at their choice and trying to select a middle name. "I ended up crying for like two hours and it's to the point where I don't even want to talk to my fiancée about names and I really don't want to use the name now."

And it's not just the fact that they made fun of her baby name choice, the original poster also believes her MIL is crossing a major boundary. "It just feels like his family crossing a boundary taking over the experience of naming our first child, and my fiancee is close to his family so he doesn't see it as a big deal," she writes in her post.

The top comments rallied around the new mom, with many sharing that they have also experienced unsolicited baby naming advice from family. Commenters point out that excitement doesn't justify controlling behaviors. "It’s no one’s business," a user wrote. "Stand your ground and get your spouse to have your back."

Others mention that this is just the beginning of the controlling behaviors that family members show pregnant people and that this new mom needs to get comfortable with telling others no. "You're about to be a mom and are going to need to deal with things head on. The in-laws are crossing a line but if you don't speak up, they won't know (even though they should!!!)," a commenter replied.

There's a difference between offering a few name suggestions and thinking you're entitled to a vote. This new mom's post shows what so many parents have felt: many families who think they're "just trying to help" can end up emotionally steamrolling parents.

Naming a child is deeply personal, especially for the birthing parent, who might be dealing with stress and hormones, among other things. Baby naming symbolizes a couple's identity, compromise, and hope. And it shouldn't be treated as just another task to cross off the list by controlling family members.

Ultimately, if the in-laws want that much control over the baby's identity, maybe they should just have another child themselves.