Thursday, January 16, 2014

Abominable first names

Up to 1982 there existed a law in Belgium that regulated the use of first names. When parents came to announce the birth of a son or daughter and they wanted to give them names, the name had to be in the list of permitted first names. Of course, this was not always perfect. If you wanted your son to be named Johan (a quite ordinary name) it was not permitted, because Johan was not in the list. You had to call the baby Johannes... and shorten it to Johan at home.

So the law changed. From 1982 onwards, people could give whatever name they wanted, with only a few restrictions. A name like 'Hitler' would not be permitted.

But in recent years, there has been a change towards chosing the most uncommon names for kids. This morning a list was printed in the daily newspapers with the 'top ten' of unusual first names. What do you think of:
* Myemmyblue?
* Loezer (which means as much as loser)?
* Anaa'ol (Antwerp dialect for 'up your arse')?
* Tamme Jonathan (droopy Jonathan)?
* Crimson (after Pat Crimson of 2Fabiola)?
* Mohammed Sorry Ben?
* Devadub?

I wonder what these parents were doing, in heaven's name? Don't they realize their kids will be the target of pestering at school? I can already imagine that the teacher of primary school wouldn't be able to pronounce or write the name correctly.

Kids can be cruel to others, we all know that. A child doesn't want to be in the limelight at school, but when you are cursed with such a name, you're sure to be in it!

The parents of Myemmyblue won't stop at this one. Mum is expecting another one, and she claims he or she will even have a more unusual name than her little daughter. (Well,, they should punish these parents imo, and at least give the kids the opportunity of chosing another name as soon as they become aware of what they are cursed with.)

What's your take on this?

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