

Naming law in Sweden - LukeHoersten
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naming_law_in_Sweden#Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116

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ibejoeb
This isn't so unusual. Plenty of countries have registries and regulation
around naming. Iceland recently denied a passport to a girl called Harriet:
[http://icelandreview.com/news/2014/06/25/icelandic-girl-
deni...](http://icelandreview.com/news/2014/06/25/icelandic-girl-denied-
passport-due-illegal-name). Iceland cited cultural preservation initiatives.

I've also heard of some situations in US states wherein limitations are
basically a by-product of character set choices, preventing the registration
of diacritics.

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valvar
That name reminds me of: [http://xkcd.com/327/](http://xkcd.com/327/)

Anyway, the law is pretty arbitrarily applied, which I think is a problem. My
parents wanted to give me the norse middle name 'hin frodi' ('the wise'), but
the 'hin' was rejected as it could possibly be associated with 'hin håle', an
old Swedish name for Satan, which they perceived could cause bullying in
school.

~~~
techaddict009
This is why its always better to sanitize anything before inserting into db or
displaying into browser from db!

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Someone1234
This is one of these issues where there are no "right" answers, no black &
white, just shades of grey.

For example, on one hand if you only allow normal names then you wind up
hampering or completely stopping name progression/evolution/adoption.
Historically names have fallen in and out of popularity every few years going
as far back as records date.

Another troubling consequence of having a certain group of people signing off
on names, is that those people have inherent (even unintended) biases. So for
example if someone moves to Sweden and wants to use a family name from abroad
that could be rejected for being too unusual even if it may be completely
unusual where they're from.

On the other hand is it really in the child's best interests to be named e.g.
"Hitler," "AAAAAAA," "Bobby tables," "Stupid," etc? I think if you asked
people in the street they would say no most of the time.

It really is a complex issue with no right answer. I will say except in
extreme cases I'd side more with the freedom for parents to choose rather than
some draconian list. I think new and original names are healthy, even if not
well received initially.

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mc32
I'm all for freedom to choose names, however, some if these examples are more
the child as unwitting weapon for the parents seeking redress for some
perceived wrong. Let the parents take these names first, give them a year to
live with it, using it daily, and if they survive, ok, grant them okay to
change their child's name. Having children fight parents' naming battles seems
selfish.

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Frozenlock
There's nothing magical about a name.

Hell, it's not even a unique identifier.

When I'm on the net, I decide to use another name than the one my parents gave
me.

I can change my Internet name at will, with the only downside of not being
easily identified by those who already know me.

The same should be true in 'real life'. Let the parents give the name they
want, but let the child change it at will.

~~~
stevesearer
A few family friends have decided to give their children first names that are
not be on the popular side of the spectrum, but have also chosen a more
standard middle name that might be more favorable to the child once older.

I appreciate this approach because it does give a bit more of an option to the
child. I haven't asked, but I expect the parents would be okay with the child
changing their name totally as well.

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rtz12
We have a similar thing in Germany. I think a name rejection happend somewhere
in my family a while ago.

