When it comes to picking out the perfect moniker for your baby, it's not enough to just choose a name you think sounds nice. You have to make sure it flows with your surname, and you should really double-check it doesn't lend itself to any rude nicknames or unfortunate initial combinations that might lead to your child being picked on at school.
But one couple who believed they'd found a gorgeous name for their son has been forced to reconsider after discovering they "made it up" as the pair can't find its origins anywhere. What's more, people online said the name reminds them of a "frozen pizza brand", which has set off further alarm bells.
In a post on Reddit , the mom explained she and her husband are of German and Indian heritage, although they currently live in the US. They spent a long time deciding on a baby name for their son but eventually stumbled across Elios, which they believed was an Italian name based on the Greek word for the sun, "Helios".
However, after doing a deeper dive into the name, they found the correct Italian version is actually Elio without the 's' at the end. While her husband doesn't mind "inventing" a name and still wants to use Elios, the mom isn't so keen.
She said: "By now we are so set on the name. We keep calling the bump lovingly by it and have found a fitting (Hindu) middle name. My husband likes it so much that he is willing to just use it, even if it isn't a proper name, I am a bit torn. As a European, I'm hesitant to potentially 'invent' a name , but after living in the US for so long it also doesn't seem too far off.
"We're hesitant to use Elio instead, as we don't like the sound of it as much and there is a Disney movie with the name as the title coming out next year."
And things went from bad to worse for the couple when a few people in the comments of the mom's Reddit post pointed out that Elios is very close to a brand of frozen pizza sold in the US called Ellio's Pizza.
One person pointed out: "Ellios is a pizza brand, that's what I think of. It's pronounced like that."
While another added: "I'm an 80s kid from the Midwest US, and all I think of is Ellio's Pizza, which is a really cheap, low-quality frozen pizza which we all loved as kids. Probably a US-specific snack and I'm not even sure if it still exists for kids today to associate it with, but that's all I hear when I read your post."
But others said there really aren't many names out there that don't make people think of brands or others with similar monikers, so the mom shouldn't worry too much about it and should use whatever name she likes best.
Someone noted: "Here's the thing about names… they're all made up. Making up a name is fine," as someone else shared: "I honestly would not have known it was not a name if you haven't said it. It's beautiful and sounds classic. I think you should use it if you both love it. I can't think of a reason why not."
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