Strange coincidence: American Girl’s new doll shares name and hometown with real-life toddler
OSTEGO, Minn. (KARE) – American Girl prides itself on helping children see themselves in the company’s dolls.
That connection is bizarrely accurate for a toddler in the Minneapolis area.
Lila Monetti has the same name and hometown as the 2024 Girl of the Year doll.
The real-life toddler runs an ice cream shop and even provides medical care to her top customers, her parents said.
The discovery that she and the American Girl doll share names was a pleasant surprise.
Jared Monetti, Lila’s father, said they found out when his mother sent him a text about it.
“It was a link to a doll that was named Lila Monetti,” Monetti said. “I thought she had just customized the doll on the website, and then I Googled it. She’s like, ‘You should check this out. You should Google it. They had named this girl of the year Lila Monetti.’”
Despite sharing names, the 2024 Girl of the Year doll has zero connection to the Monetti family. To make things weirder, the doll is from St. Paul, Minnesota, sharing yet another coincidental connection.
“I’m like there’s no way they could’ve found a name like that without finding my family,” Monetti said.
American Girl confirmed that they did not know about the real Lila Monetti before creating the toy Lila Monetti.
The doll’s backstory and name were written by an author.
To celebrate the apparent coincidence, the company sent the Monetti family Lila’s tiny twin.
“It’s just crazy to see the name in print like this. This is absolutely nuts,” Monetti said.
The doll’s journal is a map of the family’s surroundings.
The real Lila may eventually take up the hobbies of the doll’s character: a horseback rider, gymnast and endless learning opportunities.
Whether Lila stays an ice cream scooper, a physician, a stylist, or takes up something entirely new, her future seems bright.
The doll is available for purchase now. Its accompanying novel hits shelves Jan. 2, 2024.
Copyright 2023 KARE via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.
