Such an amazing time when the baby is born! Parents have been waiting for it for so long! Emotions are truly overwhelming! Picking a name for your child is so exciting! It may trigger a few disputes between the ecstatic parents. In rare cases though the extravagant outcomes of such debates may surprise you.

Each Australian state and territory works under its own set of guidelines that allow its Births, Deaths and Marriages Registry to refuse registering any names that are, for example, offensive, obscene, unreasonable or using inappropriate characters. Australia is not the only country to edit some parents’ bizarre ideas.

The idea of creating a list of banned names came about in New Zealand after authorities had to turn down several parents who wanted to name their newborns various provocative names including Justice (62), King (31), Lucifer (6), Messiah or Christ (2 each), and 4Real (once). Some also tried to name their babies after punctuation marks such as ‘”*” (the asterisk) or ‘”.”(period). A 9-year-old girl was taken away from her parents by the state so that her name could be changed from “Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii.”

Russia

A case, involving the Moscow Civil Registry has reached the court when the former refused to register a child’s name. The child, 12 years old at the time, had no documents, as the court upheld the refusal of the Moscow Civil Registry to record a name “BOC rVF 260602” chosen by the boy’s parents. The suggested name loosely stands for “a biological object of the human species from the Voronin-Frolov family, born 26 June 2002.” The Civil Registry argued it was against the best interests of little BOC, as he is called, to have his name being recorded as suggested.

Arguably, parents’ creativity attempts when it comes to children names may have a negative impact on the child’s psyche.

Sweden

The banned names in Sweden include Metallica and IKEA. The country also has a naming law and has axed attempts to name children “Superman,” “Q” and “Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116.”.

Dominican Republic

In 2009, the Dominican Republic contemplated banning unusual names after a host of parents began naming their children after cars or fruit.

Germany

Osama bin Laden – Less than a year after 9/11, a Turkish couple living in Cologne, Germany, were refused the permission to name their child Osama Bin Laden by officials. The father was found to be associated with a radical Turkish group, lead by an imam who had served time in prison for soliciting murder. Germany’s guidelines for parents state that names must “indicate the gender of the child” and it must not be likely to lead to humiliation. “Hitler” is banned.

Norway

A Norwegian mother was put in prison after failing to pay a fine for using an unapproved name Gesher. Protesting in court, she claimed that she had been instructed to name her 14th child Gesher – the Hebrew for Bridge – in a dream. Norway is a country that has a list of approved names for prospective parents to use.

Australia

Choosing a child’s name is an important step. Parents can usually choose any given name for their child. However, the Registrar can refuse to register a prohibited name. Under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996 this includes (but is not restricted to) a name which:
• is obscene or offensive
• cannot be established by repute or usage
–      because it is too long
–      because it contains symbols without phonetic significance, such as an exclamation or question mark, or
–      for any other reason.

• is contrary to the public interest
• contains an official title or rank recognised in Australia such as King, Lady, Father, Sir or Admiral.
• There is no specific provision in the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) either dealing with changing a child’s name or granting power to the court to directly order the Registrar to record any change of name. The court will make the order if it is in the child’s best interest that it do so.

In particular, the prohibited names list includes:

• Admiral • Anzac • Australia
• Baron • Bishop • Brigadier • Brother
• Cadet • Captain • Chief • Christ • Commodore • Constable • Corporal
• Dame  • Duke
• Emperor
• Father
• General • God
• Honour
• Judge • Justice
• King • Lady
• Lieutenant • Lord
• Madam • Majesty • Major • Messiah • Minister • Mister
• Officer
• Premier • President • Prime Minister • Prince • Princess
• Queen
• Saint • Satan • Seaman • Sergeant • Sir • Sister

No doubt, the list will be changing over time.

What are the peculiar children names you have encountered?