A young man turned to Reddit for support after his sister and her husband picked a very unusual name for their baby girl. The couple had struggled for months to decide on a name.
The 20-year-old man explained that his sister was determined to find the “perfect” name. Even at her baby shower—almost five weeks before the due date—she still hadn’t chosen a name.
To lighten the mood, he decided to send her a list of joke baby names, along with a gift from her registry. “We have a close relationship, and the list matched our sense of humor,” he wrote. The list included funny names inspired by medications, infections, and even unpleasant animals, but all sounded like possible girl names when taken out of context.
Both siblings have a background in medical fields—the man studies biology and his sister works as a nurse—so the joke names were especially fitting. “Some were obscure, but I included obvious ones like ‘Viagra’ and ‘Hernia’ just for laughs,” he said.
Two weeks after the baby shower, his sister revealed that she and her husband had chosen a name. To his surprise, it was Malassezia — one of the joke names from his list.
He explained why the name shocked him. “It’s nearly impossible to pronounce on the first try. It has ‘mal-’ at the start, which literally means bad or evil. Plus, it’s the name of a common fungal infection.”
The choice carried extra irony. Both siblings are genetically prone to this fungal infection and have dealt with it multiple times. “Her daughter will almost certainly get it at some point,” he said, clearly shocked.
When he told his sister about the name’s meaning, she didn’t seem bothered. “She said she knew what it meant and that she understood the list was a joke. But she really liked how it sounded,” he recalled. He suspected her husband might not know the meaning and guessed he would reject it if he did.
His sister argued that the name’s obscurity would keep it safe from criticism. “She thinks it’s so unusual that no one will question it. Except when baby Malassezia turns 14, finds a weird spot on her neck, and Googles it,” he joked.
Despite his attempts to convince her to pick a more common name, his sister refused. He suggested alternatives like Mallory, Azalea, or Anastasia, but she wouldn’t listen.
The discussion became tense. His sister told him that since he’s not the parent, he has no right to tell her what to name her child. She said he was overstepping.
He believes her strong reaction was due to pregnancy hormones and hopes she will regret the decision once the baby is born.
