Sharing your baby’s name can be one of the most controversial things you do as a parent.
Everyone will have an opinion on your baby’s name, will tell you about so-and-so that they knew when they were a kid who had that name, and how that child turned out terribly, or suddenly reveal that you “stole” the name they had been secretly hanging onto for decades.
Le sigh.
Needless to say, the name you choose for your baby is highly subjective, and only a parent should have an opinion on what name they choose. Right?
Er, well, that might be the case. Unless you happen to decide to name your baby after a literal nuclear disaster, in which case, you might get some comments about it.
A Redditor shared a baby shower that they had been invited to, listing the baby's name as 'Chernobyl.'
The poster shared that they had been invited to a baby shower where the guest of honor had been preemptively and rather ironically named “Chernobyl Hope.”
“I’m speechless…” they wrote on the post.
Who was not speechless, however, were the many commenters on the section who simply couldn’t help but chime in their thoughts on the proposed baby name.
“I’m sure everyone at the celebration will be radiant,” wrote one.
“Sounds like a blast!” added another.
“The mother is absolutely glowing!” chimed in one commenter.
Chernobyl is the site of a disastrous nuclear power plant explosion in 1986 that resulted in 30 deaths, over 500 known cancer cases, and "hot spots" where dangerous radiation is still present.
The World Economic Forum called the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion “the world’s worst nuclear accident.”
After one of the nuclear power plant’s reactors exploded, a cloud of radiation was released into the atmosphere. It’s estimated that the amount of radioactive material was 400 times more than the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
The explosion happened on April 25 and 26, but nearby residents in Pryp’ya were not evacuated until April 27. Britticana reports that radioactive and contaminated materials from the nuclear fallout reached as far as France and Italy, affecting fields, farms, trees, and livestock.
Soberingly, the World Health Forum estimated in 2005 that the fallout death count from the radiation exposure would reach over 4,000.
Needless to say, the name ‘Chernobyl’ doesn’t exactly seem to be one that would spark joy, or any kind of hope, as the baby shower invite seemed to suggest.
One commenter even questioned if the baby shower invitation was real, but the poster insisted it was.
While there’s no real way to verify the Redditor’s post, of course, the commenters couldn’t help but have the last word on the alleged parents’ decision to name their future child after the worst nuclear disaster the world has ever seen.
“I’m sure everyone at the celebration will be radiant!” one observed.
“That is going to be one happy nuclear family,” summed up another.
