WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: What Can't You Name Your Baby?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff Lauren Boglebaum here with a classic brain Stuff episode.

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<v Speaker 1>In this one, we discuss the art of baby names.

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<v Speaker 1>The possibilities seem endless, but there actually are some legal

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<v Speaker 1>limits on what you can name a human child. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here. Choosing a name for a

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<v Speaker 1>tiny human that you've never even met is a big decision.

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<v Speaker 1>There's evidence that your baby's name can influence her future,

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<v Speaker 1>and it can set her apart from the masses. Take

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<v Speaker 1>Magician's pen and Emily Gillette, for example. The duo named

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<v Speaker 1>their baby Sultan, which certainly hints at a future in

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<v Speaker 1>the family business. Then there are celebrity parents who take

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<v Speaker 1>baby naming to an art form. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow and

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<v Speaker 1>musician Chris Martin opted for Apple, and power performers Beyonce

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<v Speaker 1>and Jay Z, of course, named their daughter Blue Ivy.

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<v Speaker 1>While kids with unusual names will never under stand the

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<v Speaker 1>joy or annoyance of being known by first name, last initial,

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<v Speaker 1>like me and the other three Loren's in my elementary

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<v Speaker 1>school class, they will spend a lifetime living with their

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<v Speaker 1>unusual monikers. But all those unique names prompt the question

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<v Speaker 1>is there anything you can't name your baby? With the

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<v Speaker 1>breadth of choices in baby name databases, narrowing down a

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<v Speaker 1>selection can seem impossible. But in a smattering of states

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<v Speaker 1>and countries, the choices have been limited for you. There

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<v Speaker 1>are some things that you cannot name a baby. There's

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<v Speaker 1>no universal law governing baby names. The regulations where they

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<v Speaker 1>exist very greatly by country, and the laws of individual

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<v Speaker 1>localities in these countries don't line up cohesively. In the

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<v Speaker 1>United States, for example, state laws restrict parental naming rights

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<v Speaker 1>in a variety of ways. For example, there may be

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<v Speaker 1>restrictions on particular surnames or diacritical marks like accent marks,

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<v Speaker 1>and prohibitions on obscenities, numerals, or pictograms being used. We

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<v Speaker 1>spoke with J. R. Scrap Nick, senior counsel with the

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<v Speaker 1>Snell Law firm in Austin, Texas. He said, generally these

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<v Speaker 1>laws need to comply with the due process clause of

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<v Speaker 1>the Fourteenth Amendment in order to be constitutional, the fourteenth

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<v Speaker 1>Amendment being the one that prevents state laws from infringing

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<v Speaker 1>on citizens nationally guaranteed rights. Those state restrictions are generally

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<v Speaker 1>practical ones, such as requiring only letters of the alphabet

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<v Speaker 1>and not pictograms or symbols. We also spoke with Matt C. Pinsker,

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<v Speaker 1>an adjunct professor who teaches constitutional law at Virginia Commonwealth University.

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<v Speaker 1>He said, for example, in the US, a name entered

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<v Speaker 1>on a birth certificate must be entered in the traditional

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<v Speaker 1>letters of the alphabet and not in the letters or

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<v Speaker 1>symbols of the Chinese alphabet. Other times, names are limited

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<v Speaker 1>in length because of record keeping software. Some states allow

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<v Speaker 1>accents over names, while others do not. For example, Pinsker

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<v Speaker 1>says the accent over the e in Jose is actually

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<v Speaker 1>prohibited by California law. A move to overturn the law

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<v Speaker 1>banning diacritical mark failed in fourteen, in large part because

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<v Speaker 1>adding Spanish accents to birth records could cost state registrars

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<v Speaker 1>and estimated ten million dollars. American naming laws are different

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<v Speaker 1>from those on other continents. Pinsker said. In Europe, parents

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<v Speaker 1>are not allowed to name their children Hitler or Stalin,

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<v Speaker 1>but in America that would violate the freedom of expression.

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<v Speaker 1>Denmark in particular, has some of the most restrictive naming laws.

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<v Speaker 1>In order to abide by the country's law on personal names.

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<v Speaker 1>Parents may select a name from a list of seven

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<v Speaker 1>thousand approved names for both boys and girls, all using

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<v Speaker 1>traditional spellings. To give a child a moniker that is

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<v Speaker 1>not pre approved requires review by government officials. Of the

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<v Speaker 1>estimated one thousand, one hundred names that are scrutinized annually,

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<v Speaker 1>about are rejected. Among the thrown out names anus, Pluto,

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<v Speaker 1>and monkey on the approved list names like Benji, Molly,

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<v Speaker 1>and fee. In some places, names aren't officially banned until

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<v Speaker 1>after a parent chooses a problematic moniker for a child.

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<v Speaker 1>For example, officials in Sonora, Mexico reviewed actual names from

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<v Speaker 1>the states a hundred and thirty two newborn registries a

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<v Speaker 1>banned sixty one of those names, including Facebook, Batman, and RoboCop. Previously,

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<v Speaker 1>the state had no such prohibitions, which means babies legally

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<v Speaker 1>received names such as U. S. Navy, Hitler, and Harry

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<v Speaker 1>Potter before that ban was enacted. For many officials, it's

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<v Speaker 1>less about the names and more about what they represent,

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<v Speaker 1>a potential lifetime of put downs. Sonora State Civil Registry

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<v Speaker 1>Director Christina Ramirez told the Associated Press the law is

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<v Speaker 1>very clear because it prohibits giving children names that are

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<v Speaker 1>derogatory or that don't have any meaning and that can

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<v Speaker 1>lead to bullying. Aside from specific state or county restrictions,

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<v Speaker 1>parents still have access to a considerable variety of names,

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<v Speaker 1>some that are potentially objectionable for reasons ranging from historical

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<v Speaker 1>issues to crude, controversial, or criminal references, which perhaps means

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<v Speaker 1>that the real question prompted here is an A could,

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<v Speaker 1>but I should. Today's episode is based on the article

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<v Speaker 1>you Can't Name your Baby that on how stuff works

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<v Speaker 1>dot com, written by Laurel Dove and brain Stuff is

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<v Speaker 1>production of by Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff

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<v Speaker 1>Works dot Com and it's produced by Tyler Klang. Four

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<v Speaker 1>more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app,

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