Names are more important than we give them credit for. They’re not something that you should change without serious reason. We’ve all heard of parents who realize they gave their baby the wrong name two weeks after they were born. Changing their name in that scenario is largely harmless, but once a child is old enough to recognize their name, you can’t do take-backsies without emotional consequences. 

One 18-year-old recently went viral on Reddit after sharing the tragic backstory behind her last name. Her dad passed when she was five due to a severe allergic reaction, and her mom wanted to change her last name to her new husband’s last name. She thought it would make them more of a family. Despite her daughter’s reservations about this change, her name was legally changed when she was 7. Now that she’s graduating from high school, the teen decided to change her name back, much to the chagrin of her mom and stepdad.