A COUPLE who have chosen to call their unborn daughter Sandel have insisted she’s NOT named after a shoe.
Influencer pair Liana and Connor caused controversy when they revealed on their podcast that they’d settled on a moniker for their daughter, who is due to make her entrance into the world any day now.
And, in keeping with the name they picked for their son Koazy, the parents have chosen another unusual one for their little girl.
They added they’d taken inspiration from family members – Liana’s mum Sandra and Connor’s mum Rachel – to come up with the name Sandel.
They also said that while they initially thought the moniker might be “a bit abnormal”, they decided to ignore any backlash, adding: “If we like the name we’re going to use it anyway.
“We could call our baby Jess and people would have a problem with it!”
In another instalment of the podcast, responding to the backlash, Connor said: “Everyone’s entitled to an opinion. We know not everyone’s going to like our baby name.
“We’ve literally been through this with Koazy. We stuck with our guns and we love the name!”
He then went on to read out some of the comments the “Reddit goblins” had left about the name.
“No clue who these people are but naming a baby a shoe is wild,” one had written.
To which Liana sighed on the podcast: “What? We said it wasn’t a shoe!”
“Maybe if they have another kid it could be called Stiletto,” another joked.
“That’s not funny, they could have gone with Birken…” Liana added, referring to the Birkenstock sandal.
With Connor then chiming in: “Wait, I low key like that name. If we have another boy, get it on the list!”
The couple also read out a message from one of their friends, who insisted he “loved” the name, and predicted the baby girl would end up being called “Sandy” anyway.
Connor also hit back at people saying the name was “holiday inspired”, as he said they already had the name Sandel, but then went to the beach, where a “washed up flip flop was next to” where they were sitting.
While Liana said that “over time” she’s learned to ignore trolls, and insisted: “Nothing like that gets to me any more”.
And while there were those who insisted the name announcement “must be a joke”, there were also those who defended the couple and their moniker choice.
Are Unique Baby Names Worth The Hassle?
YOU may think having a unique name helps you to stand out, but is it all it's cracked up to be?
Fabulous’ Deputy Editor Josie Griffiths reveals the turmoil she faced with her own name while growing up.
When I was a child, all I wanted was one of those personalised keyrings with my name on it.
But no joy, the closest I could find was Rosie, Joseph (not great for a little girl) and Joanne.
Josie is short for Josephine, which is a French name, and I managed to reach my 20s without ever meeting anyone who shared it.
When I try to introduce myself to people, I get all sorts of random things – like Tracey and Stacey – which can be pretty annoying.
Although I have come into contact with a couple of Josies over the last year – there seems to be a few of us around my age – it’s still a much rarer name than most of my friends have.
On the whole I don’t mind it, at least it’s not rude or crazily spelt.
And it means I can get away with ‘doing a Cheryl’ and just referring to myself as Josie.
I’m getting married this year and some friends are shocked that I’m changing my surname, as it’s not seen as very cool or feminist to do so these days, but I explain to them that I’m not that attached to Griffiths as I’d always just say ‘hi it’s Josie’ when ringing a mate up.
I think it’s nice to be unique and I’ll definitely try and replicate this when naming my own kids.
It’s the rude names you’ve got to watch out for, so after nine years as a lifestyle journalist I’ll definitely be avoiding those.
“I don’t get why people can’t just let them name their kids in peace?” one asked.
“They want it to be a unique named that’s the whole point, it’s not your kid why give so much hate?”
“Whoever’s hating, get a life,” another insisted.
“It’s their baby, their name, it has nothing to do with you, so keep your opinions to yourself.”
