'Lucifer' Is A Banned Baby Name In New Zealand (POLL)

Don't even think about naming your newborn "Lucifer" if you are a parent in New Zealand.

The devilish name has been effectively banned by the New Zealand names registrar after three sets of parents had the name denied, says The West Australian.

The Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages seems to be trying to curb a lifetime of inevitable taunting for the children of parents who wanted to rather than give them names, give them punctuation symbols like:

. (Full Stop), * (Asterisk) and / (presumably "Slash")

In the past two years there have been 102 rejected names, including Baron, Bishop, Duke, General, Judge, Justice, King, Knight and Mr, all deemed too similar to titles. Messiah also got the thumbs down. The number 89, and the letters, C, D, I and T saw the same fate, reports the Herald Sun.

This seems fairly reasonable, but what the registrar's standard is for an acceptable name is quite unclear. In 2008 it approved the names Benson and Hedges for a pair of twin boys, and also allowed parents to bestow the names Violence and Number 16 Bus Shelter to their offspring.

Perhaps, thankfully, New Zealand isn't the only country cracking down on awful baby names.

"In 2007, a judge in the Dominican Republic submitted a proposal to ban names that are either confusing or gave no indication of gender, such as the names Qeurida Pina (Dear Pineapple) and Tonton Ruiz (Dummy Ruiz), both of which appear in the country’s civil registry," reports The Globe and Mail.

The paper also noted that Sweden has a naming law that decides exactly what parents can call their children: Lego, Google, Superman, Metallica, Elvis, and Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 (pronounced Albin) won't cut it in Sweden.

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Comments

[monkeyshine89]

04:28 AM on 08/02/2011

It's just a name, if parents want to name their kids freaky names, then whatever, children get teased for all sorts of arbitrary reasons. People constantly demand less government interaction, yet totally support social control, that makes zero sense. Children get hooked up with crappy names all of the time, the great thing is they can change it when they are 18 (or the legal age of their country). As far as Lucifer, I think of it as this way, to people who are not part of the Abrahamic faiths, it's just a name of some mythological creature, like Zeus or Hades. Yet we aren't those banning that name, are we?

As for parents who had their heart set on Lucifer, don't worry, there is always Lucus or Lucius.

[blueeyesjames]

08:48 PM on 08/01/2011

I actually like the sound of Lucifer though I probably wouldn't ever use it. Can I name a kid Lou Cypher Smith instead though?

[Rev Taper]

01:31 AM on 07/29/2011

Does this mean Mexican immigrants in New Zealand can't name their child "Jesus," or is it clearly religious discrimination?

[Southern Atheist]

02:22 PM on 07/28/2011

Just more Christian's oppressing people again. Why should anyone tell me what to name my child? Talk about a nanny state!

[ICIP40]

03:42 AM on 07/27/2011

I'm suprised it's not a more common name in the US since god is getting kicked out 10 ways to sunday in this country, and lucifer has a booming business going in the US. The American family being destoyed, all things god being taken out of a country, that was founded on and by people searching for freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. Anyway lucifer still must be very pleased with the way many of the 10 commandments are being state dissed starting with thy shall not covert thy neighbors goods, hey you stealing songs I'm talking to you. Thy shall not murder, no we don't have any of that in the cities do we? Honor your mother and father many don't know who their father is, thank you state for replacing the father, lucifer like. These commandments took a long time to check off his list! Thy shall not Lie, or bear false witness against my neighbor, no I never ever see the polititions that we elect lie to us with the promise of stolen goods to us if we elect them. I would rather live my hard and modest life than the lying cheating stealing life that lucifer would like me to live.

[RadioactiveMicrobe]

02:05 AM on 07/29/2011

Uhh..it's just a name. Get over yourself.

[Madim]

09:41 AM on 07/25/2011

Seems like it's a "new" fashion of banning this name, from lack of information. Check this out : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09410b.htm

[erikqj]

11:34 PM on 07/24/2011

Never mind banning the names. These parents are obviously unfit, being willing to submit their children to ridicule (and even anger), just to make themselves seem interesting. A child isn't an accessory, nor a tool for image building, and if you think it is, then you have no business having one. Lock these parents up for psychological child abuse, and get the children adopted to some mentally healthy people.

[RadioactiveMicrobe]

02:06 AM on 07/29/2011

It's just a name. Calm down.

[erikqj]

12:58 PM on 07/30/2011

No, it's not "just a name". It's a highly symbolic name, with some seriously negative connotations. It's a name that you may choose for yourself, as an adult, but it's not a name that should be forced on you by some irresponsible (at a minimum) parents who, for some reason, think it's cool.

[onwisconsin]

09:03 PM on 07/25/2011

SPAM

Flagged.

[Redwood Eagle]

08:45 PM on 07/24/2011

I remember a commune in Santa Cruz CA where they all took "Superman" as their surname. I hired a girl from there named "Rainbow Flower Superman." Yes, that was her legal name.

[mmsuki]

01:37 PM on 07/24/2011

Spam.

[Candide33]

05:24 AM on 07/24/2011

I think they should ban the name Ray in America, everyone I have ever known with that name as first or middle name grew up to be bum.

[YOKEL13]

05:36 PM on 07/24/2011

Raymond Floyd? Ray Charles? Ray Leonard? Martha Raye?

[Candide33]

08:48 PM on 07/24/2011

I don't know them, I said "everyone I have ever known" and I said first or middle name.... Raye is a surname.

[IvyRedhead Hoffart]

12:22 AM on 07/24/2011

While I agree that parents should be able to choose the name of their children, I do believe that sometimes it is necessary for the gov't to step in for the sake of the child in question. As much as I love unusual names, there is a difference between unusual and insane and some people just don't know the difference.

[dragonsrcool]

09:20 PM on 07/23/2011

I know a guy who's last name Is Wood and he named his daughter Morning

[YOKEL13]

05:37 PM on 07/24/2011

Middle name: Glory.

[Titanshanks]

06:01 PM on 07/23/2011

I think it's interesting, but don't pretend it's news. Just from talking to friends I know that similar regulations apply in

Poland, you must use Polish versions/spelling of all names, ie Tom--Tomasz or Mike-->Majk
Russia, names must be approved
Germany, names must be approved
Holland, names must be approved, and deemed unlikely to cause harm

I haven't, actually found another country as lax as the US.

[Candide33]

05:27 AM on 07/24/2011

Maybe that is why we have so many criminals.... Boy named Sue complex LOL!

I had a student named Demon once, seemed to be trying to live up to it.

[Titanshanks]

09:43 AM on 07/24/2011

Yeah, what do you expect when you name your child Rupert Murdoch? Sounds like the bad guy in a Hardy Boys novel.

[YOKEL13]

05:48 PM on 07/24/2011

And then there are the names "Wayne" and "Lee", which seem to be associated with "serial killer syndrome", e. g., John Wayne Gacy, Wayne Williams, Henry Lee Lucas, Robert Lee Yates, et al. Parents should think twice before naming any child "Wayne Lee".

[AWL]

08:00 AM on 07/23/2011

Would Dick Cheney be an acceptable pseudonym for Lucifer?

[ArchbishopBenevolent]

01:37 PM on 07/23/2011

Likewise, Danny Quayle and George Bush instead of Tonton Ruiz.

[southingtonian]

08:29 PM on 07/23/2011

didn't Haiti use that as part of the name of their anti-citizen 'military' troups?