A mum has defended her daughter's unusual name after relatives and strangers mistook it as a slang word for cannabis and said she wouldn't get a job in the future.<br /><br />Tenille Bain, 33, named her daughter Chree - pronounced 'tree' - after her partner Michael, 29, jokingly suggested it. <br /><br />Despite it initially being a joke, the beauty technician loved the name and decided to stylise it Chree in homage to her mum, Cheryl, 58. <br /><br />But some of the couple’s family were not fans – suggesting the name was similar to the slang word for cannabis – tree.<br /> <br />Relatives were “horrified” by the name at first but Tenille refused to change it and now says the entire family has warmed to “little baby Chree”. <br /><br />The mum-of-two, from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, said: “Multiple people have blatantly asked me why I’d choose to name my daughter Chree.<br /><br />“People are just so afraid of change - they say they’re afraid she won’t get hired for jobs in the future, or she’ll be bullied in class. <br /><br />“But in the same breath, she’ll go to school with a River, or a Brooke, or a Forrest.”<br /><br />“A lot of the comments try and find meaning in her name that isn't there - Chree is not named after marijuana. <br /><br />“I think her name is beautiful." <br /><br />Tenille and Michael, a tradesman, settled on the name Chree Mary Jane, and revealed their choice to family and friends.<br /><br />At the couple’s gender reveal party in May 2018, Tenille got into a heated discussion with some of their family members.<br /><br />She said: “They went ballistic. They told us that we were being crazy and that we couldn’t do it.<br /><br />“Thankfully as soon as Chree was born, they learnt to accept it. She’s just our little baby Chree now, even at four-years-old.”<br /><br />Tenille chose the spelling ‘Chree’ to pay homage to her mum, Cheryl, and gave her little one the middle name Mary Jane - after her grandmother, 79.<br /><br />The mum posts content online with Chree and her older brother, Tevye, eight, - whose name was inspired by a character from ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, one of Tenille’s favourite films growing up. <br /><br />She says people are “hugely judgemental” and see the internet as a “safe, anonymous space to say whatever they like.”<br /><br />Tenille said: “I had one person say they’d rip up an application if they saw Chree’s name on it.<br /><br />“Some of the comments can be really loaded - someone said no-one would be able to pronounce it.<br /><br />“I feel protective of my kids - but I also see it as an opportunity to teach them not to be prejudiced or judgemental.”<br /><br />Thankfully, Tenille receives a number of nice comments from people she meets offline. <br /><br />She said: “People always say Chree’s personality perfectly compliments her name. She’s very over-the-top, she sings and she dances.<br /><br />“She’s just such a Chree.<br /><br />“Fans of Fiddler on the Roof also recognise the reference in Tevye’s name and he’s often complimented on that.<br /><br />“If I could say one thing to the TikTok haters about my kids’ names, it would be this - they’re names."
