French couple forbidden from naming their child Nutella

I bet you skip triple dare and go right for the throat.

Maybe weā€™re missing something of the story. It could b their last name is Spread, and they wanted to name her Hazel Nut.

3 Likes

I donā€™t really get this new trend to give children names that no one else has; itā€™s been a huge thing here in Finland. Naming your kid with made-up words like ā€œMeamollaā€ or ā€œNuukoliverā€, or actual words that mean things like raspberry (Vadelma), story (Tarina) or dust/grit (Puru), just so your child can be so unique that no one shares their name, seems just idiotic to me. And if you just plan to give the child a nickname so you donā€™t have to use thir real name all the time, well, then whatā€™s the point in the first place?

At the same time, Iā€™m all for ā€œweirdā€ names, but only if they sound cool. I donā€™t know if thatā€™s any better. My name is sort of unique and I like it, but I wouldnā€™t want a name only because itā€™s unique.

Then there are the people who have fairly normal names and then suddenly their name is exceptional. Like, imagine being named Harry Potter before the books were written, and then suddenly everybody knows your name and makes the same jokes about you being a wizard or something.

1 Like

They are setting them up to be easily doxedā€¦

2 Likes

Iā€™m sure they can be, in the U.S

Iā€™ve often wondered how Bristol, Track, Trig, Willow and Piper feel about the names their parents saddled them with.

2 Likes

I have often wondered what is up with modern American conservatives and their apparent tendency to give their sons caveman names.

1 Like

My older sister and brother Skippy and Hasbro made fun of me for naming our cat Bulma.

From wikiā€¦

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.

I donā€™t really see a problem, imagine some fool calling his or her child ā€œAnusā€ or ā€œsamsungā€ ā€¦ thin end of the wedge people! Thin edge of the wedge!!!

1 Like

To my surprise, it seems that most countries have laws which outline choices of names for children. Usually based upon whether or not they are culturally appropriate, or potentially embarrassing.

The US has some of the most relaxed naming laws. So far as I know, it needs to be written in Roman/English letters, and not be chosen to defraud anybody. Other than that, most anything goes. They might make exceptions if parents choose something completely crude, but they rarely interfere.

My opinion on naming children, in a word: Maple.

3 Likes

I first read that as Bulimia.

Urp! :slight_smile:

2 Likes

This happened in France where corporations have yet to be declared ā€œpeopleā€. That said, the French governmentā€™s intervention in what is or isnā€™t acceptable for a first name seems to betray the concept of free speech that has come into the spotlight after the Hebdo attack. I wonder if itā€™s a throwback to Franceā€™s Catholic past when a baby had to be named after a saint.

On rare occasions, they might interfere for religious reasons.
Judge: ā€˜Messiahā€™ is not an acceptable baby name.

That was newsworthy, but rubbish. A judge making a judgement out of his own openly ecclesiastical bias would not stand up if challenged. They had already named the kid prior to this. Not only that, but the judge was wrong on his professed religious basis - since Messiah is a Jewish title, and Jews generally donā€™t regard Jesus as having been the Messiah, and that the title existed in their language and culture from long before Jesus came around.

My suspicion is that the couple didnā€™t know any better and acquiesced.

When my husband and I started trying to get pregnant a few years back I started writing writing a book to get all the names I loved but probably shouldnā€™t name a child out of my system. The name I use here is one of them. I think itā€™s worked because we have less than two and half months to go and have chosen a name that has a lot of history but is also wonderfully unisex. And I have a complete book as well as parts of many more (yeah, it took that long to get pregnant). All win/win in my mind.

1 Like

Obligatory: 7

Willow isnā€™t TOO bad (though it sounds more like something Iā€™d name a cat, not that Iā€™d ever have a cat), Bristol, well sheā€™s kinda grown into it, considering sheā€™s not exactly un-endowed, as I recall (the Brits will know what I mean but, for the uninitiated, Bristol cities = titties, itā€™s considered rather ā€˜Carry Onā€™ these days though).

No, what Iā€™ve never understood about America is the fashion for giving girls male names (Cameron, Sean, Reece). Stingā€™s two daughters are Elliot and Michael (although Michaelā€™s first name is Brigitte, for the obvious - probably - reason that her mother was a tad Bardot-obsessed).

I hate my name, I canā€™t identify with it, but I canā€™t change it because what would I change it toā€¦?! Every name marks you out as being either male or female.

My best friendā€™s grandpa used to always call me Mabelā€¦ One of those things that amused him, but he never explained. (probably where I picked up the habit)
Probably much more likely to find Maples now than Mabels.

2 Likes

Cary is a girls name ā€” I heard throughout grade school. :wink:

1 Like