Kansas City, Missouri — A Missouri couple made the unusual decision to legally change their baby daughter’s name just over a month after her birth, after realizing the name they had chosen simply did not feel right for her.
Monica Ellis, a 39-year-old Kansas City-area mother of five, and her husband, Jeremiah, 35, initially named their daughter Elodie when she was born in June 2025. But after bringing their newborn home, the couple quickly realized they were repeatedly calling her by another name: Everly.
By then, the family had already been using the name Everly for weeks, even though Elodie was the name officially listed on her birth record.
The Couple Originally Planned to Name Her Everly
Before their daughter’s birth, Monica and Jeremiah had actually settled on Everly. They had even purchased blankets featuring the name in anticipation of welcoming their baby girl.
But Jeremiah, who preferred more traditional names, continued returning to Elodie. Monica said she generally preferred less common names, but she liked that Elodie was unusual and believed it sounded good with their last name.
When their daughter was born in June 2025, Jeremiah suggested Elodie Dove, and Monica agreed. The decision, however, did not last long. After the family returned home from the hospital, they found themselves repeatedly calling their daughter Everly.
“Come with me to change my daughter’s name,” Jeremiah joked in a TikTok video that Monica later shared, showing the couple heading to court to make the change official.
Pronunciation Problems Added to Their Doubts
The couple said there were other signs that Elodie might not be the right fit. A nurse at the hospital mispronounced the name, while friends and relatives also struggled with how to say it.
Monica eventually developed an easy way to explain the pronunciation, describing it as “like ‘melody’ without the M.” But she said the repeated confusion eventually became frustrating.
“Everyone would call her El-LOAD-ee… and I HATED it,” Ellis wrote in a TikTok comment. “It was hard to get past sadly. It just kept happening and it was only two months.”
The couple also considered other names, including Dove and Haven, before ultimately returning to the name they had originally chosen.
Baby’s First Smile Helped Confirm the Decision
Once the couple decided to officially change their daughter’s name to Everly, they went to court to make it legal. For Monica, one moment made the decision feel even more certain. When her daughter was about two months old, she smiled for the first time after being called Everly.
“It felt like, okay, you know your name,” Ellis told Today. “That’s actually your name.”
The couple ultimately changed her full name to Everly Dove, giving their daughter the first name they had initially planned and keeping Dove as her middle name.
Not Everyone Agreed With the Name Change
After Monica shared the story online, the decision generated plenty of reactions. Some people questioned why the couple would move away from Elodie, particularly because Everly is considerably more common.
According to Social Security Administration rankings cited by Today, Everly ranked No. 91 among U.S. baby girl names in 2025, while Elodie ranked No. 310. One commenter questioned whether the change would create another problem when the child eventually starts school.
“But why? There are going to be five Everlys in her class when she’s in school,” the commenter wrote. Another person defended the original choice, writing:
“But Elodie is beautiful.”
Despite the criticism, Monica has no regrets about the decision.
Mom Says Elodie “Just Wasn’t Her”
The family has since grown again, with Monica and Jeremiah now raising five children. Their children include Seth Jason, 13; Jaden Michael, 11; Joshua Arrow, 2; Everly Dove, 15 months; and Banner Pierce, 3 months.
Looking back, Monica said she still appreciates the original name and does not believe choosing it was a mistake.
“I still love it,” Ellis says of Elodie. “It just wasn’t her.”
For the Missouri parents, changing their daughter’s name so soon after birth ultimately came down to something simple: the name they had chosen on paper did not feel like the name that belonged to their child.
What do you think of the couple’s decision to change their baby’s name from Elodie to Everly? Would you have made the same choice, or kept the original name? Share your thoughts in the comments.
