A couple in New Zealand is planning to call their newborn son Superman after officials rejected their original choice of 4Real.

Pat and Sheena Wheaton have been frustrated by rules in New Zealand banning names that begin with a number.

Mum and Dad decided to call their son 4Real after seeing an ultrasound image of him. It was then they realised that their baby was "for real".

They are considering legal action to force officials to reverse the ruling.

Name game

The name might sound more like a comedian's catchphrase or a fruit juice, but the Wheatons were deadly serious.

Sadly for them, the authorities in New Zealand did not share their enthusiasm for the unusual - their choice was rejected by the country's registrar of births, deaths and marriages.

The rules state that first names starting with a number are not allowed.

The law also advises parents to avoid names that could cause their child to be teased or made fun of.

Undeterred, the Wheatons now plan to call their newborn son Superman, but have said they will refer to him as 4Real.

The baby's family argues that if people can be known as John Williams III, for example, then why can a number not be used at the beginning of a name?

Officials in New Zealand have been involved in similar disputes before.

In the past they have had to intervene to stop parents naming their offspring Satan and Adolf Hitler.



SOURCE

eugenics

Headline in New Zealand newspaper sometime between 2022 and 2027. "Man Goes on Shooting Rampage after Evisacerating Parents with Chainsaw."

Here's another. From AP via YAHOO:

Couple tries to name baby 'at' symbol

BEIJING - A Chinese couple seeking a distinctive and modern name for their child chose the commonly used Internet 'at' symbol, much to the consternation of Chinese officials.
ADVERTISEMENT

The unidentified couple and the attempted naming were cited Thursday by a Chinese government official as an example of bizarre names creeping into the Chinese language.

The father "said 'the whole world uses it to write e-mails and translated into Chinese it means 'love him,'"' Li Yuming, the vice director of the State Language Commission, said at a news conference.

The symbol pronounced in English as 'at' sounds like the Chinese phrase "love him."

Written Chinese does not use an alphabet but is comprised of characters, sometimes making it difficult to develop new words for new or foreign things and ideas.

In their quest for a different name, Li said that the parents of baby '@' were not alone. As of last year, only 129 surnames accounted for 87 percent of all surnames in China, Li said, suggesting that the uniformity drove people to find more individual given names.

"There was even a 'Zhao-A,' a 'King Osrina' and other extremely individualistic names," Li said, according to a transcript of the news conference posted on the government's main web site, http://www.gov.cn.

Li did not say whether police, who are the arbiters of names because they issue identity cards, rejected baby '@' and the others. But nationwide last year there were 60 million people's names that used "unfamiliar characters," Li said.

At least one man is taking a stand against this sickening trend: Crazy Hugo Chavez.

From HOUSTON CHRONICLE/AP

Venezuela may ground baby names like Superman

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelans have a penchant for creative naming, with some parents giving their children unusual names like Hersony, Nohemar — or even Superman.

But such odd names might be turned down by the civil registry if Venezuela approves a bill barring parents from giving their children "names that expose them to ridicule, are extravagant or difficult to pronounce," or that raise doubts about whether a child is a girl or a boy.

The National Electoral Council in the past week laid out that proposal in a draft bill circulated to city offices in Caracas.

If approved by the National Assembly, the bill could let authorities turn down names like some of the more unusual monikers currently on the voter rolls: Edigaith, Yorleth, Mileidy, Leomar and Superman.

When opponents of President Hugo Chavez last year sought to question the accuracy of the voter rolls, they noted that even "Superman" was listed. But electoral officials confirmed there are in fact two Venezuelans by that name registered to vote, and one of them was interviewed on state television.

Many of the unusual monikers in Venezuela come from unusual spellings of English names such as Maikel or Jhonny. Other names are of uncertain origin such as Orlayny or Jesshy.

Venezuelan law already has a similar measure saying registry authorities should not accept names that would expose children to ridicule. But the issue until now has been left up to the discretion of individual bureaucrats.

Some Venezuelans think it makes sense to crack down a bit.
"I agree with putting limits on people who don't have a sense of the ridiculousness," said 58-year-old office worker Alfredo Blanco.

But 27-year-old housewife Mariana Gonzalez said she thinks it is no one's business except the parents how they choose to name a child. "Before all else should come common sense."