A Child's Name... Parent's rights or Courts?

[MA-Caver]

Now I understand that having a different name/spelling of a name can be quaint and cute and all of that. I know of a (beautiful) young black woman named Ta-Tanisha. She says it's on her birth certificate and so there you are.
Brandy, Brandi, Brandee it's still the same name just spelt different right?
According to a NZ judge it's what we gave our children the names that bug him. Read on...

Judge: Girl's name, Talula Does The Hula, won't do

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080724/ap_on_re_au_an/new_zealand_bizarre_namesThu Jul 24, 5:41 AM ET

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A family court judge in New Zealand has had enough with parents giving their children bizarre names here, and did something about it.

Just ask Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii. He had her renamed.
Judge Rob Murfitt made the 9-year-old girl a ward of the court so that her name could be changed, he said in a ruling made public Thursday. The girl was involved in a custody battle, he said.
The new name was not made public to protect the girl's privacy.
"The court is profoundly concerned about the very poor judgment which this child's parents have shown in choosing this name," he wrote. "It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap, unnecessarily."
The girl had been so embarrassed at the name that she had never told her closest friends what it was. She told people to call her "K" instead, the girl's lawyer, Colleen MacLeod, told the court.
In his ruling, Murfitt cited a list of the unfortunate names.
Registration officials blocked some names, including Fish and Chips, Yeah Detroit, Keenan Got Lucy and Sex Fruit, he said. But others were allowed, including Number 16 Bus Shelter "and tragically, Violence," he said.

I'll admit that last list of names is above and WAY beyond a normal name. They're not even cultural like a Hawaiian native friend of mine who gave his daughter a cultural name with something like 26 letters in it but they pick another easier name to give her to spell and use in day to day life.

Question here is; does the courts have the right to determine someone's chosen name given by their parents is inappropriate? I mean traditionally parents are reserved the right to assign names to their children. If I (ever ) have children I'll probably be inclined to give them a traditional name rather some variation of it or some off the wall one like say umm... Cave Puppy or Mud Squiggler or something like that. But one fellow I know his name is legally Cave Rat via his American Indian heritage though his "other name" is Van Cain. Both are unusual in-of-by-itself.

Again it's the parents being irresponsible with their children I think in these cases. Having fun or being different is one thing giving a name is serious business. It's an honorable thing, a badge of honor that a child carries with them throughout the rest of their life and takes it to the grave. How'd you like it if your tombstone read : "Here lies Beer Truck Johnson" just because you were born in one while being rushed to the hospital?

And it wouldn't matter if you were a boy or a girl??

Ok seriously though... does the courts have the right to force changes (even if necessary ones... and in a lot of these cases they'd be pretty necessary)?

 

[stickarts]

I think the parent should have the rights on names unless is could be clearly shown that a name was given to ridicule the child or there was a serious breach of trust in some way in what name was chosen.

 

[arnisador]

Naming a child Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii is abusive. I say the judge was right in this case. If she's named in honor of her great garndmother Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii the Elder, I'll reconsider.

 

[terryl965]

Parent have the rights and the courts had the right to help this little girl, those types of parents are wracked jobs and should be dealt with.

 

[Sukerkin]

Aye, I'm in accord with the gentlemen above. A name is an important thing - in some shades of manner it defines who or what we are. It certainly has a role in how others perceive us.

For example, as best as we can tell, unmangling the various roots of the words, one reading of my name means "The Red-Bearded Courageous Warrior from the Vale". Not a bad name; or at least it's one I'm happy with. Other translations are similar but that one I like the best (given that I used to be possessed of a deeply red beard at one time ).

Being happy with your name is very important for a persons emotional well-being and parents should have a care not to be capricious when sticking a label on their new 'toy'.

 

[Andrew Green]

The girl had been so embarrassed at the name that she had never told her closest friends what it was.

Child's rights trump parents rights in this sort of thing IMO.

If the child had wanted to keep it, and the parents wanted to keep it, and the judge had changed it I might be convinced the judge was wrong, but a name like that is abusive, maybe not physically, but psychologically.

Some of those others should probably get changed too, by court order. Can you imagine being in school and on the first day of classes the teacher calls out your name, "Sex Fruit". That's it right there, go flush your own head in the toilet and lock yourself in the locker, its going to happen anyways, might as well just do it.

 

[stone_dragone]

True story...My Great-grandfather wanted a boy VERY much, so much, in fact, that when my Grandmother was born, he and all of his friends called her Jim.

To her credit, she delivered several healthy children, drank heavily, smoked her own rolled cigarettes while packing her pipe and chewing on some mail-pouch type chewing tobacco.

Honestly, I may have the # of greats incorrect and I can't remember her real name, but I know her in tale as Grandma Jim.

I guess "Damnit It's A Girl What The Hell Am I Going To Do Now Steele" just wouldn't fit on the birth certificate.

I agree that naming a child is a serious activity that should never be taken lightly by parents and the child's future interests should trump the parents "rights."

Not to delve too deeply into the ethnic side of things, but a few years ago Bill Cosby spoke on this type of thing...i.e. carefully choosing a child's name and paying more attention to their potential future than just what the parents want to name them.

 

[Live True]

When I worked in daycare and in the state departement of social services, I ran across several names that were quite stunning. Some were obviously names of cars and some were names of body parts (female genitalia). Some were "clever" plays on a persons first and last names.

We all know that children can be cruel when it comes to names and teasing. Names are the very first impression that we give to anyone, and I don't think parents should use them as an excuse to be clever and witty without giving due consideration to the effect it can have on the child. Anything else is simply cruel and selfish. Unfortunately, not everyone gives deep consideration to the long term effects.

That said, if it was a family name, then the child should have been raised with the whole history of her name so she had some weapon against the teasing that would come....so she'd have pride in her name. I have in-laws that have the traditional family names (all boys) of Marion and Malfourd, but they have more "normal" nicknames and knew the family history and tradition attached.

In this case noted from the article, it doesn't sound like the situation was due to family pride/tradition/etc. I don't have all the facts, but the girl's clear embarassment implies that this was a whim more than a honorific.

As my husband and I considered names, we even went so far as to look at the intials and make sure we weren't creating an opportunity to make our child's life difficult.

So, I think the child and parents have the first right, but the parents must uphold a certain responsibility and rationality. If that last is not there and the child is miserable, then I would expect the parents to act...if they don't, then I think the courts have a right to intervene for the right of the child....in this very...specific...situation.

 

[Kacey]

As a teacher, I see kids with unusual names - especially as I teach in a school with a high ELL (English Language Learner) population. Those don't bother me. Neither do the made-up names, or combinations of first and last names that may be...well... unfortunate; I may never forget Philip Morris, nor Jhonny Walker (and yes, his parents spelled it "Jhonny"). What does bother me is the names that make the child stand out in ways that are uncomfortable. For example, there was a girl at my school whose parents named her "Extassy"; that's a hard name to carry in 6th grade. In hopes of finding something more appropriate, the 6th grade teacher asked her her middle name... it turned out to be "Unique". By 8th grade, she was asking (occasionally begging) people to call her Stacy, and swearing she was going to have it legally changed.

Celebrities feed into this as well - could you imagine being Cher and Sonny Bono's daughter, and growing up to find out what your name (Chastity) really means? Or what about Apple, daughter of Gwyneth Paltrow? Or Moon Unit and Dweezil Zappa? Or some of the other truly odd names celebrities give their kids (here and here).

In the case of such names, then yes, I think the court has the right to overrule the parents for the well-being of the children.

 

[Big Don]

Duplicate
Duplicate

 

[Big Don]

I know a guy named Dung. He is Vietnamese and in Vietnamese it is pronounced "Yung". I asked and his parents had been here 15 years and were fluent in English when they named him. I tried to be an adult, though, and not give him too much crap about it.
Our boss, however, called him "Poop".

People, when naming their kids should consider whether the kid is going to be ridiculed for the stupid name. I keep seeing the scene from Robin Hood Men in Tights, the Sheriff and the Witch are discussing her name:
Sheriff: Latrine, what kind of name is that
Witch: Oh we changed it
Sheriff: (Perplexed) You changed your name TO Latrine
Witch: Oh, yeah, it used to be feces(Not the word used)house.

 

[Shuto]

"Strange" names are nothing new. I heard somebody in India (IIRC) named their kid Skylab when the space platform plummeted to earth. How about Zappa's child named Moon Unit?

The courts have no business here IMO.

 

[tshadowchaser]

I believe that parents have the right o name their child. I also think many parents need a good kick in the rear for some of the names I have heard.
I can understand where a court might change the name of a child to protect the child from humiliation or with a social disability and handicap, unnecessarily.
Is it right for a court to arbitrarily change the name, not in my view, but I can understand the thinking behind such an action. Where as I can not grasp the thinking of some of the names people give their children.

 

[Grenadier]

The parents should, by all means, have the first right to name their children. However, parents shouldn't be cruel in that regards, naming their kids something completely wacky. Kids can be quite cruel to each other, and the last thing I think we want, is for these kids to grow up harboring a deep-seated, seething rage.

If the child wants an oddball name, wait until the child turns 18, and then let him make the decision for himself.

 

[jkembry]

After giving this some thought for a day or so...and not having kids (so there's not a lot of experience here)...I believe the parents should have the right to name there kids what they like (within reason). Those that don't have the foresight, or care, to name their children something that is not going to be ridiculed in the future probably shouldn't be having kids. And we have enough idiots out there wanting to make a statement about society one way or another...they don't need to be making those statements via their kids names.

In this case...I think the court is right.

 

[Andrew Green]

Should we blame the internet? It is our job to blame something isn't it?

And looking up this thread I see a whole bunch of names that no sane parent would give a kid :lol:

 

[FearlessFreep]

And looking up this thread I see a whole bunch of names that no sane parent would give a kid :lol:

What??? You don't think my parents, Mr and Mrs Freep, would really name their first son "Fearless"???

 

[Big Don]

What??? You don't think my parents, Mr and Mrs Freep, would really name their first son "Fearless"???

He said "no sane parent"...

 

[MA-Caver]

What??? You don't think my parents, Mr and Mrs Freep, would really name their first son "Fearless"???

:xtrmshock You mean they didn't??

 

[Phoenix44]

This is true:

A mother brought in her new baby to be my patient. I picked up the chart, and noticed the baby's first name was "Yd".

I said to the mother, "How do you pronounce it? Yid? Eed?"

She said, "No, it's pronounced "Y.D."

I said, "What an interesting name. How did you come to name him that?"

She said, "That's his father's name."


Some parents should just be incarcerated.