A mom named her toddler after a Pokémon, but a friend says ‘there is no way in hell’ she’ll let her do it to her second child

Naming a child is a massive decision, and it is usually one where parents want to find a balance between uniqueness and something that won’t cause their kid a lifetime of headaches. We have all seen some pretty wild naming trends pop up lately, but a recent discussion on Reddit shows that some parents are taking their fandoms a little too far. It is one thing to pick a name that sounds nice, but it is another thing entirely to pull inspiration directly from a video game franchise.

According to Unilad, a woman shared a story back in 2024 about her friend who is deeply committed to the world of Pokémon when it comes to naming her children. This friend already named her two-year-old son Zekrom, a choice that the author of the post only discovered recently. While Zekrom is certainly not the most common name you will see at a playground, it is arguably on the milder side of the spectrum compared to some of the other bizarre naming attempts people have made.

For example, some parents have reportedly tried to name their child Chernobyl, while another mother wanted to call her daughter Xfrgolszzzxy. The real tension started when the friend revealed she is expecting a girl and plans to name her Reshiram. The author of the post made it very clear that she is not a fan of this specific plan.

Many commenters agreed the names went too far

She admitted that she is a Pokémon fan herself, having actually met this friend through Pokémon GO years ago, but she feels that this specific choice is crossing a line. After learning about the name, the woman sent a text to her friend and reportedly yelled at her. She stated, “There is no way in hell that she will name her daughter Reshiram,” which shows just how strongly she feels about the decision.

The post gained a lot of traction on Reddit, receiving over 2,000 upvotes and sparking over 700 comments from people who had plenty to say about the situation. The platform is no stranger to such intense family discussions, often playing host to divided Reddit comment sections over deeply personal choices. Many users seemed to agree that using a child as a billboard for your personal interests is a bad idea. One person pointed out, “I always say, children are not billboards for fandoms.”

This sentiment was echoed by others who shared stories about parents wanting to name their kids after characters from other franchises like Last Airbender or Star Wars. Some of the commenters tried to look at the situation with a bit of humor, with one person noting, “Could be worse; could be Lechonk.” Another user chimed in to say, “At least as far as Pokémon go, those names are cool. They’re still Pokémon, so it’s tragic.”

In my opinion, it is interesting to see how people draw the line between a name that sounds like a legitimate moniker and one that is clearly just a product of a specific hobby. While some Pokémon names might sound like they could work for a human, the consensus in this thread was that Zekrom and Reshiram definitely fall into the latter category.

It is a reminder that just because you love something, it does not mean it is a great choice for a legal name that your child has to live with for the rest of their life.