When I hear some of the names celebrities give their children it makes me smile. It’s a snarky smile, but nonetheless still a smile. It also causes me to question their judgement at times. You named your child what? Apple, as in the fruit. I realize sometimes a name comes from your family heritage. My grandmother wanted my mother to name me Hortensia after her cousin or Aunt, I can’t remember which one it was. Thank God my parents didn’t given in. As crazy as some names are I’m thankful that we have the freedom in the United States to name our children what we want without government approval. I didn’t realize this isn’t the case in all countries until I saw the following headline on MSN.COM. “Teen legally known only as Girl battles to use her own name.” The article by Anna Andersen of the Associated Press states there are several countries that have official rules about what a baby can be named. Iceland has a Personal Names Register that lists 1,712 male and 1,853 female names. Most people don’t question this list and parents can apply to a special committee to have a name approved if it’s not on the list. The list of names is meant to protect children from embarrassment and fit Icelandic grammar and pronunciation rules. In this particular case the name in question is Blaer which means “light breeze” and isn’t on the approved list. Her mother had no idea it wasn’t approved and found out from the priest who baptized her daughter that he’d made a mistake. Fifteen year old Blaer is identified as Stulka which means girl on all of her official documents. It seems to me being known as “girl” would be more damaging to one’s psyche than Blaer. Blaer (Stulka) is now suing the state of Iceland to use her given name by her mother. You can read more about the story at NBC News.
While I do feel sorry for those children who grow up teased because of their name at least we have a right to change them as adults. However, it’s not always for the better . The musician Prince comes to mind. The last I heard his name is now a symbol.
