I came across the list of baby names that were rejected by Internal Affairs when people tried to register their baby names. [name_u]Justice[/name_u] is the most rejected name here as you can’t have a name that infers a rank or title.
I was just looking at this list myself! Can’t say I’d want to burden my child with any of those names. I wonder whether other countries have restrictions on names that are similar to titles or not?
The son of someone I work with is named [name_m]Bishop[/name_m]. Additionally I have met a few little Justices. That one doesn’t really phase me as it’s kind of part virtue name and part [name_m]Justin[/name_m]/[name_f]Justine[/name_f].
Some of these are pretty bad. I actually came across a baby named Deity on instagram the other day. That was a first for me.
Ahhh good ol’ [name_m]New[/name_m] Zealand (my home).
None are quite so bad as the story about the nine year girl who had to be put in the custody of the court so she could change the birth name her parents had given her… [name_f]Talula[/name_f] Does the Hula From [name_m]Hawaii[/name_m].
in Norway you can no longer name your kids after animals, Bjørn=bear Varg=wolf Gaupe=lynx etc,
blondie or [name_f]Brunette[/name_f], like the hair colors,
Closetta as in a “fancy” word for a toilet. some Norwegians call a toilet a “Closett” or “closettet”
lucifer, hitler, Ø/ö (its an Scandinavian letter and the Swedish word for island.
there is more, these are just the once i remember out of the blue.
Senior Constable gave me a good laugh. Someone might be trying to name their child [name_m]Prince[/name_m] or [name_f]Princess[/name_f] for the glamor, and there are quite a few people here in [name_u]America[/name_u] with those names, however unfortunate that may be. But the parent attempting to register little baby Senior Constable is clearly and openly flouting the “no title names” rule, apparently for fun.
The only one I’d debate is [name_m]Bishop[/name_m], and that’s only because it’s a semi-common surname where I grew up and I can totally see people wanting to use it to honour a side of their family. I suppose the same could be said of [name_m]King[/name_m], [name_m]Prince[/name_m], [name_m]Duke[/name_m] and [name_m]Major[/name_m].
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you know if the banned names are only first names? Or would NZ ban someone from naming their child, for example, [name_m]Jacob[/name_m] [name_m]Duke[/name_m] [Surname]?
I think there are special circumstances where you can use those names, but not sure as to what they are. My friend’s middle name is [name_m]Duke[/name_m] which was his Mum’s maiden name - not sure if he was allowed it because of that or because they are OK in the middle name spot. I guess you would have to provide documents proving the link.
No, it’s not banned. I know two Bjørn’s born last year, and most traditional (and even some new) animal names are allowed. I am positive that Varg and Ulv (both meaning wolf) are legal as well. The only change in the law is that it’s much harder to get new animal names approved – such as Hjort (deer), Due (pigeon), katt (cat), to give some examples. @Bellamy, you should really check up your sources before making claims like that.
Sorry for hijacking the thread OP! I just had to clear this up
Wow! This is obviously the American in me, but I’m totally amazed that some of these names aren’t allowed. I think [name_u]Justice[/name_u] is actually a super cute name, and [name_m]Duke[/name_m] and [name_m]Major[/name_m] are kind of cool too. I’ve even considered adding [name_m]Royale[/name_m] to my name list… I think it’s gorgeous. I’m all for not being allowed to have punctuation marks in your kid’s name, but short of that I don’t see how it’s the government’s business to rule out names, even if that means there are some unfortunately-named kids out there.
Well that answers my question - obviously not all countries have a problem with “title” names as ours does. I think many of the cases of [name_m]Duke[/name_m]/[name_m]Bishop[/name_m]/[name_f]Princess[/name_f] etc. may well have been parents who simply weren’t aware this was part of the rules (which would be such a pain if you then had to re-think the name for your child!) - I know NZ children called [name_f]Precious[/name_f] and Darling so I could see how people wouldn’t realise [name_f]Princess[/name_f] would be a problem (not that I’d ever choose it!). But I think in other cases, e.g. Senior Constable and [name_f]Talula[/name_f] does the Hula from [name_m]Hawaii[/name_m], they more than likely knew they were pushing the boundaries!
