“Our little golden girl born on my birthday welcomed to this world by Lucky.”
Scarlett and Auburn are two of the most popular color names that mean red.
But, apparently, not everyone knows that.
On Aug. 21, Jenna LeBarre posted a TikTok video recalling a conversation she had with her mom, who was holding her 6-month-old granddaughter Scarlett when she uttered a joke about the baby name.
Or, at least what LeBarre thought was a joke.
@jennamstanton I already posted a video about this, but here’s an update with my husband’s reaction. Seems like a straight line from point A to point B, but I guess not. The funniest part is that this girl isn’t even gonna have red hair.
♬ original sound - Jenna
“I think she’s gonna have red hair. You should have named her Auburn,” LeBarre’s mom said of her granddaughter. “That’s okay, though. I still like the name Scarlett.”
“And she didn’t understand why what she said was absolutely hilarious,” she continued.
Later that night, as any wife would do, LeBarre told her husband “about the really stupid thing” her mom had said earlier that day. But when he didn’t immediately laugh, she questioned him.
“Do you understand why this is funny?” LeBarre said to her husband, to which he replied, “Because she’s saying we should’ve named her something different?”
LeBarre further explained that it had to do with the fact that her mom thinks baby Scarlett will have red hair — and Auburn is a shade of red.
READ MORE: Forget baby name books — this couple chose one name and reused it six times for their kids
He laughed, but LeBarre felt like he still wasn’t getting the irony — so she questioned him again.
"And he was like, ‘Yeah, no it’s because we should have named her just based off of her hair color and that would be a stupid thing to do,’" her husband replied.
"And I was like, ‘Well, yeah, but that’s not the reason it’s funny. The reason it’s funny is because her name is Scarlett,’” she continued. “And he was like, ‘Oh, is that another shade of red?’”
LeBarre, who has red hair, added in the caption that the irony doesn't end there.
"The funniest part is that this girl isn’t even gonna have red hair," she wrote.
LeBarre doubles down on her baby name choice
In an interview with People, published Oct. 6, LeBarre said she was shocked at her mom’s lack of color knowledge.
"My mom is a retired cosmetologist and Auburn is often used to describe hair color, so I think that's what prompted [her suggestion,]” she told the outlet.
“But she didn't realize the irony of her statement since Scarlett is also a shade of red,” she added.
Those who watched the video were just as surprised.
READ MORE: New survey reveals the most popular source of inspiration when choosing a baby name
“Wait why am I actually concerned isnt this common knowledge. Like one person not knowing, okay, but TWO?????” one user wrote in the comment section.
“Knowing auburn and not scarlet is wild,” another viewer wrote.
What makes her mom’s suggestion even more ironic is that Scarlett is a far more popular name in the United States than Auburn.
According to the Social Security Administration, Scarlett was the 27th most popular girl’s name in 2024 when it was given to approximately 5,894 baby girls in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Auburn was given to just 24 baby girls in 2024 — and failed to rank inside the top 1,000.
@jennamstanton So my husband do think there was meaning behind our daughter’s name! Sounds like a green flag if you ask me.
♬ original sound - Jenna
According to Behind the Name, Scarlett originated as a surname given to someone “who sold or made clothes made of scarlet,” which is a type of woollen cloth common in medieval England.
Scarlet cloth was known for being dyed with kermes, an often-red dye that comes from the dried bodies of the females of a scale insect in the genus Kermes, per the North Carolina Museum of Art.
Ironically, the word auburn originated from the Latin word alburnus, meaning “off-white,” per Etymonline.
In the 16th century, the meaning of auburn shifted to mean “reddish-brown” due to its close proximity to the Middle English word brun, meaning “brown.”
Other color names that mean red include Ruby, Rose, Rosa, Rory, Poppy, Rowan and Sienna.
But LeBarre is happy she went with Scarlett.
ALSO ON MOD MOMS CLUB: MGK reveals the Norwegian goddess that inspired his daughter Saga’s unique name
"I would definitely still pick Scarlett as a name!" she told People. "I think it's beautiful and wouldn't let reactions from a TikTok video change my mind!”
