Wednesday, January 12, 2005

Cruel Baby Names

1. "Couple name baby Speedy Gonzales"
   <http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1152317.html>
"A Romanian couple whose baby was born in their car as they rushed to
 hospital are to name the boy Speedy Gonzales"

2. "Tax authorities not kryptonite defeat Superman"
   <http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200409/s1209140.htm>
"Swedish authorities have turned down a request by two parents to register
 Superman as a name for their child"

3. "Chinese man cannot name son '@'"
   <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/12/no_at_for_chinese/>
"A man in central China has been refused permission to name his son '@'
 because it cannot be translated into Mandarin - as the law demands"

4. "No dot-com for son, says China"
   <http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39182933,00.htm>
"A programmer in China has been prevented from naming his baby son Zhao.com"

5. "Japanese kids can be called Buttocks or Prostitute"
   <http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1035312.html>
"Japanese children can be named 'Buttocks' or 'Prostitute' after a row
 between parents and officials over a new list of acceptable names"

6. "Parents turning to soaps for names"
   <http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1040915.html>
"Parents are turning to soaps to find names for their children"

7. "Fragrant idea"  [expired link]
   <http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=156393&
       command=displayContent&sourceNode=156123&contentPK=10878677>
"Parents Danny and Dominique Regan are hoping for the sweet smell of
 success for their children - after naming all three after perfumes.
 New-born baby girl Dior is the latest in a line of fragrant names,
 which includes daughter Angel (13 months) and eight-year-old son Klein"

8. "Moon Unit voted weirdest celeb baby name"
   <http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1127053.html>
"Moon Unit Zappa has been voted the most bizarrely named celebrity
 offspring off all time"

9. Baby's Named a Bad, Bad Thing: A Primer on Parent Cruelty
   <http://www.notwithoutmyhandbag.com/babynames/>
A catalog of naming questions and suggestions posted on several different
baby naming bulletin boards