You might think that choosing a baby name comes down to the parents, but it turns out there are some names you cannot give to your baby.
Yep, that’s right, there are actual banned baby names.
It was recently was revealed that a mom who named her newborn son, Citizen discovered that the unusual name could “possibly be illegal.”
And she’s certainly not the only parent falling foul of the baby naming bods that be.
Back in 2017, a couple was banned from naming their newborn son ‘Amber’ by French authorities, while another were banned from naming their baby girl, Liam.
Another couple had to put up a four-year-fight to name their son Yoda from the ‘Star Wars’ film franchise after an objection from the civil registry office and language council.
But where does this ban on certain baby names originate?
In 2011, the Pope declared war on parents naming babies after celebrities, fruit or popular sports cars.
In an address to parents, his holiness implored worshipers to try to “give your children names that are in the Christian calendar”.
His holiness isn’t the only figure of authority to clamp down on monikers that fall into the should-not-be-allowed list.
In fact, various baby names have been banned around the world for reasons of taste, decency or just plain silliness.
Although the United States is pretty lax when it comes to baby-naming regulations, other countries are much stricter.
In places like Italy, France, Malaysia and New Zealand, the government has the right to reject parents’ baby name choices, and in many cases, select more suitable alternatives.
In 2017, German officials intervened when a couple in the city of Kassel submitted paperwork to name their newborn son Lucifer.
The country gives parents the right to choose any baby name, but the government can get involved if the chosen name would endanger the child’s well-being by exposing them to mocking and humiliation or by being offensive.
According to a court spokesperson, the parents changed their minds during a closed-door hearing and instead decided to name their son Lucian.
Other countries have banned the baby name Lucifer.
From 2001 to 2013, six sets of parents in New Zealand asked to name their newborns Lucifer, but all six requests were denied.
Iceland recently refused to add the name to its official register.
In the U.S., a whopping 26 newborn baby boys were named Lucifer in 2018.
No doubt Tom Ellis and the popular Netflix show Lucifer had a lot to do with it.
“Look at what’s #1, LuciFans, lol,” tweeted @lucifansgroup1 in response.
“But it’s such a nice name. People can call them Luci for short,” responded @amandawithanh.
Lucifer season 5 returns to Netflix this spring.
The first eight episodes are expected to be dropped in May.
