We’ve all been there—caught in the crossfire of family jokes that stumble on the edge of playful and annoying. For months, one guy’s sister-in-law had a favorite target: his name. What started as a harmless joke turned into relentless teasing, and he decided enough was enough.
He explained what happened.
My wife and I have been together since we were 19 and we’re now 32. I met her family after we’d been together a year. SIL was actually the first. The very first time we met she blurted out that I have a girl’s name (Skye) and then proceeded to laugh about it. My wife told her to shut up and stop laughing. It didn’t bother me at all back then. I just laughed and told her there are plenty of male Skye’s around, even my great grandfather who I was partially named after. I was named after my great grandpa Schuyler who went by Sky his entire life and Sky Masterson from Guys and Dolls.
So the first time was no big deal. Some people have asked me before if I felt like my name was a girl’s name and not a guy’s name and I never minded.
SIL joked a lot about my name and our kids’ names when we were expecting our babies. It got a little annoying but you know, I was able to brush it off and my wife would cut off her sister and would tell her to leave if she went a little too far which only happened once back then.
We didn’t see her a lot for a while but she got engaged last year and was around more, and seemed to have calmed down a lot. And now she’s having her baby, a girl, and oh boy is she testing my patience.
It started with her husband asking what she thought of the name Skye for their daughter. She joked that they couldn’t use the name because she didn’t want me to feel more like a girl than I already do. My wife told her to grow up and we left. The next time we saw her they announced Skye was the name they decided to go with. I said cool. SIL said she was surprised I was okay with sharing my name with a girl. I told SIL her daughter wouldn’t be the first and I wasn’t insecure in my masculinity and I saw no problem with sharing the same name girls or women.
The next time we saw them it was a joke about putting both Skye’s in pretty pink dresses when her daughter is born. We stayed out of her way for the rest of that visit. Then she joked that I had finally gotten embarrassed by my name and was using my middle name because one of my uncles who always called me by my middle name was visiting and she heard him call me that. More stuff like that happened and then on Saturday we were back at my IL’s house for MIL’s birthday and SIL was joking with some of MIL’s siblings about my name and she tried to involve me by calling me over to tell her dumb jokes.
It finally got to me and I asked her if she had to be so annoying. I told her her how tiring it is to always hear her dumb jokes, which aren’t even really jokes like she claims, but insults directed at me. She called me sensitive and I told her she’s the person who hasn’t given up on my name in over a decade. I told her everyone gets it, she sees Skye as a girl’s name, but she’s not funny. SIL got mad. My wife told her she was about to become a mom and needed to listen to us and grow up.
People stood on his side.
- “The same joke was lame as hell over a dozen years ago and didn’t improve with age.” Kris82868 / Reddit
- “But you are doing this wrong, start going hard on that the baby girl will have a boy’s name since she going to be named after you. When the kid is born, make sure everyone knows the kid is named after you.” CakePhool / Reddit
- “I know two men with the name Skye and 0 women.” Jmac_files / Reddit
- “For someone who dislikes the name so much, I find it amusing that out of all the names in the world that she could name her child, she chose yours.” Worth-Season3645 / Reddit
- “Your sister-in-law has been like an annoying, childish dog with a bone for over a decade. It was way past time to put her in her place over her rude behavior.” Dittoheadforever / Reddit
- “My favorite tactic for dealing with people like her is simply asking to explain the joke. ’I don’t get it, why is that funny?’ She won’t be able to provide a real answer. Ask again after she answers, and again every time she ‘jokes’. The looks of confusion on everyone’s faces will make her shut up.” disableddoll / Reddit
Sometimes, the best way to handle a persistent tease is with a clever answer that leaves no room for refutation. Now, their family gatherings are free of those tiresome jokes, and he has proven that standing up for oneself can be both satisfying and effective.