A mum has shared her baby name dilemma on the internet, after her gran brought up an unlikely connection.
Mumsnet user Truntscump explained her three-week-old daughter is called Luca because she has always loved the name and liked that it means “light”.
She explained her mum died of leukaemia in the summer 2016 and her maternal grandmother has since made an association between the condition and her baby’s name.
“My granny (aged 96 and grieving) first said that Luca reminds her of the phrase ‘dirty luca’, then a week later she asked if it was too late to change the name because it reminds her of leukaemia,” the mum wrote.
“I was so upset,” the mum continued. “My baby really suits her name and I love that it’s a bit different, but now I can’t stop thinking about the link to leukaemia.”
The majority of Mumsnet users weren’t aware of the phrase “dirty luca”, but one person explained: “The phrase is filthy lucre meaning dirty money. Luca is a lovely name.”
Users were in two minds about whether the mum should change her baby’s name, with many saying she shouldn’t.
“It’s lovely and more importantly it’s her name now,” one person wrote. “Everyone can keep their objections to themselves.”
Another commented: “She’ll get over it. If you are set on the name than use it unapologetically.”
Another mum also wrote: “I think you need to put granny’s remarks out of your mind. Changing your daughter’s name should be because of what you want, not because of what anybody else says.”
However, a few felt that the mother wouldn’t be able to forget the link.
“It sounds like a boys’ name,” one person wrote. “As for similarities to leukaemia, I don’t think you could of picked something more similar name-wise if you tried. No wonder granny is upset.”
Another wrote: “I can understand your gran feeling there is too close a connection with the disease that killed your mum.
“As a previous poster said, Lucia is the feminine version. Or how about Lucy?”
What do you think?