1.The New Zealand government prohibits the use of titles like Prince, Princess, King, Major, Sargent or Knight as names for children. According to officials, "This could cause offense to a reasonable person."

2.List of names banned in Sweden include Metallica, Ikea and Q.

3.In Morocco, you can’t spell your baby girl’s name as 'Sarah' because of its Hebrew origin. You’ll have to use its Arabic version — Sara. In addition, a fee has to be paid if a couple wants to choose an off-list name for their child, for example, Adam.

4.Names starting with the letter ‘C’ are outlawed in Iceland because the letter does not exist in Icelandic alphabets. As of 1991, the Icelandic Naming Committee decides whether a child’s name is acceptable or not. So forget names like Carolina, Cara, Catherine or Connor.

5.A judge in the United States in 2013 banned the name ‘Messiah’ to be used as a child’s name. According to the judge, the word Messiah was a title earned only by one person, Jesus Christ. The decision was later overturned.

6.The name Hitler is also banned in Germany.

7.Shortly after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the officials in Cologne, Germany denied a Turkish couple the right to name their child Osama Bin Laden. The naming guidelines from German officials suggest that a child’s name should not be likely to lead to humiliation.

8.Germany does not allow surnames or names of objects to be used as proper nouns. Also the names should be gender specific and not unisex in nature. So forget names like Anderson, Taylor, Toby, Quinn, Matti and the like.

9.One couple in China tried to stretch their imagination and use the symbol '@' (at) as the name of their child. Chinese officials rejected their decision, because under Chinese naming regulations, characters that cannot be represented on the computer are banned.

10.Mona Lisa is also one of the names featured on the 41-page document of outlawed names in Portugal.

11.In Portugal, nicknames like Tom, Rob or Sammy are not allowed on birth certificates. It is OK to call someone Tomás, but not Tom.

12.Although common names in the west, Maya, Linda and Laureen are some names that are banned in Saudi Arabia.

13.Recently, Saudi Arabia’s interior ministry came out with a list of about 50 banned names it considered foreign or contradictory to their religion. It included names like Malak (Angel), Nabi (Prophet) or Jibreel (Gabriel) among others.

14.Naming children after the names of animals, fruits or vegetables is banned in Malaysia. So rethink if you want your daughter to be called Apple or Coco or Bear.

15.If you are a fan of a popular film franchise and want your baby's name inspired by a superhero or action star, you are in for disappointment. Names like Batman, Terminator, Robocop, Rocky and the like are also illegal in Mexico.

16.Naming your kid after literary characters like Harry Potter, Hermione, James Bond, Rambo, Pocahontas or the like is not allowed in Mexico

17.The Mexican state of Sonora bans names like Lady Di, Virgin, Circumcision, Cesarean, Facebook, Yahoo, Private or Rolling Stone, labeling these names as pejorative, discriminatory or lacking in meaning. "The objective is to protect children from being bullied because of their name," said Cristina Ramirez, the director of Sonora's Civil Registry.

18.Be wary of naming your child Sarah when in Morocco, and Harry Potter or Batman or Terminator when in Mexico. Yes, many countries of the world have a list of names that are outlawed in their territory. Click forward to learn some of the banned baby names across the world.

Do we have any names that are banned in Nigeria?

we are working on banning the use of the name GEJ on any other person, you know why

esupofo should be banned in nigeria too

May be the new national assembly go make such law, but for now any name na name for naija

Fabdedon:
have they heard of this igbo name
AfamefuleNgbeEgoJiriWeaKorumNaAka

Is that your name?

oya translate osiso

Fabdedon:
have they heard of this igbo name
AfamefuleNgbeEgoJiriWeaKorumNaAka

debbie:
oya translate osiso

lol my name would go bad when money goes dry in my hand.. Lol funny right

Funny names everywhere. If you work with a logistic company or at the airport, you will definitely come across some of these banned names.

:oDon't tell me these are real names

oginga:
Funny names everywhere. If you work with a logistic company or at the airport, you will definitely come across some of these banned names.

Fabdedon:
have they heard of this igbo name
AfamefuleNgbeEgoJiriWeaKorumNaAka

Orubebe

Do we have any names that are banned in Nigeria?

I'm not aware of any.

Plenty Names are Ban in nigeria;
* Judas
* jabez
* jezebel
Will gv d rest on FP

Names such as Orubebe, Baba Fryo, Majek Fashek, Alamesia, Asari Dokubo, Tafa Balogun, Alison Madukwe,...should be made compulsory in every household in Nigeria.

In Nigeria, no name is banned.. anything is obtainable. .

It was in benue state i saw names like lizard head, c0ck feather, stone, etc (English translation)

Are you sure.

the name 'sexkillz' should be banned in nairaland

Because we don't know if we should call the mother Iya Esu or Iya Pofo

lonngmann:
esupofo should be banned in nigeria too

oginga:
Funny names everywhere. If you work with a logistic company or at the airport, you will definitely come across some of these banned names.

The Singaporean: Batman son of Superman Ah, that's epic!

I have an Indian friend I grew up with who's first name is spelled Shithead. It's a Hindu name pronounced Shi-thead, but you can imagine the typical American perception/response. There's always that awkward pause: "Sh-*sudden silence followed by confusion and/or amusement*. When he was born, the hospital officials had actually tried to suggest his folks pick a different Hindu name with an explanation as to why, but it turned out they were pretty set on Shithead.

The hands down weirdest [full] name I've come across has to be Heavenly Blue Moonlight. Now, I'm down with the treehuggers and whatnot - heck I'm something of a treehugger myself - but these freakin' hippies, man.

I've also come across a male Polynesian name that began with the word "P.enis-". Don't ask me how it ended. I haven't the slightest recollection.

When I was in grade school, there was this absolutely stunning half White and half Indian (casino not convenient store) guy that I totally and endlessly crushed on, lol. His name was Blue-eyes.

I've met a Pizza, a Forrest, a Star, a Princess, a Queen, etc. Yh, I don't think we have any naming laws here.

Fabdedon:
lol Nada
Thats not my name but i just like igbo names very funny...like
ChinecheremObaziIruNamNecherumowem .

Chai people sabi liar oh,this is a typical example of an undiluted liar

EnlightenedSoul:


The Singaporean: Batman son of Superman Ah, that's epic!

I have an Indian friend I grew up with who's first name is spelled Shithead. It's a Hindu name pronounced Shi-thead, but you can imagine the typical American perception/response. There's always that awkward pause: "Sh-*sudden silence followed by confusion and/or amusement*. When he was born, the hospital officials had actually tried to suggest his folks pick a different Hindu name with an explanation as to why, but it turned out they were pretty set on Shithead.

The hands down weirdest [full] name I've come across has to be Heavenly Blue Moonlight. Now, I'm down with the treehuggers and whatnot - heck I'm something of a treehugger myself - but these freakin' hippies, man.

I've also come across a male Polynesian name that began with the word "P.enis-". Don't ask me how it ended. I haven't the slightest recollection.

When I was in grade school, there was this absolutely stunning half White and half Indian (casino not convenient store) guy that I totally and endlessly crushed on, lol. His name was Blue-eyes.

I've met a Pizza, a Forrest, a Star, a Princess, a Queen, etc. Yh, I don't think we have any naming laws here.

Nigerians have their fair share of outrightly ridiculous names , most are from the south-south ( a geopolitical zone in Nigeria ) and bear names such as Government , Boyloaf and even Miss. I totally understand the Hindu name sounding like shithead but not actually spelt as thus or even meaning it , Nigerians , and I presume other countries would have names in native dialects sounding ridiculous using English pronunciation. My gripe is with people giving ridiculous English words as names

There are some names people bear in a state in the south-south which irks me. Names like ANSWER, SAVIOUR, GREEN, WHATMAN, PROPHET(, ABILITY, IMPORTANT.


And if u ask what's the meaning, they be like "Ser/maram, I don't know"

This is by far the most hilarious and enlightened article The Economist has posted in a while.
Other banned names in New Zealand include Lucifer, Anal, V8, Christ, 89, * (some parents actually attempted this? Stu.pid people!)

In mexico and Brazil some people answer jesus! i wonder why they cant ban the name there.

Meanwhile over here in Nigeria,there is no law restricting anyone from bearing any name.....that has made us to answer the unanswerable

Naija own nko? If u like, name ur pikin waterbottle na ur cup of tea

neoapocalypse:


Nigerians have their fair share of outrightly ridiculous names , most are from the south-south ( a geopolitical zone in Nigeria ) and bear names such as Government , Boyloaf and even Miss. I totally understand the Hindu name sounding like shithead but not actually spelt as thus or even meaning it , Nigerians , and I presume other countries would have names in native dialects sounding ridiculous using English pronunciation. My gripe is with people giving ridiculous English words as names

It's simply spelled Shithead in this case (with a different [proper] pronunciation/meaning). He generally goes by a nickname, but it follows him everywhere. I believe he'll be changing it.

A friend of mine does social work, and she told me about a family she was helping with forms, etc. They filled out all the paperwork only to have it promptly returned by the secretary on the basis that they required a legal first name in the proper space (and not the sex of child, which is what they assumed they were being provided with). The family had to drive home the fact that their toddler's name was indeed Baby Girl.