22h ago

Should naming your children stupid names be illegal?

Alternatively, should children be allowed to change their names to one in a restricted list anytime before 18, then to anything after 18?

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This is already location-dependent. I think Iceland has the most restrictive legislation with a prescribed list to choose from. Other countries have a layer of "is this really a name?" checking as part of the registration process after birth and parents can be sent back to square one.
I think there is a balance to be had where you can't get away with xc1>df or whatever but you could name your kid after a GoT character that tragically turned evil in the last season. My suggestion would be to include a second given name that is more established than Khalisi or Dumbledore, e.g. Kelly and David. If Khalisi Kelly's last name is Knox obvs I wouldn't insist on the alliteration. My point is then your child has a plan B when they get mocked for being called Hobbit in school. They can just go by Henry or whatever other boring name made the cut. That way you don't need to get into a complicated legal situation where a minor would have to override the wish of their parents.
After reaching adulthood legally, virtually anybody can try to change their name. Although the process may involve having to prove harm to get it approved in some places. I think there is a correlation between a laissez-faire attitude to naming and ease of getting a name change. In countries that are stricter to begin with, the hurdles are much higher and can be much costlier.
- I believe in Iceland's case it has to do with how the Icelandic language works and certain names just kind of don't work with the rest of the language. I'm far from an expert on the Icelandic language, but my understanding is that nouns, names included, sort of get "conjugated" (I'm not sure if "conjugation" is the correct term, I think that's specifically a vowel thing, but it's similar in that the word changes depending on how it's used in a sentence and most of us are familiar with the concept of conjugation.)
  There's a few random things in English that do it, like depending on the sentence, you might use I/me/my/mine/etc. when you refer to yourself refer to yourself, but in icelandic all nouns do that in a regular predictable way, so they have to be pronounceable with certain suffixes tacked onto them.
  I think they also do the old school patronymic/matronymic name thing instead of family names. So if you meet someone in Iceland whose name is something like "Steve Robertson" then "Robertson" isn't his family name, his dad is literally named "Robert" and so he is "Steve, Robert's Son" so names kind of have to work with that kind of naming convention as well.
  So it's less of a "this name is stupid" and more of a "this name breaks our language"
  It also seems like they've eased up on some of the rules in recent years, first names are no longer gender restricted, and they've added a nonbinary suffix for the patronyms/matronyms so now you can be a -bur instead of just -son or -dóttir
- The thing that annoys me the most about all those Khaleesis is that Khaleesi is NOT HER NAME, IT'S HER TITLE FFS.
  
  That isn't really that unusual, King and Queen are both used as names, so its not that weird. Steven King, Queen Latifah (stage name, but still), King C Gillete (inventor of the safety razor)
  
  Last names and stage names are entirely different species of names. I maintain (based on no evidence and personal belief only) that most of the people burdening their daughters with this name don't know it's a title.
  Edit: wait, I tell a lie, my evidence is that SO MANY people called Daenerys "Khaleesi" as her name. "Khaleesi did this, Khaleesi did that, my favourite character is Khaleesi, Khaleesi is Jon's aunt."
  
  wait, I tell a lie
  You sound like a character in a Shakespeare play! I love it.
  
  Forsooth, Brudi, sein oder nicht sein, das geht steil, you egg.
  Edit: I am inconsolable, I just came from this thread and my brain hasn't recovered from the throwback so it produced this nonsense. le epic lulz.
  
  They probably dont know that its a title, but it doesn't really matter. The character is colloquially known as Khaleesi, and thats what they are naming their kid after.
  I don't think its a good name either, given the TV series has largely fizzled, so its connection won't make sense in a few years time, but being a title first doesn't exclude it by itself (IMHO).
  
  Man. I'm gonna go pout in my nerd corner now.
  
  I'm sorry :( tell you what, when you run for president of the world, on a platform of "rename all Khaleesi's to Daenerys", I'll vote for you :)
  
  can't be worse than the current pres. prolly.
  
  Depends if your name is Khaleesi, and how mad on power they get. Im willing to risk it though.
  
  That... means so much. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart. 🥲
  
  What about Regina King?
  
  Now listen here, smartass. ;)

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