June 21, 2007

• 4Real

  This is just messed up. Who in the world would want to name their kid “4Real”. Ridiculous…
  Thanks to Angela in the UG Registrar for passing this on…
  I’ll copy and paste the article just in case the link doesn’t last forever.

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  New Zealand authorities have blocked a couple’s bid to officially name their new son “4real,” saying numerals are not allowed.

  Pat and Sheena Wheaton said they decided to name their new baby
  “4real” shortly after having an ultrasound and being struck by the
  reality of his impending arrival.

  “For most of us, when we try to figure out what our names mean, we
  have to look it up in a babies book and … there’s no direct link
  between the meaning and the name,” Pat Wheaton told TV One on
  Wednesday. “With this name, everyone knows what it means.”

  But when the parents filed the name with New Zealand’s Registry of
  Births, Deaths and Marriages, they were told names beginning with a
  number were against the rules.

  The government office has opened negotiations with the parents about
  the name under a policy that says all unusual names must be given
  case-by-case consideration.

  “The name has not at this stage been rejected,” Registrar-General
  Brian Clarke said in a statement Thursday. “We are currently in
  discussions with the parents … to clarify the situation.”

  Clarke said the rules are designed to prevent names that are “likely
  to cause offense to a reasonable person.” Satan and Adolf Hitler were
  proposed names that have been declined, he said.

  If no compromise has been reached by July 9, the baby will be registered as “real,” officials say.

  New Zealand law requires all children born in the South Pacific
  nation to be registered with the Births, Deaths and Marriages registry
  within two months of birth.

  • 12:30 pm
  • 5 Comments