Naming children - should the state step in?

To the OP question, perhaps you could put it upside down:

Is there any reason parents should be allowed to burden their kid with a bizarre name?

For adults, I suppose they should be allowed to take whatever name they please.

Hans
 
I think it reaches a point where it's ok for the state to step in. It's a tough line to draw, but there is one.
 
richardm said:
Last time I was in Essex, I heard with my own ears a mother calling for her toddler with

I can only assume that she'd heard of Spirits of Ammonia and thought it indicated a feisty girl.
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Maybe it was "Hermione" and she was just butchering it the way you people do over there with the English language?
 
Penn Jillette famously named his kid Moxie Crimefighter Jillette.

I'm guessing she'll have a much better time with that name, being from a show biz family, than if I were to name my daughter that.
 
joesixpack said:
Maybe it was "Hermione" and she was just butchering it the way you people do over there with the English language?
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That is a possibility that had not occurred to me. Dammit Joe, that was a perfectly good anecdote before you came over all reasonable :D
 
Almo said:
I think it reaches a point where it's ok for the state to step in. It's a tough line to draw, but there is one.
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And no matter where it is drawn, some parent somewhere will think it's funny to cross it.
 
I will confess that my son has an odd name, and I rather regret it. His mother and I came up with a name that used the first three letters of my first name (not Joe, by the way) and the last three letters of her first name. Phonetically they form an not uncommon boy's name, and it differs from the common spelling by only one vowel. So I guess the name's not so odd, just the spelling.

She and I broke up, and now every time I have to correct someone on the spelling I am reminded of someone who I rather dislike.
 
I am continually amazed at how my "freedom needle" is pegged so far away from the typical poster here.

Under what possible bizarre world should the state be allowed to step in and control peoples names? To me the idea is just plain insanity.

Sure idiots can name their kids dumb stuff but the kid can always change their name when they are older. Schoolyard ridicule is quite possible from a bad name but it's also possible for a myriad of other reasons.

Again, just blown away that people think the state should be controlling peoples names. I just don't see any argument whatsoever for this level of state control.
 
aggle-rithm said:
I don't know about naming children, but I think someone from the state should step up and slap someone if they try to change their name to something stupid; like that white supremacist who wanted to change his name to "Hi Hitler".
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Er... its been done....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...on-wont-receive-custody-newborn-son-Hons.html


The Campbells, who have denied they are neo-Nazis, made headlines in January 2009 when a supermarket refused to decorate a birthday cake for their son Adolf Hitler, now five.

Adolf, and siblings JoyceLynn Aryan Nation, four, and three-year-old Honszlynn Hinler Campbell - believed to be a reference to Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler - were also taken into care shortly afterwards and remain in foster care.

Authorities maintained it was done because of violence, not their Nazi-inspired names.
 
kajata said:
Penn Jillette famously named his kid Moxie Crimefighter Jillette.

I'm guessing she'll have a much better time with that name, being from a show biz family, than if I were to name my daughter that.
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Seriously? I realise he's something of a demi-god round here, but that's contemptably egotistical - children are other people, even when they depend on you, and a name should be chosen for them, not for you.

I'm personally baffled that some people decide on a name before the child is born, and most before a name is needed, without waiting to find out who the child is.
 
One problem is that if the state steps in, all the kids will be names "Obama" or "George".
 
NewtonTrino said:
I am continually amazed at how my "freedom needle" is pegged so far away from the typical poster here.

Under what possible bizarre world should the state be allowed to step in and control peoples names? To me the idea is just plain insanity.

Sure idiots can name their kids dumb stuff but the kid can always change their name when they are older. Schoolyard ridicule is quite possible from a bad name but it's also possible for a myriad of other reasons.

Again, just blown away that people think the state should be controlling peoples names. I just don't see any argument whatsoever for this level of state control.
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Because your broad brush allows for absolutely *any* extreme, including names that would guarantee a mass of serious problems for the child long before adulthood.

The question has been asked, by what right do parents get to force another human being to bear the results of saying their name is the 'N' word, 'Kill All Jews', 'Slut', 'Retard', or other things that the autocensor won't allow here?
 
kajata said:
Penn Jillette famously named his kid Moxie Crimefighter Jillette.

I'm guessing she'll have a much better time with that name, being from a show biz family, than if I were to name my daughter that.
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She should get along with Dweezil and Moon Unit Zappa.
 
jiggeryqua said:
Seriously? I realise he's something of a demi-god round here, but that's contemptably egotistical - children are other people, even when they depend on you, and a name should be chosen for them, not for you.

I'm personally baffled that some people decide on a name before the child is born, and most before a name is needed, without waiting to find out who the child is.
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So, what? They don't get a name until they're 18?
 
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