A dad wanted to name his son something so out of the ordinary he was banned from using it, because in some countries, there are laws to protect children from certain names
Choosing a baby name is no small task, and you’ll want to ensure you’re opting for something your child will be able to carry confidently throughout their life. Whether you’re going for something traditional, a little more old-fashioned, or ripping up the rulebook and going your own way with a totally new, fresh, modern name, you have to remember they won’t just have this name as a cute little cherub. They’re going to have it for life.
And that’s, unfortunately, what some parents forget when naming their little ones. However, some countries have laws in place to block completely awful names.
And while this may not prevent all unusual names from being used, it certainly stopped one man from naming his baby something atrocious.
On Reddit’s baby name forum, dedicated to names that are more than just a little out of the ordinary, one person wrote: “Sweden is somewhat protected against the tragedies of tragedeighs”.
Thanks to the naming law in Sweden, a government agency must approve names given to Swedish children. Parents have to submit the name within three months of birth.
They then shared a post from Wikipedia that reads: “[Lass] Diding tried to name his son, born 1991, Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 (pronounced Albin), but was denied at both the tax authority and when the case was brought to court.
“He and his partner, Elisabeth Hallin, decided not to register any official name for their son as an act of protest against the naming law, and did not do so until they were sentenced by the County Administrative Court in Halland County to pay a fine of SEK 5,000 after failing to register a name on the boy’s fifth birthday.
“However, the long name was not approved by the authorities. They later wanted to spell the name ‘A’ but kept the pronunciation, which was also denied by the authorities.
“Finally, they settled on naming the boy Albin, as pronounced”.
In the comments, someone wrote: “Massive respect for Sweden”.
Another replied: “There was another court decision here in Sweden in the mid 2000’s that also blocked product names for children.
“Names like Fanta, Snickers, and Lamborghini were all banned. Our courts seem to understand that these types of names will only hinder young children and that it’s really all about parents wanting to feel ‘special’ somehow”.
A Redditor clarified: “The rule is that you can’t name your child something that will (likely) cause it hardship or bullying when growing up”.
Other banned names in Sweden include: Metallica, IKEA, and Staalman (Superman).
But what about in the UK? It turns out that the laws are not as strict here. The UK has no law restricting names, but names that contain obscenities, numerals, misleading titles, or are impossible to pronounce are likely to be rejected by the Registering Officer when registering a child.
What do you think about unusual baby names? Let us know in the comments…