French court stops child from being named Nutella

[zoegirltx]

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30993608

A French court has stopped parents from naming their baby girl Nutella after the hazelnut spread, ruling that it would make her the target of derision.



The judge ordered that the child be called Ella instead.



He said in his ruling that the name Nutella was the trade name of a spread that is commonplace in Gallic homes.



"And it is contrary to the child's interest to have a name that can only lead to teasing or disparaging thoughts," he pronounced.



French parents are usually free to choose the names of their children, but local prosecutors are empowered to report what they deem to be unsuitable names to a family court.



The parents in the case on Monday did not attend the court hearing, so the judge decided in their absence that Ella was a more appropriate name.



There have been several cases involving children's names in France since 1993, when parents were finally given the freedom to name their children as they pleased, including:



A couple who wanted to call their daughter Fraise (Strawberry) which a judge also ruled could result in the child being teased. The baby instead was renamed Fraisine, a name popular in the 19th century

A father who took legal action to try and stop French car makers Renault from using the same name as his daughter, Zoe Renault. Cedric Renault argued that if Renault named car model Zoe it would make his daughter's life a "nightmare"

lain and Sophia Renaud in 1999 fended off legal action to prevent them from naming their daughter Megane, even though local authorities said it sounded too much like a car

[saz]

The parents weren't at the hearing... How exactly is this going to be enforced?

[BicycleBride]

Jan 27, 2015 9:09:09 GMT -5 saz said:

The parents weren't at the hearing... How exactly is this going to be enforced?

Uh I'm pretty sure the judge just changed the birth certificate. I suppose they can refer to her however they want.

[hopecounts]

Jan 27, 2015 9:09:09 GMT -5 saz said:

The parents weren't at the hearing... How exactly is this going to be enforced?

Ella will be her legal name meaning that at school it will be her name of record and what she will be called by the teacher.

If her parents want to call her nutella it will be a nickname like calling a kid peanut or what have you.

[downtoearth]

It seems weird that a judge can just do this, no? And they have had judicial oversight of names up until 1993? This is one cultural thing I don't quite understand.

[msmerymac]

Jan 27, 2015 12:02:56 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

It seems weird that a judge can just do this, no? And they have had judicial oversight of names up until 1993? This is one cultural thing I don't quite understand.

I want to say either Denmark or Iceland is the most strict about names. As in, there's a list of about 6000 names you can choose from and that's it.

[overture]

In theory, I wish there were some kind of authority in the US who could step in and say "Hashtag? No. Absolutely not."

[downtoearth]

Jan 27, 2015 13:50:37 GMT -5 overture said:

In theory, I wish there were some kind of authority in the US who could step in and say "Hashtag? No. Absolutely not."

You can pry our freedom to name our kids WTF we want from my cold-dead-hands!  'Merica!

[Cicero]

Jan 27, 2015 14:51:04 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

Jan 27, 2015 13:27:43 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

I want to say either Denmark or Iceland is the most strict about names. As in, there's a list of about 6000 names you can choose from and that's it.

I think you can petition for a name that's not on the list, too.  There was someone on IL on the Nest that did this in Denmark.

I was just about to post this. She said that you propose the name and whatever branch of the government it is does a census-like survey. If there are more than X number of people living in the country with that name it will be approved and added to the list of acceptable names.

[wise_rita]

Jan 27, 2015 13:27:43 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Jan 27, 2015 12:02:56 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

It seems weird that a judge can just do this, no? And they have had judicial oversight of names up until 1993? This is one cultural thing I don't quite understand.

I want to say either Denmark or Iceland is the most strict about names. As in, there's a list of about 6000 names you can choose from and that's it.

Scandinavian countries (Norway, Denmark & Sweden) all have an approved list. You can lobby to get a not-on-the-list name added to it. I think a name goes on the list once a certain number of people are named that.

Knowing Iceland I'd bet they're even stricter.

[EllieT]

Jan 28, 2015 1:39:56 GMT -5 wise_rita said:

Jan 27, 2015 13:27:43 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

I want to say either Denmark or Iceland is the most strict about names. As in, there's a list of about 6000 names you can choose from and that's it.

Scandinavian countries (Norway, Denmark & Sweden) all have an approved list. You can lobby to get a not-on-the-list name added to it. I think a name goes on the list once a certain number of people are named that.

Knowing Iceland I'd bet they're even stricter.

No such list in Sweden. However they can say no if the name is too weird or can be offensive. Examples of names not approved are Tequila, Satan, X, Zrg, IKEA, Fyllo (means drunk or drunkard in Swedish) and Chlamydia.