Naming law

A naming law restricts the names that parents can legally give to their children, usually to protect the child from being given an offensive or embarrassing name. Many countries around the world have such laws, with most governing the meaning of the name, while some only govern the scripts in which it is written.

China

The Chinese language has over 70,000 characters, but only a fraction of these are represented by computers. Children's names are limited to characters which are machine readable.

Denmark

Under the Law on Personal Names, parents are limited to a list of some 7,000 names. To choose a name not on the list, the local church has to approve it, followed by a review by government officials. Names must indicate gender, and surnames or "the unusual" cannot be used.[1]

France

Since 1993 the choice has been free in France unless it is decided that the name is contrary to the interests of the child. Before that time the choice of first names was dictated by French laws that decreed which names were acceptable.[2]

Germany

Names have to be approved by the local registration office, called Standesamt, which generally consults a list of first names and foreign embassies for foreign names. The name has to indicate gender, it cannot be a last name or a product, and it cannot negatively affect the child. If the name submitted is denied, it can be appealed; otherwise a new name has to be submitted. A fee is charged for each submission.[3]

During the Nazi period, Germany had a list of approved names to choose from that was passed on January 5, 1938 as the "Second Regulation under the law re The changing of Family and Given names." The law had one list of names for ethnic Germans and another for Jews.[4]

Hungary

A child's name must be chosen from a list of pre-approved names.[5][6] If the intended name is not on the list, the parents need to apply for approval. Applications are considered by the Research Institute for Linguistics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences following a set of principles.[7] Children born to a foreign citizen may have their name chosen according to foreign law.[8]

Iceland

Parents are limited to choosing children's names from the Personal Names Register, which is a list of about 1800 names for each gender.[9]

Italy

Ridiculous or shameful names are barred by law.[10]

Japan

Similarly to China, Japan has a certain set of characters that can be used in a child's name.

New Zealand

Under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act of 1995, names are prohibited which "might cause offence to a reasonable person; or [...] is unreasonably long; or without adequate justification, [...] is, includes, or resembles, an official title or rank."[11]

Portugal

Portugal has a set list of names approved and not approved published periodically by the Institute of Registration at the Ministry of Justice.[12]

Sweden

Main article: Naming law in Sweden

Swedish first names "shall not be approved if they can cause offense or can be supposed to cause discomfort for the one using it, or names which for some obvious reason are not suitable as a first name."

United States

Comparably, America has fewer naming laws than most countries. Traditionally, the right to name your child or yourself as you choose has been upheld by court rulings and is rooted in the Due Process Clause of the fourteenth Amendment and the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment, but a few restrictions do exist. Restrictions vary by state, but most are for the sake of practicality. For example, several states limit the number of characters you may use due to the limitations of the software used for official record keeping. For similar reasons, some states ban the use of numerals or pictograms. A few states ban the use of obscenity. There are also a few states, Kentucky for instance, that have no naming laws whatsoever.

One naming law that some find restrictive is California’s ban on diacritical marks, such as in the name José. The Office of Vital Records in California requires that names contain only the 26 alphabetical characters of the English language. There is no law restricting the use of diacritical marks informally and many parents get around the restrictions by doing so.[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Oh no, you can't name your baby THAT!". CNN. 3 July 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  2. ↑ Mary Blume (November 11, 1995). "The Ins and Outs of French First Names". New York Times.
  3. ↑ "Oh no, you can't name your baby THAT!". CNN. 3 July 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  4. ↑ Hynning, Clifford J. (March 1944). Germany: Preliminary Compilation of Selected Laws, Decrees, and Regulations: Discriminatory Laws. Washington: Treasuy Department, Office of the General Council. p. E-70.
  5. ↑ "current list of approved male Hungarian given names".
  6. ↑ "current list of approved female Hungarian given names".
  7. ↑ "basic principles guiding the approval of new given names" (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2011-01-19.
  8. ↑ "1982. évi 17. törvényerejű rendelet az anyakönyvekről, a házasságkötési eljárásról és a névviselésről" [Decree-Law No. 17 of 1982 on Registers, the Marriage Procedure and Person Names] (in Hungarian). Art. 27–31. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  9. ↑ "Icelandic Girl Fights For Right To Her Own Name". AP. 3 January 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  10. ↑ "Italian court: Child cannot be named Friday". USA Today. 20 December 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  11. ↑ "Oh no, you can't name your baby THAT!". CNN. 3 July 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  12. ↑ "Vocábulos admitidos e não admitidos como nomes próprios". Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  13. ↑ Larson, Carlton F.W. (November 2011). "Naming Baby: The Constitutional Dimensions of Naming Rights". George Washington Law Review 80 (1).