A father has sparked a firestorm of backlash for revealing that he changed his adopted son’s name despite the little boy having the moniker for nearly a decade – so that his biological child could use it instead.
The man, named August, came under fierce fire after he opened up about his decision on Reddit, under the section known as Am I the A**hole?
According to the dad-of-two, his moniker has ‘gone back for five generations,’ so he always planned on naming his son August to continue the legacy.
After struggling to conceive and being told that he would likely ‘never be able to father kids,’ he and his wife decided to turn to adoption.
A father has revealed he changed his adopted son’s name despite the little boy having the moniker for seven years – so his biological child could use it instead (stock image)
The man, named August, came under fierce fire after he opened up about his decision on Reddit, under the section known as Am I the A**hole?
They adopted a baby boy from Vietnam, whose birth name was Thien, and decided to have it legally changed to August VI.
But seven years later, when they couple found out they were expecting a ‘miracle’ child together, the decided to switch their adopted son’s moniker back to Thien so that they could give the name to their biological baby instead.
In a post which has now been deleted but was shared by the Mirror recently, August asked if he was ‘an a**hole’ for making the change – and many people on the web said that he was.
‘My name is August V. My name goes back five generations now and it was always my plan to make my son August VI,’ he wrote.
‘My wife and I were horrified to find out I was essentially firing blanks and was told I would essentially never be able to father kids – heartbreaking.
‘We started the adoption process right away looking in mostly foreign countries so it would go faster, and we were able to adopt a baby boy from Vietnam.
‘His first name was Thien but my wife agreed to change his name to August VI. We also agreed we would let nature take its course because miracles can happen.
‘Seven years later, a miracle did happen and my wife turned up unexpectedly pregnant.
‘I decided with my wife’s agreement that because we now have a bio son, it is better to give the firstborn biological son the family name.’
The father explained that while their adopted son’s legal name was August VI, he went by Thien to practically everyone.
He insisted that the seven-year-old didn’t ‘understand or care’ about the switch since all of his friends already refer to him as Thien.
However, August added that they were forced to tell the school about the change – which ultimately led to ‘word getting out’ about it in their town.
‘We’re now essentially social pariahs and the subject of massive gossip – accusations of not loving Thien enough,’ he continued.
In a post which has now been deleted but was shared by the Mirror recently, August asked if he was ‘an a**hole’ for making the change – and many people on the web said that he was
‘We’ve heard it all through closed mouth hushed tones. It’s gotten so bad. Am I the a**hole?’
August’s admission received a lot of attention on the platform – gaining hundreds of comments from people who slammed the dad, before it was ultimately removed.
‘You are the a**hole. People like you really shouldn’t adopt,’ wrote one angered Reddit user.
‘Are you also looking at the return policy on your oldest son or did the fine print get ya on the adoption?’ someone else sarcastically quipped. ‘No way this is real. Either way, you’re the a**hole.’
‘You’re the a**hole. You dragged your kid to a legal proceeding to make sure he knows his place will always be less than your bio son,’ raged another person.
‘Oh well, I guess the commodity baby isn’t needed anymore now that you procreated. I hope bio kids isn’t yours.’
‘What you did was so disgusting, this post has to be fake,’ read a fourth comment.
‘I can’t believe any judge would approve the name change under those circumstances, even if there are parents vile enough to request such a thing. If true that poor kid is growing up feeling inferior to your bio child.’
‘He’s at least seven so he understands what happened. He knows that you took his name from him and gave it to your “real” son,’ said someone else.
‘Your new kid gets the family name because he’s your real kid. You made it very clear that you see him as your adopted son not worthy of the family name, because he’s not your family.’
‘Great way to show your adopted child that biology trumps all. Shame on you and your wife,’ a different user commented.
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