Mom-to-be Faces Backlash for Choosing Controversial Baby Name Linked to Global Tragedy—Find Out Why Everyone’s Talking About It

Naming your kid after celebs, royalty, or even a fancy car—sure, that’s normal enough. But how about naming your unborn child after one of history’s most catastrophic disasters? Yeah, you heard me right. Imagine showing up at a baby shower, all set to celebrate “Chernobyl Hope.” Weird flex, huh? This isn’t your everyday baby name inspiration story. A Reddit user recently shared an invite to just such a shower, sparking a whirlwind of disbelief and, let’s be honest, some awkward chuckles. What possessed these parents to pick a name tied to nuclear meltdown, massive tragedy, and yes, a whole lot of devastation? Believe it or not, they claim it just “sounded nice.” Now, I’m left wondering—how do you break this news to your guests without causing a full-on meltdown of your own? Hold onto your hats, folks—it’s a name game like no other. LEARN MORE

Inspiration for a child’s name can come from anywhere. Celebrities, public figures, food, royalty, and even cars are often called upon to make an impact on a kid’s life.

But selecting a devastating disaster and major historical moment, and giving that moniker to your yet-to-be-born spawn? Well, let’s just say that’s a choice.

Earlier this week, a Reddit user who goes by kittysogood posted an invitation she’d received to a baby shower to the popular r/tragedeigh thread.

The image featured a very peculiar and er… unique baby name, that we’re not sure too many of you are going to be fans of.

What’s the strangest baby name you’ve ever heard (Getty Stock Image)

“Welp.. I just got invited to a baby shower…,” they wrote alongside the image, which featured sweet illustrations of stars, elephants and hearts.

“Please join us for a baby shower. Join us to celebrate the upcoming arrival of a little bundle of joy!,” the notice read. “We can’t wait to celebrate together!”

Traditionally, parents share the name of their child after it’s been born, rather than beforehand.

This is usually down to superstition, but also so that outside opinions don’t have a chance to attack and change their minds.

However, this parent seemingly had no qualms about announcing what they were going to call their kid, having written it for the world to see and sharing it with their nearest and dearest.

Upon reading the controversial name, one Redditor commented: “This has to be fake. There’s no way this is real.”

A second echoed: “I refuse to believe this is real lol,” while another typed: “OP, I don’t want to believe this is real, but if it is, could you PLEASE come back here and update us on how the baby shower went (please go)?

“You know everyone in that room is going to be super uncomfortable, waiting for the one brave person to bust wide open and just ask the question. It’s going to be hilarious. I want to know how the question is asked and what the response is. I need all the juice.”

So, what was the name of the child that the Redditor was supposed to be celebrating the life of?

Chernobyl Hope. Yes, really.

Parents have named their unborn child after the Chernobyl disaster (Getty Stock Image)

The Chernobyl Disaster is a nuclear accident that occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine on April 26, 1986.

The event remains as one of only two nuclear energy accidents rated at the maximum severity on the International Nuclear Event Scale, and is the most expensive disaster in history, with an estimated cost of $700 billion.

The general consensus is that 31 people died from the immediate blast trauma and acute radiation syndrome (ARS) in the immediate aftermath of the event, as per the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

However, around 600,000 ‘liquidators,’ involved in cleaning up the accident, were exposed to high doses of radiation, with various studies reporting that those affected by the blast could be in their thousands.

What happened at Chernobyl was a devastating tragedy, meaning it’s not something the normal person would willingly name their to-be-born daughter after.

However, according to the original Redditor, Chernobyl Hope’s parents weren’t aware of the event before naming their kid.

“I have a feeling they don’t know what Chernobyl meant. I asked them where they got the idea from and said it just sounded nice????,” they typed.

Someone else has defended the person’s moniker decision, writing: “I mean, the word Chernobyl was originally the name of a common mugwort plant, a medicinal herb.”

They followed up their sentiment with the phrase: “But there’s a reason we don’t name children Adol[f] any longer, even if that name was relatively innocuous before 1939.”

“This is so, so bad. They have to be told. Give them a book about Chernobyl as a gift for the baby shower. Because no,” replied someone else.

According to BristolLive, the original poster continued to write that the parents of Chernobyl wanted their daughter to be known by the nickname ‘Cherry’.

“I’ll let you guys know when I have an update. This invitation was sent in a group chat and was also personally sent to me,” they added. “I just can’t believe they would name a baby girl Chernobyl. I’ll gather enough courage to tell them my thoughts.”

There are very few names considered illegal in the USA, with some states having stricter naming laws than others, according to USA Today.

In California, birth certificates can only contain the 26 letters in the English alphabet.

Other names that certain jurisdictions have outlawed include the following ten, as per US birth certificates.

These are: Adolf Hitler, Messiah, @, 1069, King, Queen, Santa Claus, Majesty and more. The more you know, huh?