When it comes to naming a child, many parents draw inspiration from family traditions, favorite books, or meaningful words. But sometimes, one parent sneaks in a pop culture reference without the other realizing it—until much later. That’s exactly what happened to TikTok user @viashoe, who recently discovered that her husband had named their daughter after a character from Batman: The Animated Series without telling her.
In a viral TikTok video, the mom shared the moment she realized the truth while watching the classic animated show with her husband’s family. In the background, someone was playing with their baby girl when a character on the show said, "My wife, Nora..."
Suddenly, everything clicked. Shocked, she turned to her husband and asked, "Is this my daughter's name?" Laughter erupted around her as family members playfully teased her. One person even joked, "She is in frozen sleep," referencing the storyline of Mr. Freeze’s wife, Nora Fries, who remains cryogenically frozen in the show.
Her husband's secret baby name inspiration was hiding in plain sight.TikTok | @viashoe
"My husband named our daughter after a 'Batman' character and didn’t tell me."
The text overlay in the video summed up her disbelief. The mom explained how the name was chosen in the caption:
"So my husband came up with the name Nora right when we found out she was a girl, and I loved the name. He never said where he heard it, just that he thought it was a cool name," she wrote.
She added that every other name her husband had suggested had some kind of geeky movie or comic book reference. Because Nora seemed like a “normal” name, she assumed it was different this time.
But over a year later, while watching Batman: The Animated Series at his family's house for Thanksgiving, she finally saw the connection.
"The main villain is Mr. Freeze (literally, my husband's profile photo is Mr. Freeze on so many things—I should have known) and his beautiful, sweet, frozen wife… is Nora."
"All future baby names will have a thorough background check!"
It turns out her husband has been a dedicated Batman fan for years—so much so that he even accidentally proposed on National Batman Day.
The internet loves a dedicated fan
People in the comments found the situation hilarious, with many applauding the husband’s subtle commitment to his fandom.
One user, @ranerdar, shared their own experience:
"I tried to name my son Bruce. My wife said no. Four years later, we had our daughter... Harley."
Another commenter, @monstj_snake, wrote:
"Proposed on National Batman Day, named daughter after a Batman character... just roll with it."
One user even pointed out a beautiful coincidence. @manal.alsheri60 commented:
"‘Nora’ is a feminine Arabic name that refers to ‘radiance, illumination, and beauty.’ It is derived from one of the beautiful names of Allah that means ‘Light.’"
Meanwhile, another parent, @schaeferej, revealed their own subtle geeky baby name choice:
"My son's name is Logan. On a totally unrelated note, the 1990s X-Men animated series was amazing."
The mom, finding the humor in it, replied:
"Ironically, I love the name Logan. So we may have multiple animated series represented in our family at some point, haha."
A name with a little extra meaning
While the mom may have been surprised, she ultimately loves the name Nora—and the internet does too. And honestly, there are far worse characters to be named after than Mr. Freeze’s devoted wife.
With the revelation now out in the open, one thing is certain: if this couple has another baby, their name choice will be getting some extra scrutiny.
Would you name your child after a favorite movie or TV character? Or has your partner ever snuck in a geeky reference without you realizing? Let us know in the comments!
Representative image via Canva
via Reddit