Choosing a baby name is a big responsibility.
Many consult baby naming books or scour websites and blogs to find the perfect name while others
look to repurpose family names.
Sometimes, though, there isn't a whole lot of choosing for parents to do.
That's because some foreign governments don't want to leave it up to parents to decide.
In fact, your preferred baby name may be one of several that are banned around the world.
If you're a James Bond fan, you might want
to choose a baby name that honors the super spy.
But if you're in Malaysia, you won't be able to name your newborn 007 or any number for
that matter.
Malaysian authorities came up with a list of "undesirable" names to prevent parents
from giving their kids regrettable names, and number names made that list.
Authorities also decided parents would not be able to name their children after colors,
animals, bugs, vegetables, or fruits.
Good thing Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin didn't live in Malaysia when they had their
baby girl, Apple.
Although many countries ban names because
they're unusual, Norway keeps the use of popular family names in check.
The law in Norway says parents are not allowed to name their child a name that is traditionally
a Norwegian last or middle name.
Exceptions are made if you're from a different culture.
Unfortunately for some parents, that means many last names common in Norway - like Hansen,
Olsen, and Johansen - are off-limits as first names for their new baby.
Naming a baby isn't exactly a simple task
in Denmark.
Names are not only controlled by law but they must also be approved by both the Ministry
of Ecclesiastical Affairs and the Ministry of Family and Consumer Affairs.
According to the New York Times, the Department of Name Research at Copenhagen University
helps the Danish government decide which names are supposedly silly or cruel enough to veto.
"Pluto" and "Monkey" are just a few examples of rejected names.
The government has also banned last names as first names, similar to Norway, and insists
that boys and girls have gender-specific names.
Since geographical names aren't gendered, they're generally just rejected.
Sorry Chicago and North West.
The Mexican state of Sonora has had enough
of parents doling out ridiculous names.
Before coming up with a list of restrictions and over 60 banned monikers, newborns were
leaving hospitals with names like Facebook and Marciana , which is the Spanish word for
martian.
Sonora's Civil Registry director Cristina Ramirez explained to the Associated Press:
"The law is very clear because it prohibits giving children names that are derogatory
or that don't have any meaning and that can lead to bullying."
In Sonora, all social media-based baby names are out, as well as names that are also medical
procedures, such as the very real case of a boy almost named Circuncision, which - you
guessed it - means "circumcision."
Welcome to Iceland - a country of less than
a half-million residents and whose phone book categorizes people by only their first names.
That's not Iceland's only naming quirk, however.
Parents in Iceland have the option to either choose a baby name from a list of 1,712 approved
male names or 1,853 approved female names - or try to get their chosen baby name approved
by the Icelandic Naming Committee.
Annually, the committee receives around 100 applications and ends up rejecting roughly
50 percent.
One of the biggest reasons for rejection is that Iceland requires all names to be compliant
with Icelandic grammar.
If a name uses letters outside of the Icelandic alphabet, it won't pass.
Abigail, Veronica, Chris, and Liam are just a handful of names that have been rejected
in Iceland.
New Zealanders have tried to use some pretty
out-there baby names.
Registrar General Brian Clarke explained to BBC News that New Zealand doesn't allow offensive
names or those longer than 100 characters.
New Zealand has blocked quite a few wild names such as "Yeah Detroit" and "Keenan Got Lucy,"
but have allowed the names "Number 16 Bus Shelter" and "Midnight Chardonnay" for Kiwi
babies.
"Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii" was also bestowed upon a baby in the island country,
but when the child was 9 years old, a judge made her a ward of the court so she could
legally change it.
Sarah was the fifth most popular baby name
in the United States back in the year 2000.
By 2016, it was still ranking in the top 100, at number 57.
Despite its popularity in America, a child would not be permitted to be named Sarah in
Morocco.
Citizens in Morocco must, for the most part, pick a name from a designated list of Arabic
names, and Sarah is a Hebrew name.
Be that as it may, if you were looking for a loophole in Morocco, you could name your
child Sara spelled S-A-R-A, like how singer Sara Bareilles spells her name, as that is
both Arabic and on the approved list.
In 2014, The Saudi Gazette published 51 new
banned names in Saudi Arabia.
The Civil Status Department explained that some names did not fall in line with social
traditions whereas other names were deemed inappropriate for religious reasons.
Gregory Gause, a professor who studies Saudi Arabia, explained to the Washington Post:
"It's part of a broader crackdown on everything."
Part of the crackdown also involved Saudi officials banning a few names of Western origin.
That means Saudi parents can no longer choose the names Sandi, Aileen, or even Linda.
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