Should wacky baby names be illegal?
A New Zealand judge is taking a stand against parents who give their children wacky names.
He made a 9-year-old girl named Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii a ward of the court so her name could be changed. Other children’s names that’ve been blocked by the court include Fish and Chips, Yeah Detroit, Keenan Got Lucy and Sex Fruit. Yet, some names were permitted including Number 16 Bus Shelter and Violence. Read the article here.
Several countries have gone so far as to establish laws against parents saddling their children with embarrassing monikers. Malaysia, for example, has a list of forbidden baby names including Hitler and Smelly Dog. Read about other countries baby names rules here.
Hmm. Wonder what can be done about obnoxious baby naming contests? Such as the Orlando, Fla. radio station contest David Partin won after he pledged to name his son after local radio hosts to win a $100 gas card. Partin will collect the card in December, when his son is born, if he can produce a birth certificate proving the baby is named Dixon Willoughby Partin, after the hosts. Read about it here.
Suddenly, celebrity baby names like Apple, Suri and Pilot Inspektor don’t seem so bad.
July 30th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
My best friend is having a baby girl, and wants to name her daughter Daye-Lynn Maine Stoddard. I seem to be the only one who thinks its no good. Is the name auful or not?
July 30th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
There’s certainly something to the idea that names shape the way we’re perceived by society; parents should of course have freedom in choosing a child’s name, but with limits if that name will harm the child. Our website, The Right Baby Name, uses quantitative data to analyze how well a name will fit within a family’s cultural background, as well as what associations society as a whole has with the name–whether it’s related to celebrity or felon, for instance. Please check out our site and get a free report! (I must caution, though, Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii isn’t in our database