Should You Trademark Your Baby's Name?

Beyonce and Jay-Z took unique celebrity baby naming one step further last week when they moved to trademark infant daughter Blue Ivy Carter's name. Parents have a right to trademark their minor children's names, according to U.S. law, but the name has to be both distinctive and connected to some expectation of commercial enterprise.

If Beyonce and Jay-Z had named their daughter Jennifer, say, she'd be one of nearly 2000 Jennifer Carters in the U.S. and it would be difficult to prove that someone selling Jennifer Carter crib bumpers was trying to trade on the name of their little Jennifer Carter. But when other entrepreneurs rushed to trademark the name Blue Ivy, Beyonce and Jay-Z made a preemptive move to protect their daughter's unusual moniker from outside exploitation.

We can only guess that trademarking the name Blue Ivy will have repercussions among other celebrity parents. We foresee more celebrities choosing ever more distinctive names for their children, to strengthen their case for trademark protection. And we predict that they will then claim exclusive legal rights to those baby names.

Does the trademark mean that you can't name your child Blue Ivy? No, but if Blue Ivy Messerschmidt grows up and wants to open a Blue Ivy Restaurant or design a line of Blue Ivy clothing, she might find herself facing a lawsuit.

A search through the trademark office's records shows that other celebrities have claimed trademark rights to their distinctive names. Dweezil Zappa, for one, along with his sister Moon Unit. Elvis Presley, and Beyonce herself.

But there's no record of other famously unique celebrity baby names gaining trademark status. Some prime young candidates for name trademark protection:

 

 

 

Follow Pamela Redmond Satran on Twitter: www.twitter.com/nameberry

Comments

[youngliterati]

02:09 AM on 03/21/2012

I thought it was ridiculous at first, but it makes a little sense in the end. As the article pointed out, it's likely that people would try to profit off of name recognition. They're being protective. They don't want people selling Blue Ivy Carter onesies, based on the fact that people assume Beyonce and Jay Z are connected to it. I don't know if it cost anything for them to trademark it, but, hell, it's their money.

[freaktown]

01:32 AM on 02/24/2012

how can you trademark a name? my dog's name is blue, does that mean they can sue me now?

[Carrie White Hairdresser]

07:37 PM on 02/22/2012

so silly. Be free like JESUS...and ELVIS.

[Dave Buster]

04:31 AM on 02/22/2012

How about celebrities get to copyright their kids names but the pay normal people to raise the kids?

[dbrett480]

01:13 PM on 02/17/2012

How about celebrities have to forfeit rights to naming their children?

[Miroslava Sotakova]

06:01 PM on 02/16/2012

This one nailed it: http://xkcd.com/1011/

[The Best Opinion]

02:41 PM on 02/16/2012

How about the name "Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop"?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/06/beezow-doo-doo-zopittybop_n_1190410.html

[Kim Gougar McGann]

11:57 AM on 02/16/2012

From what i read, there is already a Blue Ivy Boutique or store somewhere. so how can they trademark a name that is not theirs originally.

[jxpalmer]

02:02 PM on 02/16/2012

yeah i think its a catering co. or bakery maybe, i saw that when the baby was 1st born

[Snow Horton]

11:24 AM on 02/16/2012

But why should their kid get all of the free luck with a trademarked name? How about parents let their children grow up and create their own successes instead of handing life to them. You would think black people would get this idea. Usually its annoying white parents who are too stupid to let their kids work for anything in life.

[takethetime]

10:28 AM on 02/16/2012

If the name was something off the wall .....like say Blue Ivy and I wanted to make sure only I could make money off it and kind of be One of a Kind...then yes I probably would

[lken06880]

01:53 PM on 02/16/2012

who cares

[shlack123]

09:52 AM on 02/16/2012

Really? Oy...

[LivelyLexie]

09:34 AM on 02/16/2012

Way to make yourselves look MORE arrogant, Beyonce and Jay-Z. Ridiculous.

[Kathie Ann]

08:45 AM on 02/16/2012

My husband and I adopted a beautiful little six year old in 2006. She came to us with a very unusual name. Since she was already six years old, we decided that changing her first name as well as her last name would be too much for her to handle. When she was ten, she asked if she could have a more ordinary name. Kids at school were teasing her and even adults made unkind remarks about her name. Strangers couldn't pronounce it and kids enjoyed rhyming with it. We had thought we'd let her change her name at eighteen, but in thinking about it we decided not to make her wait. We allowed her to choose her own name, after allowing her to try out names at home for a little while to make sure she'd be happy with her new one. She chose a name we all like very much and we had it made legal last year. It took very little time for her friends, family, and classmates to get used to her new name and she continues to love it. Kids don't want really odd names. IMHO, If you really have to do it, give them an unusual nickname instead of one they have to use legally.

[Ossit]

11:12 AM on 02/16/2012

You should've taught her to be proud of her name instead of allowing her to give in to cruel kids and adults who had a problem with her name. Her name wasn't the problem, other people are, Kathie Ann. Of course she loves her new name, you never made her feel so proud of her own name that no one could diminish it.

[rlpl02]

09:48 AM on 02/25/2012

Yeah, all those poor kids named Moonbeam, Sundance, Butterfly, Daydream, Doobie, Judas, Lucifer, or even the Moxie Crimefighter are names kids should be proud to have and ignore the snickers especially when filling out job applications for corporate jobs or Federal jobs. "This is agent Moonbeam, she'll be assisting you in finding your abducted child." I'm not feeling the security and strength in that. People need to be sober when picking out names for their kids. There's nothing wrong with having a different or unusual name but some should trigger red flags to have the parents drug tested when they pick names. And to say the kid should go through their childhood having to be stronger and ignore others... that is more cruel than giving the kid a decent name. No child should have to give up their childhood because they're constantly being picked on about their name. And giving up their childhood is exactly what would happen because that child would avoid being in social situations where he or she would be introduced hence leading to more snickers and jeers. You just make a neurotic out of them.

[askskia]

11:15 AM on 02/16/2012

I gave my daughter what I thought was a unique name all her own and two things happened. Either people loved it and used it...or people kept saying it wrong! Today my kid uses her middle name or a nick-name! So much for me being clever!

[ALTONFLASH]

08:45 AM on 02/16/2012

This is all so stupid...............

[no more messages]

08:35 AM on 02/16/2012

you know what gets me? that these celebrities name their children off kilter names. it is very well accepted by the sociological community that children that have seemingly odd names have trouble with occupations and relationships. Being a famous person's child can not make that much easier.

However, if you think about long enough you would come to realize that even your name sounds weird. I have a more formal European/American-Christian name "Christopher." There are a lot of people that have this name so I guess that makes it more normal.

Do this exercise: repeat your first or middle name over and over until you get tongue-tied. Then, think about the way your name sounds to you after hearing your voice

[rlpl02]

09:51 AM on 02/25/2012

Parents should also not try to be so clever with spellig names differently. My parents spell mine differently and I'm constantly having to correct it on forms when people think I obviously don't know how to spell my own name and correct it for me.