It’s important not to judge anyone too quickly or too harshly before learning the whole story, especially when it comes to such a sensitive topic as parenting. That being said, some parents make such peculiar decisions that it’s extremely hard not to call them out. And that’s exactly what one substitute teacher did on Reddit.

One redditor started an interesting online conversation about naming conventions after sharing how she worked in a room with identical twins who were named almost identically. Other folks then felt inspired to share their own run-ins with twins with incredibly similar names. Scroll down to see just how many parents think this is witty and perhaps don’t consider how many problems it can cause further down the line.

Bored Panda wanted to find out about the possible negative effects of naming identical twins similarly, so we reached out to Frank McAndrew, Ph.D., the Cornelia H. Dudley Professor of Psychology at Knox College and the author of the Psychology Today blog, ‘Out of the Ooze.’ Read on for his insights.

Identical twins already look the same. Imagine how difficult life becomes if their names are similar, too

Image credits: Pixabay (not the actual photo)

One internet user called out twin parents who think it’s ‘cute’ to give them nearly identical names

“One of the problems that twins regularly experience (especially if they are identical twins) is that people get them confused and find it hard to tell them apart,” Professor McAndrew explained to Bored Panda via email.

“This may lead others to treat them less as individuals and more as a ‘package deal,'” the evolutionary social psychologist said.

“Giving the kids similar names may make them seem even more alike, so it might be wise to give them very different names to help them separate themself from their siblings.”

We were also curious about what else parents should keep in mind when picking out names for their children. “Keep in mind that a name is something that a person carries throughout a lifetime,” McAndrew said.

“So, naming a child after a celebrity whose fame is not going to persist beyond the kid’s childhood or giving a child a name that sounds cute on a baby but terrible for a middle-aged professional man can be a bit short-sighted,” he told Bored Panda.

“Also keep in mind that names that are difficult to spell or pronounce will cause headaches for the newborn throughout his or her entire life.”

Unfortunately, calling your twins nearly identically can also open them up to being bullied in the classroom and the schoolyard. As we’ve mentioned on Bored Panda before, children with ‘unusual’ names or names that have significance in popular culture are more likely to be the targets of bullying. Kids can (and do) make fun of pretty much anything, but you don’t want to give the school bullies any more ammunition than they already have.

Probably one of the worst things that you can do if you have twins is to give them names that are too similar. The general consensus on the internet is that it’s a bit too cruel. Or, as ‘Parents’ put it more diplomatically, “Your kids deserve to have names that are as unique as they are!”

However, feel free to have a little bit of fun with the names in some less-than-obvious ways. For example, you could give the twins names based on a certain theme. ‘She Knows’ notes that you could go for a theme centered around virtues (like Faith and Hope), flowers (e.g. Daisy and Poppy), or cities (like Paris, London, and Brooklyn).

You could also look at cultural themes and go for names of, say, Irish or Italian heritage if that’s where your family has roots. ‘Itzy Ritzy’ suggests looking to your family tree and finding ways to honor your culture. It’s well worth the time to talk to your nearest and dearest to get their opinions, and to do a spot of research both into your ancestors, as well as into popular names in other countries.

Giving your kids names that start with the same letter can also be a fun way to get a little bit of a naming theme going without making them too similar (and then eventually forcing substitute teachers to call you out on the internet). Though after you think you’ve picked out the ‘perfect’ first and middle names, make sure that the initials don’t spell out anything weird when you plop them in front of your last name.

Image credits: hwilson8 (not the actual photo)

Here’s what the internet had to say about parents like that

Image credits: evasaraujo (not the actual photo)

Naming your child is a huge step that’s going to impact their lives from day one. And, generally, there are some rules that need to be followed, whether common sense ones or actual legal mandates—you can’t call your kid whatever you want just because ‘it sounds cool’ or ‘omg it’s just so cute how they, like, have the same names.’

No offense to any parents out there who have given their little munchkins similar names, but as ‘cute’ as it might sound on paper, it’s likely going to have major repercussions for them at school, college, work, getting new documents, traveling, and elsewhere.

Not only that, you’re likely going to cause problems down the line when it comes to the twins’ sense of individuality as they grow up. It can be incredibly confusing and frustrating to carve out a unique identity for yourself when even your name isn’t truly your own. The added pressure that your parents wanted both of you to be even more identical than you already were doesn’t help.

One of the core issues is that these parents are essentially giving their identically-looking children names that are written nearly the same and sound the same to the untrained ear. It’s quite obvious to many people that saying ‘Selene’ and ‘Selina’ out loud in a (possibly) noisy classroom is going to cause confusion.

The twins might get mixed up about whom their teachers are referring to. Meanwhile, the teachers themselves might be confused as to which twin is which.

It’s hard enough that twins look identical! Of course, over time, most people would get used to both the (slightly different) names, as well as the behavior quirks and individual characters of the twins. However, the fact is that far from every kid or adult is going to want to put in the effort to do so.

Image credits: hwilson8 (not the actual photo)

Some people shared the almost identical twin names they’ve heard in their lives

A few internet users shared other ridiculous ideas that parents had when naming their munchkins

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