New York mum let her newborn choose her own name – and she ended up with an Irish classic

When it comes to picking a new baby’s moniker, in most cases, it will be mum or dad – or ideally both – who decide what their baby’s moniker should be.

Others might let pop culture or celebrities play a part in the name they go for. Some let family history dictate, or maybe even allow the child’s grandparents to have say.

However, very few do what New York mum Brenda Zlamany did, when she allowed her newborn daughter to select her own moniker when she was born back in the year 2000.

And now, Zlamany’s little girl is all grown up, and recently took to social media to reveal how her mum had, ahead of the birth of her daughter, prepared 100 index cards, each with a name she could consider for her baby, and brought these into hospital with her when she went into labor.

After her daughter had arrived, Zlamany would beside her newborn’s bassinet and read them aloud one by one. The infant could not speak, of course, but her mum believed she could react. And that she could use those reactions to make decisions for herself.

And it seems one choice got a bigger reaction than all the other names.

"There was just one name that got a visible response every time," Zlamany’s daughter, now 25, explains.

And only when the new mum was certain her baby girl had chosen what she wanted to be called, did Zlamany say she filled out the paperwork.

The name her little girl picked for herself?

Oona – a true Irish gem. And it seems little Oona, who is not so little anymore, of course, is still delighted with her choice.

Revealing that for her mum, the choice should between Oona and Imogen, Oona explained.

"But it’s also powerful."

Oona says the unusual way to pick a moniker was so typical of her mum, who, at 40, had decided to become a mum on her own. Oona explains her mum was never married to her father, also an artist, and reveals the two were not romantically involved when Oona was born.

"She’s always done things her own way," Oona says, describing the trait as one of her mother’s greatest strengths.

Another benefit of having chosen such an unusual name for herself, Oona explains, is that she never has to share it with anyone.

"I think names are so influential," Oona said.

"If I’d been named something like Nancy, I probably would’ve been a very different person."

The young woman also stated that having a name that stood out meant getting used to standing out herself.

"I think it kind of set me up from an early age to be comfortable with people thinking I’m a little unconventional,’ she says. ‘It’s caused me to beat to the tune of my own drum. And I love that."

And even though she in only 20, Oona says she’d like to honor that family lore someday. And that if she has a daughter of her own, she hopes to call her Imogen, a tribute to the runner-up her mum once had lined up for her.

Parents for sure have different ideas and methods when it comes to picking what they call their babies.

Paris Fury recently talked about her ‘golden rule’ for finding a baby name, and we have got to say, we think the mum-of-six might just be onto something with this method.

* This article was originally published on Rollercoaster.ie.