And the worst bad child's name is ... (+video)

Do not even think of calling your kids The Right Honourable, Adolf Hitler, Satan or 4real - but there are plenty of other names you can embarrass them with.
View video: Judge rules odd name too cruel

Spiral Cicada, Kaos and Cinderella Beauty Blossom are among the bizarre names that have been legally registered in New Zealand, according to the Internal Affairs Department.

The registrar of births has rules but offers no protection from some parents who want to lumber their children with names likely to make their lives a misery.

Outlandish names and the embarrassment they can cause have been highlighted in a ruling in New Plymouth by Family Court Judge Rob Murfitt, who ordered that a girl be put into court guardianship so her name - Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii - can be changed.

Talula's lawyer said the nine-year-old was so embarrassed by her name that she had not revealed it to her friends. Her parents appeared to have given no thought to the implications of giving their child such a name.

And it seems they are not alone. Judge Murfitt said others had given their children names such as Number 16 Bus Shelter, Violence and, for twins, Benson and Hedges.

The judgement prompted Registrar-General of Births Brian Clarke, to reject reports that other names on the register include Fish and Chips, Masport, Yeah Detroit, Stallion, Twisty Poi, Keenan Got Lucy and Sex Fruit.

Mr Clarke said the law allowed him to decline names if they caused offence to a reasonable person, if they were unreasonably long (generally more than 100 characters) or if they resembled an official rank or title. Names using numerals are also out. But this leaves plenty of scope for all sorts of other excruciating names.

Internal Affairs spokesman Tony Wallace said the fact that a name might be embarrassing was not a reason to rule it out.

"It's got to be offensive to a reasonable person. It's not the fact it's never been heard of ... or odd or silly to somebody else."

Auckland child psychologist Glen Stenhouse said strange names revealed a lot more about parents than they realised, and in the worst cases could amount to abuse.

"Choosing a mildly strange name really says more about the parent than the child. It's a form of attention-seeking. You have to wonder about their ability to be a competent parent if they start their child's lives with a name that is going to bring them ridicule."

- © Fairfax NZ News

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rebecca candish   #3   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

I feel that giving your child an unusual name to the extremes of the ones in the artical is definitely child abuse. Only just finishing school a few years ago, I can still remember the way kids with silly sounding names were abused by other child (who din't know any better!). I have just had a child myself and I could have given her an unusual name, but for her sake I gave her one she can actually learn to spell and write when she's 5 not 15!

Anna   #2   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

I agree with you but some of these names are totally over the top and the poor children will hold these names forever and WILL be effected by iy

Jeanette   #1   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

I know of some people that have gone for "unusual" names because they have a common surname, like Smith. So, to differentiate the child from the million other Smiths, they choose something a little more adventurous than John or Jane. It's their prerogative. Just because I don't like a name doesn't mean it's abuse, nor does it mean the parents are incompetent. Every child gets ridiculed about their name! Talula could have told her friends her name was "Tee Dee" (her first two initials.) I have an unusual surname, so I knew it wouldn't matter what I called my daughter, she will get hassled about her surname!

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