Naming a baby: rituals, rights & regulations

Shakespeare famously wrote "What's In a Name?" but he was writing about Romeo and Juliet lightyears before children named Moon Unit, Diva Muffin and ESPN - like the channel were frolicking forth. We know those kids weren't Icelandic because Iceland has rules on what's appropriate when it comes to naming children. Then again so does Quebec. As an Iceland teen goes to court to try to reclaim a name that means Breeze, we're asking about the pressure legal ... cultural ... social ... personal that confronts parents as they choose names for their babies.

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Naming a baby: rituals, rights & regulations - Baby Name Expert

Blaer - it means wind. I want to keep it so bad because it's so beautiful.

The government of Iceland doesn't consider it beautiful. It doesn't even consider it a proper name. It says the fifteen year old must choose from one of the 1800 or so approved female names. And until then, the 15-year-old carries unusual identification.

According to the government, my name is illegal. On my passport and everything it says Stulka which means girl in Icelandic.

As she told As it Happens, Blaer Bjarkadottir-Rumarsdottir is taking Iceland to court over the right to use the name her mother gave her. Her case has sparked an international debate over whether naming yourself is a human right. Many countries and cultures have strict guidelines over what citizens may call themselves.

To tell us more about the official rules and restrictions of naming, we were joined by Laura Wattenberg. She is the creator of Baby Name Wizard.com and is a baby name expert. She was in Winchester, Massachusetts.

Naming a baby: rituals, rights & regulations - Quebec Naming Regulations

Here in Canada, there is no federal government list of "approved" names, but there are some provincial rules. In Quebec, names that could cause ridicule, difficulty in translation, or that don't follow the usual convention around last names ... can be flagged by the registrar. And that's what happened to Nicolai Gregoriev when his daughter was born. Her parents named her Julia Gregorieva. We aired a clip.

Not all Quebec cases end in an expensive name change. The registrar of civil status can send the baby name request to court, through the Attorney General, or accept a second choice by the parents. Quebec bureaucrats have rejected the names Cowboy and Lucifer.

To explain more about the Quebec name game we were joined by Julius Grey. He is a civil rights lawyer in Montreal lawyer, and that's where we reached him this morning.

This segment was produced by The Current's Shannon Higgins.

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Last Word - Doonby

We've been talking today about the Roe versus Wade case and how controversial it remains in the United States. Earlier, we heard from the plaintiff known as Jane Roe -- Norma McCorvey. Ms. McCorvey later changed her mind and became an outspoken advocate against abortion.

Norma McCorvey made her movie debut last year. In the film Doonby, she plays an elderly woman trying to dissuade a neighbour from having an abortion. It's a brief scene, touching on a lot of the issues. Today's Last word goes to the woman once known as Jane Roe.

Other segments from today's show:

Canada & Algerian extremists: Canadian connection to Algeria attack

Roe vs. Wade: 40 years later