New Zealand Bans Odd Baby Names
I guess Hollywood celebrities will not be moving to New Zealand anytime soon; the country has been cracking down on “creative” baby names.
New Zealand drew international attention three years ago when some odd baby names were approved and publicized. And just to show that we’re not unnecessarily picking on the Kiwis, two boys were named Violence and Number 16 Bus Shelter.
As the years went by and parents became even more creative, the government decided to finally step in.
First names are now required to have at least two letters. “The letters, C, D, I and T were rejected as first names,” as reported by the Herald Sun.
Lofty names such as Lucifer, Messiah, and 89 are now banned. Also, due to the history of monarchy in New Zealand, names similar to titles are also prohibited: Duke, Bishop, Baron, General, Judge, King, Knight and Mr.
But apparently, New Zealand is not the only country who started name-banning. The Toronto Globe and Mail reported that a few other countries have been doing this for awhile.
In Sweden, the following names were not approved: Superman, Metallica, Elvis, and the name (are you ready for this?) Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116.
Additionally, the Dominican Republic is even stricter, prohibiting names that are confusing or non-gender specific. They banned names like Qeurida Pina (Dear Pineapple) and Tonton Ruiz (Dummy Ruiz).
While the name ban makes a lot of sense, we hope that the Kiwis allow for a tad bit of creativity.
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