This mom has been demonized by the internet for giving her offspring one of 2022’s trendiest — yet most inflammatory — baby names: Lucifer.
Josie Barnes, 27, of Devon, England, says she has been receiving nonstop hate, and even death threats, from trolls since impulsively announcing the birth of her controversially named boy on the UK’s popular “Jeremy Kyle Show.”
Even though the 7-month-old is the most adorable bad-seed namesake there could be, that hasn’t stopped social media from grabbing its proverbial pitchforks and torches, sparing no mercy for the infant or his mother’s wellbeing.
“I’m so lucky I’m thick-skinned because a lot of these death threats are so horrible and scary,” Barnes told SWNS about her life after calling into the TV chat show.
Even those who didn’t wish eternal hellfire damnation on the mother posted hurtful jeers online, with one of the less-abusive haters saying that the boy is “going to [be] bullied all his life. How sad.”
Barnes did anticipate an inferno of negativity after naming Lucifer — but she stuck to her guns after seeing many friends hastily change their children’s names “due to pressure from other people.”
“When I chose his name, I knew people wouldn’t like it, but it’s not up to them,” she said. “I think it’s really bad where a 7-month-old-month baby gets criticized and bullied because of a name,” she added, also stressing “that is when we need to remember that society is the problem, not our personal choices.”
Despite some having a get-thee-gone attitude towards the moniker, Lucifer is actually one of the trendiest new names for tots.
Some parents have been inspired to use the name Lucifer from the Fox-turned-Netflix series of the same devilish name, spawning a new trend of “demon naming,” Pamela Redmond, co-creator of Nameberry, a baby-naming database and guide for expecting parents, told The Post.
Lucifer has even become a more popular handle than both Nigel and Trevor last year in the United Kingdom, according to the Evening Standard.
Meanwhile, Barnes, who was planning to name her baby Narnia if the infant was a girl, says her selection is anything but satanic.
“The devil is not the meaning of my son’s name,” she said, also confessing to recently learning the meaning of the word “atheist” after it was used to describe her own nonreligious beliefs.
“When it comes to religion and real life, they are very different things — one is actual living and the other is in a book,” Barnes added, mentioning she “looked at thousands of baby names, and it wasn’t a decision made lightly.”
Right before her pregnancy with baby Luie, Barnes suffered hemiplegia, a partial paralysis that inhibits her body’s mobility — she also lost 10 children since the birth of her first daughter six years ago.
“I never thought I would be given the chance to have a second child,” Barnes said, noting that she will be undergoing a sterilization procedure in the future.
“I knew [Lucifer] was the last child I could ever have,” she added, praising the “miracle” that he was born healthy despite the odds.
Even though Barnes was rapturous over the name — a derivative of the Latin word “lux,” meaning “light,” that roughly translates to “light bringing” or “morning star” — that didn’t stop a witch hunt from happening within her own clan.
“I had a couple of family members saying ‘you can’t call him that,’ but I said I’m not religious, so it doesn’t stand for what other people think it stands for.
“But, that doesn’t mean you should change it. People will always have an opinion, and you can’t listen to them because it’s not their kid. It’s not their life,” Barnes added, noting that her father felt the name choice was on brand for the mom of two’s personality.
“I like the names I like, it may not be right for other people,” Barnes said, mentioning that despite all the aggression, she has met a wonderful community of like-minded folk.
“I have at least 15 people sending me lovely messages in my inbox who also have kids named Lucifer!”
Others on social media quickly took to supporting Barnes, with one writing, “My son is called Lucifer nothing wrong with his name we love it.” While another commented, “I think it’s a lovely name.”
Meanwhile, mama Barnes maintains: “I really didn’t think Lucifer’s name was that out there — but apparently it really is!”