Why Changing Your Kid's Name After They're Born Actually Isn't a Big Deal

At just 4 months old, Margot Kessler has received a lot of attention. That's because her parents went public with the fact that Margot wasn't actually the little one's birth name. While the sweet moniker is now her legal name, when she was first born, her parents named her Ottilie.

Carri and Will Kessler first had doubts about their second daughter's nontraditional name when they realized after they brought her home that people were having a hard time pronouncing it correctly (most were saying Oddily instead of OTT-ti-lee).

Carri fell in love with Ottilie after working with a colleague from the UK with the name but learned that it didn't quite translate. "No one could remember it and no one could pronounce it," Carri told Today. "I was like, 'If you say it with a British accent, it sounds really good!' And people said, 'But you're from Maryland.'"

Even her own grandmother was having a hard time, and Carri began to question her decision. "She said, 'I don't know how to say her name. I have Post-its all over the house so I can remind myself,'" Carri said. "And I was like, f*ck. We're f*cked. We're totally f*cked."

The frustrated parents gave it three months before making any final decisions but ultimately worried that this was going to be a lifetime problem. To put an end to any potential issues, they permanently changed it.

One of the key reasons the story behind Margot's name went viral was because so many people were surprised that parents would opt to actually change the name they picked after their baby was born. But despite what many people might think, having name regret postbaby, and later changing it after you've made it official, isn't that big a deal.

In fact, my mom went through the exact same thing with my older sister. Instead of spending months getting used to a certain name, my parents didn't know the gender of their second born until her birth. My mom, who was emotional and on medication after finding out that she gave birth to her first daughter, was so overjoyed that she decided in the heat of the moment to leave the naming up to my dad. The moniker he settled on: Barbara "Bobbie" Renée Levy.

My mom wasn't initially a huge fan of the name, but she was so enthralled with her healthy newborn that nothing could get her down. Well, until a few days later, when she went to visit her baby girl in the nursery and overheard strangers commenting on what they saw written above her crib.

"Oh my god, who would ever name their daughter Barbara?" they said. "And make it worse be calling her Bobbie?! They must really not love that poor child."

While her new-mom insecurity might not be the best reason to change your child's name, as soon as my mom filled out new paperwork for Michelle, she never looked back, and Michelle never knew the difference. My sister wasn't harmed or traumatized from this experience. Like Margot, it's just a unique part of her story and has evolved into a handy go-to fun fact whenever she is put on the spot!