New Zealand Bans Odd, Offensive, and Downright Weird Baby Names

The Scoop

New Zealand has joined a handful of other countries in banning baby names that are strange or unusual, according to UK's Daily Mail newspaper. The move follows similar rule changes in Sweden, where Superman, Metallica, and Elvis, and the name Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 (pronounced Albin), are not allowed—and the Dominican Republic, where gender-non-specific names such as Qeurida Pina (Dear Pineapple) and Tonton Ruiz (Dummy Ruiz) were banned a few years ago.

What's banned from birth certificates in New Zealand? The preliminary list of no-no names include Lucifer, Duke, Messiah, 89, Adolf Hitler, as well as the use of asterisks, commas, periods, and other punctuation marks, and the letters C, D, I, and T as first names.

The Name Game

Why is a country famous for its kiwi fruit suddenly up in arms over unusual baby names? According to the Daily Mail, it likely has something to do with a young girl named Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii who petitioned a New Zealand judge in 2008 for an official name change.

It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap," New Zealand Family Court Judge Rob Murfitt says of choosing to name a child Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii. The judge also warned parents that giving a child a bizarre name could lead to psychological trauma for it in later life.

The country's Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages has also begun turning down Baron, Bishop, Duke, General, Judge, King, Knight, and Mr on birth certificates, apparently because they sound too much like titles. No word yet on what Donald Trump, whose youngest son's name is Baron, thinks of this new rule!