Many toddlers have a hard time accepting a new sibling, but one mom has delighted the internet after revealing that it’s not the presence of a new baby that’s confusing her daughter, but rather, his name.
When Serrena Pedersen, 30, welcomed her son Matthew on March 27, 2026, she was so excited to introduce him to his older sister, Carter. The siblings are already so sweet together, although 2-year-old Carter does seem to have one slight issue, and it’s just in relation to her new brother’s name.
Pedersen, of New York, told Newsweek that Carter “seemed confused” when she learned that he’s called Matthew. It was as though she “wasn’t sure why” they’d chosen that name, and she kept pronouncing it as “Math-me” instead.
“At first, I just thought she couldn’t pronounce his name so that was her way of pronouncing it,” Pedersen said.
After a few days of hearing her say his name incorrectly, Pedersen and her husband finally realized why. Pedersen’s husband explained that the toddler hears them saying it as “Math-you,” so she’s saying “Math-me.”
Of course, Pedersen couldn’t cope with this adorable mix up and didn’t have the heart to correct her daughter. The mom-of-two posted a video on TikTok (@serrenapedersen) explaining why her newborn will informally be known as “Math-me” in their household.
Indeed, internet users were obsessed with the toddler’s way of thinking, and the video has gone viral since it was shared on March 30. At the time of writing, the clip has already been viewed over 1.3 million times and had more than 210,000 likes on TikTok.
Pedersen continued: “I haven’t explained to her that his name is Matthew, I just let her call him Math-me. It’s too cute to correct, and when she hears everyone else call him Matthew, she will correct them and say it’s Math-me.”
There’s no doubt this will be a precious anecdote between when they’re older, and they’ll always have a great ice breaker to fall back on.
Many social media users took to the comments section to laud Carter’s misunderstanding, leading to more than 3,900 comments on the TikTok post so far. In fact, many parents also shared their own similar experiences of their toddlers mixing up even the simplest words.
One comment reads: “That’s so funny! I love how toddlers brains work.”
Another TikTok user wrote: “I live near a town called Miami. I can’t tell you how many littles have called it your-ami.”
While one person added: “My daughter says her brother’s last name is HISnandez and she’s HERnandez.”
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