The glorious day has finally come when you can take your new baby home!
But you haven’t given the hospital a name for your new bundle of joy yet.
How about Barnaby?
Or Dumbledore?
Or not.
Or perhaps you want to understand your baby’s personality better before choosing a name.
What’s the worst that could happen?
Well, wanna see my list?
1.
No Social Security Card You might not be thinking about something
like a social security card or number right after you give birth, but that card, and the
number on it, are basically your baby’s identity for the government (in the U.S.).
Without a social security card, your child won’t legally be able to get a job one day,
or put up social security for their retirement.
Not giving your child a name will create a lot of practical—even legal—problems for
them in the future.
2.
No legal government-issued driver’s license or ID.
Most parents don’t like to think about their child driving, especially at four days old,
but it really is a practical “must” for functioning independently in life.
Your child has to be able to drive to and from their future job, school, and home.
Without a legal name, they won’t be able to obtain a government-issued license.
Plus, people usually use their license as their official identification.
Think about all the reasons you’re asked for your ID.
Without one, your child wouldn’t be able to open a bank account, make big purchases,
use the legal system…the list goes on and on!
3.
They won’t be able to buy a house or car in the future.
That bank account and big purchases I just mentioned?
Your child will need a legitimate bank account as an adult to purchase a house and a car!
A name and identity verification will need to be associated with their bank account;
plus, if they don’t have a name, they wouldn’t be able to apply for a loan for that future
house or car.
4.
No Passport Your child wouldn’t be able see the world!
A passport is another official form of identification that you first need a legal name to get.
The youngest of travelers can get a passport, but only if they have a real birth certificate
with their legal name on it.
Sometimes additional “back-up” forms of identification are needed as well—like,
say, if you and your child have different last names.
If your child doesn’t have a legal first name on them, they won’t work.
5.
You’ll get annoying calls from your Department of Health.
Most hospitals will want you to name your baby within hours of delivery.
There’s paperwork that the parents must fill out, which includes Baby’s new name.
If you can’t decide on a name, it’s possible to leave the hospital, but you’ll start
to get pestering calls from your State Department of Health, who will want that paperwork I
mentioned.
They use this paperwork to keep track of Baby’s vaccinations and other important health information.
And trust me—the situation won’t just go away.
6.
Your child won’t be able to vote.
In the U.S., once your kid turns 18, they’re allowed to exercise their right to vote.
But they won’t be able to without a legal name!
All voting centers will ask for a form of legal identification for their records.
In the U.S., voting also makes us eligible for other civic duties, like jury duty.
In most parts of the world, giving your new baby a name is part of that child’s civil
rights!
7.
Going to the Doctor might be difficult.
After you leave the hospital, you’ll take your baby to tons of doctor appointments to
track his or her weight, get immunizations, and make sure that your newborn’s overall
growth and development is on the right track.
The doctor’s office will have you fill out a bunch of paperwork—and they’ll want
paperwork from the hospital, which would include Baby’s birth certificate.
If there’s no name on it, it’ll cause a lot of problems for your baby’s health
records.
There’s a variety of things that your child will need health records for in the future,
including school.
Which brings me to…
8.
Your child needs a name for school!
Your child has to have a name to attend public or private school!
To enroll them in pre-school or kindergarten, you’ll need a birth certificate; this is
one of the most frequently requested documents for schools to verify your child’s identity.
If there’s no legal name on the birth certificate—no enrollment!
The school will also want vaccination records that he or she should have received at the
doctor’s office.
If a name wasn’t given, your child’s medical records might be a little hard to track down.
9.
Getting married might be hard.
Never mind the question of how a child would build social ties without a name; let’s
say that, somehow, your child managed to go through life for years without a name.
Perhaps they just respond to “Hey You”.
One day, they bring their partner home and say that they want to get married.
A marriage license is a legal document, for which you must show identification—with
a legal name on it.
Without a valid marriage license, the marriage would not be recognized by the government.
This could deny the couple certain rights later.
10.
Filing taxes will be harder than it already is.
In the U.S., certain states require a legal ID number or driver’s license number in
order to E-file your taxes.
If you live in one of these states and you don’t have a government-issued ID because
you don’t have a name, you might be out of luck.
It would be pretty hard to file taxes as a married couple, too, if one of you doesn’t
have a name.
You’d need your W2s provided by your employer as well…but if you don’t have a name,
you probably don’t have a legally recognized job.
The IRS cares about your name!
11.
What will you call your child??
Beyond this obvious practical problem, our name is one of the biggest parts of who we
are.
In some parts of the world, parents don’t choose a name for their baby: children are
allowed to choose one for themselves when they’re old enough.
Without a name, a child may have an undeveloped sense of self.
Not having a name doesn’t just create practical issues; it could create emotional ones too.
12.
When a name is decided on later, it’s a huge pain.
Say you leave the hospital without naming your baby, and you come up with the perfect
name days, even weeks, after you’ve come home.
Adding the name to the birth certificate once you’ve left the hospital can be an expensive
and lengthy process.
If a name was never added to the birth certificate, the hospital may have just filled in “Babygirl”
or “Babyboy” (or Barnaby – no not that) on the name line, so this will have to be
changed.
Baby’s doctor’s office will have to be informed, as will the Department of Health…you’d
have a lot of paperwork to do!
13.
Insurance situations might be difficult without a name.
Your baby needs a name in order to add him or her to your current policy, plus other
info.
Later in life, if you need to get some type of government-issued health insurance for
your child, or a supplemental insurance, a name is definitely necessary.
Especially if you have a unique or complex family situation, giving the children names
will make the process for getting everyone health insurance go much more smoothly.
It’ll also come in handy when each child is issued a health insurance card—it’ll
help parents avoid confusion.
14.
Names help children form social ties, and help parents spot potential early issues.
Not only is a child’s name a big part of their identity, as I mentioned earlier, it
also gives them a sense of belonging with their friends, and helps them make new ones.
Calling a child by name and seeing whether they respond could help a parent spot potential
early social and developmental issues.
Knowing their name has shown to improve a child’s social, cognitive, and developmental
skills.
Starting off without one could be a huge disadvantage for a child.
Or you could just name ‘em Barnaby…
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