If you have recently become parents (Congratulations!), you have already probably spent weeks pondering on what to call your child. However, those long sessions of brainstorming might go down the drain if you don’t take into account a new variable: state governments might allow fro some creativity, but they sure don’t let it run rampant. If you had decided to go the Elon Musk routine and call your first-born child something that cannot be pronounced without consulting a linguistic encyclopedia, we have bad news for you.
The state of Alabama (and many other states in America) has verified that a baby cannot be registered if their last name fails to follow specific spelling rules. This policy is designed to make the birth certificate system more consistent and easier to manage.
Current regulations state that any surname breaking these rules will be rejected from the document, which means parents must select a compliant name before they can finish the paperwork.
The list of prohibited names includes nobility titles like:
- King
- Queen
- Majesty
- Prince
- Duke
- Doctor
- Judge
…and so. If the child has no legal holding of a real title, they will have to wait to earn it in adult life in order to be called that. However, fantasy world nobility titles were another thing entirely, which explains the spike in girls called Khaleesi during the popularity height of the Game of Thrones series.
Some religious and mythological naming is not permitted either:
- Jesus Christ
- Messiah
- Santa Claus
However, the names Jesus, Joshua and Nicholas are perfectly legal. Additionally, you cannot name a child Adolf Hitler, Nutella, or use the Roman numeral III. The character “@” and the number 1069 are banned as well. We can only wonder how Elon Musk spelled the name if his child X Æ A-12…
Why does government ban some names?
Authorities enforce these bans for technical, cultural, or legal reasons. In the majority of states, using emojis, numbers, or special characters is against the rules. For instance, a name containing “@” or “1069” will be rejected. These policies are often maintained to ensure that government records remain organized and easy to handle.
Other limitations when registering children
You cannot go on a rant and name your child 20 different names to appease both families. Not only will you piss off genealogists in a couple generations, government offices won’t want to hear about it. That is why New York makes a cap of 30 characters for first and middle names—as if you were sending a telegraph— and an additional 40 characters for surnames. You can be as poetic and verbose as you want with your child’s name in the private sphere, but the name in their official documents must go to the point.
Believe it or not, Texas is much more lenient, this state allows up to 100 characters for first and middle names. In Massachusetts, the first, middle, and last names are each capped at 40 characters. Arizona enforces a total length limit of 141 characters for the entire name—just like a tweet in good old Twitter back in 2012.
FAQs
Can I name my new child whatever I want?
Not really. Although there are no vetoed names at a federal level, each state has laws that restrict the kind of name you can use to register a newborn at birth. Consult what are the requirements on your state, as they may vary.
Why are some names not allowed?
Most of the times, some spellings are not allowed to keep official records clean and make sure there are no glitches on the computer systems used by public services. That is why numbers, symbols such as @ and emojis are not allowed. Accents and non ASCII letters (such as ñ or ß) are banned too—even if the original spelling requires it.