Two parents from Michigan are going viral for their 6-year-old’s special and unique birthday present.
Amanda, 33, (@amandabids) shared in a post on Threads that she and her husband, Dan, 36, are in the process of legally changing their daughter’s name from Margaret Olivia to Maisie Margaret-Olivia for her 6th birthday.
“As soon as Maisie could talk, if we called her Margaret she’d say, ‘No I’m Maisie,’ ‘No Margaret, I’m Maisie,’” Amanda told Newsweek. “It was evident that almost immediately she started rejecting the name Margaret and I began to have second thoughts right away.”
During Amanda’s pregnancy, Maisie was the only name the couple—also parents to 10-year-old Jack—had settled on. Late in a difficult and traumatic pregnancy, Amanda worried that the name might feel too “cutesy” in adulthood.
Learning that Maisie is historically derived from Margaret—and wanting to honor Dan’s late grandmother, Margarit—the couple made Margaret Olivia the legal name, assuming Maisie would function as a lifelong nickname.
“Years passed and her speech and understanding became better, and she was still adamant that she hates the name Margaret, she’s Maisie,” Amanda said. “Her personality shined, and it was clear that she was in no way a Margaret.”
Over time, the mismatch became more than symbolic. Medical offices, school paperwork and official records repeatedly used a name the child rejected, forcing constant explanations.
Amanda began to worry that her daughter would spend her life stepping into an identity she had never accepted—one she associated only with correction or confusion.
“I looked at my husband and said, ‘Do we just do it? Do we give her what she’s asked for all these years?’ He thought for a minute then shrugged and said, ‘I think we do. It seems to be what she really wants.’”
Friends and family were largely supportive. Most people in their lives, Amanda said, did not even realize Margaret was her daughter’s legal name. Even relatives connected to the family name acknowledged that it never quite fit her.
The revised name preserves Margaret as part of a hyphenated middle name, something their daughter explicitly requested and something the family felt honored both tradition and her wishes.
Amanda said the change is about more than preference—it’s about relief. With legal documents aligned to the name Maisie, her daughter will no longer need to correct teachers, doctors or peers.
Her Threads post went viral, clocking up over 15,000 likes, comments and shares. Many users praised the parents for giving such a “wonderful gift” to their daughter.
“Love that you’re letting her do this and making it happen! As a Sara Kathryn who went by Katy/Kate my whole life, it was such a relief to finally make Kate my legal first name… at age 33!” one user wrote.
“The sweet gift of sovereignty! Kudos to you for respecting and legitimizing your daughter’s preferred name,” another added.
Amanda confirmed that paperwork for the name change has now been officially submitted, though approval could take up to 45 days.
“We’ve all decided that her name will now be Maisie Margaret-Olivia,” she said. “It’s a mouthful and I know that Margaret and Maisie are basically the same thing, but it’s different to us and means something different to our family. It will be okay. We don’t mind and she loves it.”
Read the full article here
