What’s In a Name?

Growing up in a small town in Canada during the 80s/90s, names were pretty generic. I went to school with a plethora of Sarahs, Andrews, Ashleys and Matthews. I didn’t really give a lot of thought to names, aside from cursing my parents for saddling me with such a unique one (I’ve since gotten over this, I like my name!). Leaving home to travel, I was introduced to a whole new world of names; not just names from different languages and cultures, but different names even in other English speaking countries. Kieran? Sian? Gemma? Lachlan? Rhys? All totally new to me. Maybe these were more mainstream in the rest of Canada, but in my small town they were nowhere to be seen.

After the initial shock wore off (a very short period; I wasn’t quite as in awe as it may seem), I quickly got used to seeing new names of all shapes and sizes and stopped paying attention.

But with the recent trend of choosing baby names that are… unique.. to say the least (looking at you, Kim and Kanye), I’ve once again taken an interest. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at fun name facts from around the world!

1. • We’re pretty lax here in North America, with rules varying by state/province, but mostly consisting of: no numbers, no symbols, limited number of characters (for form-filling-out purposes)
     • Obscene/offensive words are not allowed, and in some areas names are rejected if they are found likely to cause ’embarrassment’ to the child in the future
     • This has, unfortunately (or fortunately, I suppose, depending on your perspective) resulted in such delightful names as: Bliss, Journee, Puma, Rainbow and Zolten
   • In Iceland, surnames depend on gender and the father’s name
     • The surname will begin with the father’s name, followed by ‘son’ or ‘dottir’
     • So if dad is named Oskar, baby boy Aron will become Aron Oskarson, and baby girl Katrin will become Katrin Oskarsdottir
     • Kind of reminds me of The Handmaids Tale, but way, way less creepy

• Names must be easily recognized as gender specific in some countries, including:
  • Denmark
  • Germany
  • Portugal
  • Iceland
• In Japan and China, names must contain only characters that are machine readable
  • Meaning that despite there being over 70,000 Chinese characters, only a very small fraction can be used when choosing a name
• Rather than banning certain names, some countries go with an approved name list:
  • Denmark
  • Tajikistan* (haven’t been able to confirm this one 100%, but it appears to be the case, and is nice to include something different on the list!)
  • Hungary
  • Portugal
  • Iceland
• Interestingly enough, naming laws generally don’t apply to people of different nationalities living in the country. So an American living in Denmark could potentially still name their child Zolten. Lucky kid.

A random list of names that have been banned around the world (there are so many I’d love to include, but I’ve tried to limit myself!):

• Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 (Albin, apparently)
• Superman
• Akuma (aka devil)
• Monkey
• Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii (initially approved, but contested 9 years later and eventually changed, after the girl was put into court guardianship)
• Facebook
• Nutella
• Cirumcision

And finally, a fun list of celebrity baby names so you can smile and/or shake your head:

• North West
• Heiress Harris
• Apple Martin
• Fifi Trixibelle Geldof
• Satchel Lee
• Diva Muffin Zappa
• Zuma Nesta Rock
• Seargeoh Stallone
• Lazer Lee Louis Pentz
• Maple Bateman
• Tu Morrow
• Jermajesty Jackson

You’re welcome.