Should bizzare baby names be illegal?

Posted at 2:17 PM on August 12, 2008 by Sanden Totten (1 Comments)

There was a little girl in New Zealand who was embarrassed by her name. She went simply by K. Even her closest friends didn't know the truth. Sure, kids get worked up over silly things, but in this case, it was so bad that a judge stepped in and mandated a change. Her parents originally named her "Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii".

Yikes. Try finding that on any novelty license plates . . . or even getting it to fit it on your driver's license! The ruling Judge, Rob Murfitt, said that controversial name choices are often blocked, but not always :

Registration officials blocked some names, including Fish and Chips, Yeah Detroit, Keenan Got Lucy and Sex Fruit, he said. But others were allowed, including Number 16 Bus Shelter "and tragically, Violence . . ."

But should something as personal as a name really be regulated by the government? It's a fair question, especially in a country like America where personal freedom trumps almost everything.

And New Zealand isn't the only place to curb difficult baby names.

But Sweden, known for monikers like Sven, Lars and Bjorn, has just relaxed the rules on baby naming, paving the way for such new classics as "Budweiser" or "Metallica" (though truthfully, aren't those really American names?).

Tax authority spokesman Lars Tegenfeldt says . . . ''there is nothing negative about a name like Coca-Cola or McDonald's today. In the 1970s, maybe it was.''

But then again, if you are going to go the corporate route with your baby name why not get compensated for it? Little "McDonalds Extra Value Meal" Smith will need to pay for college one day, you know?

Comments (1)

Both Korea and Japan have restrictions on names children may be given. Surnames in Korea are also disappearing. Nearly half of Koreans have the surname Park, Kim, or Lee.

Posted by Bruce | August 22, 2008 1:37 PM

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