American mother Brenda Zlamany’s bizarre method for choosing a baby name goes viral
A mother’s unusual process for choosing a baby name for her daughter has gone viral.
An American mother’s unusual method on choosing a baby name for her daughter has gone viral more than two decades later.
Oona Zlamany, 25, took to TikTok to share the unique way her mother settled on her name after she was born.
Rather than asking for loved ones’ opinions or turning to family heritage, Oona’s mother, Brooklyn artist Brenda Zlamany, arrived at the hospital with a stack of 100 possible names written on index cards.
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Over several days in the hospital after giving birth, she read each name aloud to her newborn daughter and observed her reactions.
After narrowing down the list to two finalists - Imogen and Oona - one name stood out as a clear winner.
“One name will rise above the rest that your child obviously has chosen as their name, or really clearly favors. When that was the case with me, it was clear at the five-day mark that Oona was the winner,” she shared in the video.
“I probably really just liked the sounds of the vowels, Oona. And that was the name that I picked, and that is the name that I have.”
According to Oona, the days-long process nearly landed her mum in trouble with hospital staff who were growing impatient over her inability to decide on a name.
“They were like, ‘If you don’t name her, we’re going to pick a name for the birth certificate,’” she told PEOPLE.
Oona explained to the publication the unusual naming process reflected her mum’s creative personality. Brenda, who was born and raised in Queens, became a parent at 40 and raised her daughter as a single mother.
Although Oona admits her quirky name often attracts attention, she said she would choose it again.
“Especially as a kid, they’re like, ‘Oh, that’s a unique name’,” she said.
“I could have either been very conventional or kind of met my name where it was already being perceived by others and beat to the tune of my own drum.
“I think it’s affected the kind of person that I’ve become in terms of my personality, but I’m very grateful for that.
“I think it’s one of those things that I probably would have been a really different person, and I feel very proud of having the name, and I try to do the name justice every single day.
“I feel like an Oona. I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
