Some sense in names, at last
We live in an age when many parents want to give their kids unusual and quirky names, but one New Zealand judge said enough was enough for one poor girl.
The girl in question, a nine year old from New Plymouth, NZ, refused to tell people her real name and instead went by the initial K, a fact which became known to the courts during a custody hearing between her divorcing parents. It transpires that the unfortunate girl's given name was "Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii".
Judge Rob Murfitt declared: "The court is profoundly concerned about the very poor judgement which this child's parents have shown in choosing this name. It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap, unnecessarily." The girl was made a ward of court and allowed to change her name.
New Zealand seems to be particularly plagued with parents inflicting awful names on their offspring and its registrars have previously managed to talk parents out of using the names Fat Boy, Cinderella Beauty Blossom, Sex Fruit, Stallion, Twisty Poi, and Yeah Detroit. They also blocked the use of Fish and Chips for twins, but did allow another pair of twins to be called Benson and Hedges.
15th August 2008