Baby Names: From Wacky to Illegal

Here in the U.S., you can name your baby just about anything, but governments in other countries have made it illegal to choose certain names.  Sweden has had the law in place since 1982.  Initially it was a small list, intended to stop people from naming their children after royalty, however changes have been made to the law since then to include hundreds of other names such as Metallica, Superman, Elvis and Ikea. Google & Lego have been approved as middle names.

New Zealand’s law states that people cannot name their children anything that might cause offense to a reasonable person – lawyers in the U.S. would have a field day with this.  Rejected names include Stallion, Fish & Chips for twin boys, Sex Fruit, Satan and Adolf Hitler.

In Denmark you can choose from about 7,000 names. Anything not on the list requires special permission at their local parish church.  Pluto, Monkey and Anus were all applied for and turned down.

Other illegal names around the world include Venerdi (which means Friday in Italian – not sure why the Pope had a problem with that one,) Akuma in Japan (which means devil,) Chow Tow in Malaysia (which translates to smelly head,) Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 in Sweden (try putting this on the back or a sports jersey,) and  ” @ ” in China.

Do you feel the U.S. Government should have a say in what you name your child?  So far in the U.S. there is no specific list.  You just can’t name your child with numbers, vulgar words or someone else’s name for intent of misuse. You can use some symbols, like in the name La-a (pronounced La dash a.)  Led by Hollywood Celebrities, names do seem to be getting more creative each year.  What are some of the most unusual? Aleph, Bear Blu, Buddy Bear Maurice, Daisy Boo, Petal Blossom Rainbow, Poppy Honey, Ever Garbo, Bronx Mowgli, Apple, Bluebell Madonna, Fifitrixibelle, Peaches, Little-Trixie, Pilot Inspektor, Kal-El Coppola, Embry Lotus, Taj and Satchel.