Woman Gets Invite to Baby Shower—Left 'Speechless' at What It Says

Newsweek

9 hours ago

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A Reddit post has forced thousands to consider the ever-changing boundaries of baby names.
The post has left the internet aghast after a user shared a baby shower invitation that was "in honor of Chernobyl Hope," sparking a wave of concern over the choice of name shared with the 1986 nuclear disaster. With 36,000 upvotes, the invitation went viral, prompting nearly 2,000 comments from stunned—and offended—Redditors.
The poster, who was invited to the shower, shared a screenshot of the perplexing invitation: "Welp, I just got invited to a baby shower," they wrote. "I'm speechless."
A woman looks at an invitation.
A woman looks at an invitation.
Rawpixel/Getty Images
In the comments, the woman elaborated on her initial reaction: "I have a feeling [the parents] don't know what Chernobyl meant," she wrote. "I asked them where they got the idea from and said it just sounded nice?"
Chernobyl was the name of a nuclear power plant in Ukraine, part of the USSR at the time. In 1986, a reactor at the plant exploded, releasing radioactive chemicals which had a devastating effect on the local area. It is the worst nuclear disaster in history, and was the subject of a 2019 HBO mini-series by the same name.
The revelation that the parents-to-be might be unaware of the historical significance of "Chernobyl" only amplified the shock online.
One Redditor's comment, "I'm sure everyone at the celebration will be radiant," quickly amassed 13,000 upvotes and sparked a pun war over the unfortunate name.
"Please let us know how the baby shower went," another commenter begged. "I can't imagine anyone there being able to have a straight face."
Many shared their own stories of vetting baby names to avoid similar associations.
"I had a name on my baby list when I was with my ex and Googled it," one person shared. "It was someone well known who had very close ties to Hitler. Of course, the name was immediately scrapped (and eventually my ex was too). I thought everyone Googled names before they handed them out? I even did it for my dog!"
Another commenter pointed out the linguistic origin of Chernobyl while still emphasizing its modern context.
"I mean, the word Chernobyl was originally the name of a common mug wort plant, a medicinal herb," they wrote. "But there's a reason we don't name children Adolph any longer, even if that name was relatively innocuous before 1939."
Commenters Give Suggestions
Advice poured in for how the poster might gently inform the expectant parents about the name's associations.
"Please tell them about the power plant," one person wrote. "You don't have to say it in a judgemental way. Just something like, 'That HBO series about the nuclear plant that exploded was also called Chernobyl, wasn't it?' They might still stick to the name, but at least it gives them an opportunity to make an informed decision."
However, for some, the name choice hit a much more personal and painful chord. A Redditor who was directly impacted by the disaster shared a powerful testimony.
"I haven't ever met another person...who has been affected by Chernobyl," they wrote. "I was born sick due to it, because my mother was pregnant with me and in the area when it occurred. It has made my life...not fun. Being profoundly disabled at age 37 due to human error...And an error that never offered compensation for all of us who had their lives ruined by it. Honestly, I'm not offended by a lot. Really. But this? It's like calling someone Hiroshima or Nagasaki."
Newsweek reached out to u/kittysogood for comment via Reddit.