



Even if your child is a devil, you can’t name him “Lucifer” in New Zealand. (Getty)


Or maybe you have high hopes for you child and want to name her President? Again, that name’s not allowed in the Kiwi Country country. Nor is 2nd or Majesty or Judge or III (yes, as in the Roman numeral III).

These might all seem far-fetched but they’re all names that parents tried to give their babies before getting nixed by the country’s Registrar of Names.

In New Zealand, new parents have to get approval before naming a baby and not every moniker passes the test. In fact, according to CNN the list of banned baby names is growing. Here’s a look at a few of those names that didn’t make the cut.

New Zealand isn’t the only country to restrict baby names. Sweden has a similar system with the government having power to veto names. In Denmark parents can choose from a list of 7,000 approved names. In Germany a parent must run their baby name by the local office of vital statistics; the government asks that the name indicate the baby’s gender and not negatively impact the well-being of the child. In 1998 a mom in Norway was supposedly jailed for two days for failing to pay a fine because she named her son Gersher, an unapproved name.

But despite laws like these unusual names still get through the system. CNN reported:

In 2008, [New Zealand] made international news when the naming agency allowed a set of twins to be named ‘

“Benson” and “Hedges” — a popular cigarette brand — and OK’d the names “Violence” and “Number 16 Bus Shelter.”

And some parents give their children unusual names without the blessing of the government—but eventually these people get caught. Four years ago, CNN reported, officials temporarily took a 9-year-old girl away from her parents so the child’s name could be changed from “Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii.”

What name did the government give to this little girl? Well, we know that it wasn’t Lucifer.

What do you think? Should the United States government start restricting baby names?

Amy Graff