Pregnant TikToker Gets Backlash About Choosing Her Baby Name

A child’s identify will be laborious to resolve and TikToker Haley Hodge is aware of that feeling all too properly. 

For some folks, it’s a household identify and for others, it’s only a identify that you just love. Nevertheless, one TikTok content material creator is considering outdoors the field to seek out not solely the right child identify but in addition an ideal origin story to share.

Pregnant TikToker Haley Hodge visits cemeteries to assist her discover the right identify for her new child, and a few folks aren’t on board with the thought.

The pregnant mother shared a video on TikTok explaining how she’s choosing her new child’s identify and acquired all several types of reactions.

“When cemeteries maintain the prettiest names, so you’re taking the household to search for child woman’s identify,” she wrote on the video that reveals her along with her kids strolling across the cemetery studying all of the names. The caption gave a little bit extra perception, “Enjoyable reality: My sister got here from somebody’s headstone.”

Hodge’s video went viral with greater than 2.5 million views and 1000’s of feedback. The remark part was a combined bag of constructive ideas and creepy warnings.

“I would not go to a cemetery whereas pregnant, harmful recreation you are taking part in,” one particular person wrote. One other stated, “I’ve heard that pregnancies entice ghosts. I really feel like that is like choosing up a ghost on the rescue shelter.” 

After which there have been the constructive ideas. Many individuals really feel she’s doing one thing “lovely.” 

“Carrying a model new soul by means of a backyard of the previous. What a intelligent strategy to discover a lovely identify,” one particular person shared. One other added, “How lovely should it’s for a few of these souls to listen to their identify spoken once more after so a few years. I hope you will have an unimaginable being pregnant and a wholesome child.” 

In a follow-up video, the pregnant mother shared a few of her views and the way she views graveyards.

“My perspective on this: I don’t see graveyards as a spot of demise. I see it as a spot of relaxation since they didn’t bodily die proper there,” she wrote on the video. “I see it as a spot the place guests pay respect and bear in mind a life (hopefully) properly lived.” 

The video reveals Hodge and her children strolling across the cemetery with some upbeat music taking part in. The feedback on this video have been all constructive.

“Each time we move a cemetery I virtually yell ‘child names!’” one particular person wrote. One other stated, “It’s the circle of life. I believe it’s lovely to mirror on lives which have handed earlier than us.”

Hodge shared one other video with extra background defending her distinctive approach of discovering a child identify and defined she knew she would get some backlash. 

“So I needed to get on right here and discuss a little bit bit in regards to the graveyard searching for a reputation video that went tremendous huge,” she stated. “Was I anticipating to get a little bit little bit of consideration as a result of it’s completely different and bizarre to some? Completely.”

She stated she didn’t anticipate to have media shops attain out to her for interviews so she needed to share some extra background on her alternative.

“To individuals who see graveyards as being morbid and actually dangerous or evil, various things, possibly it’s towards your beliefs and that’s completely okay,” she stated. “I simply would suggest not moving into there if that’s your perception. To me, cemeteries should not so scary.” 

She stated that as a baby, she grew up in a household that loved haunted excursions and telling spooky ghost tales to assist study historical past. For Hodge, she stated she views cemeteries as a “library of tales” as a result of each particular person had their very own life.

“I didn’t understand this was so bizarre, however apparently it’s so dang bizarre that it’s simply being publicized all over the place,” she continued. “And I do actually apologize if it upset anyone. We simply have completely different beliefs and that’s okay. That’s what makes life actually attention-grabbing.” 

Hodge advised PEOPLE that she did anticipate some backlash because of completely different cultural beliefs round demise.

“I simply noticed it as I’m going to the place the place folks’s grandparents are, their greatest associates, family members,” she stated. “I don’t see it as a spot of evil. These are individuals who lived lives and hopefully good lives and have been good folks.”

She additionally defined that she’s not bothered by spending time within the cemetery close to the deceased.

“If there was one thing like souls on the market, I don’t assume they’re confined simply to a cemetery,” she stated. “Now we have infants above a morgue at a hospital when you ship at a hospital, so we’re sort of surrounded by it.” 

Hodge has three children, daughter Finley, 10, and sons Crew, 3, and Banks, 1.

To decide on their names, she advised PEOPLE that she seemed in additional conventional locations. However this time round, she hopes to offer her daughter an attention-grabbing story about the place her identify got here from. The TikTok video about how she’s selecting her child’s identify was to share this distinctive story with others.

“I wasn’t even going to put up [the videos],” she stated. “I used to be like, ‘You already know what? That is sort of cool to share.’ I knew it was going to spark some consideration, being completely different.”