Tenn judge changes baby's name

leahraewku · August 2013

Not that I'm a fan of the name, but there's this thing called separation of church and state....

https://news.yahoo.com/tenn-judge-changes-infants-name-messiah-215423538.html

babymonster30 · August 2013

I definitely don't think any judge should have the right to order a name change!

SoMoNY · August 2013

I think the name sucks but no to the point that a judge should change it.

Jen4033 · August 2013

wow.. agree with PPs. It isn't my taste, but this is not a judge's call.

BootsOrHearts · August 2013

Yeah that's getting overturned on appeal. I hope.

Also - lots of people are named Jesus, what's the difference??

notkateanymore · August 2013

Bad name, but no judge should be able to change it.

leahraewku · August 2013

BootsOrHearts said:

Yeah that's getting overturned on appeal. I hope.

Also - lots of people are named Jesus, what's the difference??

That was my first thought! And I know about 10 Mohammeds/Muhammads.

natleilynn · August 2013

It was No. 4 among the fastest-rising baby names in 2012?????

People should have to vet their names through the Dec'13 board prior to naming. Just saying.

Mrbatesisinnocent · August 2013

I think several countries have this as law. Don't have time to google right now, so someone else can fact check, but it's not that surprising to me that the name was changed.

Also, there's a comment on the article I loved. "This kid's name will be the least of his problems."

mamashan12 · August 2013

There is no way this won't get overturned in appeals. The judge can't change someone's name based on her own personal beliefs. While I think the name is terrible, there is a thing called separation of church and state. Who knows if this family is even Christian?

leahraewku · August 2013

Mrbatesisinnocent said:

I think several countries have this as law. Don't have time to google right now, so someone else can fact check, but it's not that surprising to me that the name was changed. Also, there's a comment on the article I loved. "This kid's name will be the least of his problems."

I think it's Sweden. I feel like I've read that somewhere before. You have to submit your name choice and wait for approval. Or maybe there's an approved list you have to choose from. Something like that.

natleilynn · August 2013

leahraewku said:

Mrbatesisinnocent said:

I think several countries have this as law. Don't have time to google right now, so someone else can fact check, but it's not that surprising to me that the name was changed. Also, there's a comment on the article I loved. "This kid's name will be the least of his problems."

I think it's Sweden. I feel like I've read that somewhere before. You have to submit your name choice and wait for approval. Or maybe there's an approved list you have to choose from. Something like that.

I think I remember that and Sweden sounds right. Or maybe Switzerland. But yeah, I remember reading something that said you had to choose from a pre-approved list of names.

MEP923 · August 2013

Article I found online:

In Germany, naming isn’t easy. German custom mandates that you must be able to tell the gender of the child by the first name and the name chosen must not negatively affect the well-being of the child.

Names are decided on by the office of vital statistics in the area which the child was born. If the office rejects your chosen name, you may appeal, but will have to pay a fee each time you submit a new name.

A name such as Matti would be rejected for a boy because it doesn’t indicate gender, but names like Legolas and Nemo were approved for baby boys.

A country such as Sweden is a mixed bag. The country doesn’t allow people to change their names after birth more than once and even then they must keep at least one of the names they were given. Furthermore, the Naming Law in Sweden requires that names can not cause offense or discomfort to the one using it.

One name that was rejected was “Brfxxccxxmnpccccllllmmnprxvclmnckssqlb111163” (pronounced Albin, of course). This name was suggested in protest of the Naming Law and was rejected. The parents then tried A (also pronounced Albin) and it was also rejected.

Names like Metallica, Superman, Ikea and Elvis were also rejected, but names like Google and Lego were accepted.

New Zealand also sports a law that requires names to not be offensive and do not allow unreasonably long names or anything that resembles an official title or rank.

Some rejected names in New Zealand: Stallion, Fish and Chips, Yeah Detroit, Got Lucy, Sex Fruit, Satan and Adolf Hitler.

Approved names in New Zealand: Midnight Chardonnay, Number 16 Bus Shelter and Violence.

Denmark takes the process a step further by requiring parents to choose from a list of 7,000 pre-approved names. If parents in Denmark want to choose a name not on the list, they must get special permission from their church and have it reviewed by the government. Danish law also necessitiates a showing of gender and generally rejects 15-20 percent of the 1,000 or so names they review a year.

Some rejected names in Denmark are Anus, Pluto and Monkey. Some acceptable names not on the list of 7,000 are Benji, Jiminico, Molli and Fee.

China has an interesting policy on names as well. With over 70,000 characters in the Chinese language, but only around 13,000 able to be represented on the computer, Chinese law necessitates that parents name their children with a spelling in the parameters of those 13,000. Non-Chinese symbols or characters are also not allowed. Most new parents are encouraged to give their infants simplified names rather than traditional Chinese ones to keep within what fits on a Chinese keyboard.

nofcksgiven · August 2013

I live in TN so this is getting a ton of attention around here.

This ruling is going to be reversed so fast that judge won't know what happened to her. I wouldn't be surprised if some type of sanction comes her way as well. It's absolutely agregious that she thinks she has the authority to do that.

Here's my favorite part so far: I've read a lot of local, redneck comments on this story. It seems a lot of people in that area agree with the judge. When not crazy people asked them about the popular Hispanic name Jesus they are very vocal about why they're okay with that name.
Here's my favorite explanation:
"When u say Jesus in mexican , it sounds totally different then when u say Jesus in the bible."

Of course it does, because the bible only comes in "American." :-)

kittyh8r · August 2013

This seems very wrong. At first I thought the name would be some sort of derogatory term, but it's just Messiah...? I hate the name for a child, but no judge should be able to change a child's name because of their beliefs. What if they truly liked the name? I think this is a step in the wrong direction for our country.

SMB51411 · August 2013

I think this entire situation is just wrong. Who gives any judge the right to tell anyone what name to give their child. Who died and made them GOD? Just because you don't like the name doesn't give you the right to pick a name for them. It's their child and their choice. If the name is so offensive then why not drag most of these celebrities into her courtroom and demand a name change for their child too. Let's be real. Who names their child Apple, Audio, Rainbow, Pilot, I mean seriously? Yes, these names are ridiculous but guess what? It's their choice. So if these people want to name their son Messiah, they should have every right too. This judge needs to mind her business and get off this power trip.

Sorry ladies, but this judge really rubbed me in the wrong way.

m88bloom · August 2013

Maybe it's because I'm not religious and maybe it's because I don't live in the bible belt but how stupid is that. Messiah is wrong but Jesus is fine? Really?!

JRT512 · August 2013

I'm curious as to how this even became an issue that went in front of a court. What a waste of time and money. People choose ridiculous names all the time, and the kid has every right to change it when they reach adulthood. Any attorneys or public records officials from TN on here who can explain?

JRT512 · August 2013

@Sunshine5788
Ah, thank you. I read several versions of the article earlier this week and none really specified on how it got to court. I guess I should have read this link!

SoMoNY · August 2013

I wonder what the judge would think of Lucifer or Judas.

EmJacks0n · August 2013

SMB51411 said:

I think this entire situation is just wrong. Who gives any judge the right to tell anyone what name to give their child. Who died and made them GOD? Just because you don't like the name doesn't give you the right to pick a name for them. It's their child and their choice. If the name is so offensive then why not drag most of these celebrities into her courtroom and demand a name change for their child too. Let's be real. Who names their child Apple, Audio, Rainbow, Pilot, I mean seriously? Yes, these names are ridiculous but guess what? It's their choice. So if these people want to name their son Messiah, they should have every right too. This judge needs to mind her business and get off this power trip.

Sorry ladies, but this judge really rubbed me in the wrong way.

I agree with you BUT, there was recently a case in Jersey where these two Neo Nazi's had their children taken away...one of the little boys was named Adolf Hitler. That poor child deserves a name change. So do the rest of his siblings.

This is an article about it... https://www.ibtimes.com/dad-appears-nazi-uniform-child-custody-hearing-heath-campbell-says-i-wanna-be-father-photo-1288939

MelAnnDi · August 2013

MEP923 said:

Article I found online:

In Germany, naming isn’t easy. German custom mandates that you must be able to tell the gender of the child by the first name and the name chosen must not negatively affect the well-being of the child.
Names are decided on by the office of vital statistics in the area which the child was born. If the office rejects your chosen name, you may appeal, but will have to pay a fee each time you submit a new name.
A name such as Matti would be rejected for a boy because it doesn’t indicate gender, but names like Legolas and Nemo were approved for baby boys.
A country such as Sweden is a mixed bag. The country doesn’t allow people to change their names after birth more than once and even then they must keep at least one of the names they were given. Furthermore, the Naming Law in Sweden requires that names can not cause offense or discomfort to the one using it.
One name that was rejected was “Brfxxccxxmnpccccllllmmnprxvclmnckssqlb111163” (pronounced Albin, of course). This name was suggested in protest of the Naming Law and was rejected. The parents then tried A (also pronounced Albin) and it was also rejected.
Names like Metallica, Superman, Ikea and Elvis were also rejected, but names like Google and Lego were accepted.
New Zealand also sports a law that requires names to not be offensive and do not allow unreasonably long names or anything that resembles an official title or rank.
Some rejected names in New Zealand: Stallion, Fish and Chips, Yeah Detroit, Got Lucy, Sex Fruit, Satan and Adolf Hitler.
Approved names in New Zealand: Midnight Chardonnay, Number 16 Bus Shelter and Violence.
Denmark takes the process a step further by requiring parents to choose from a list of 7,000 pre-approved names. If parents in Denmark want to choose a name not on the list, they must get special permission from their church and have it reviewed by the government. Danish law also necessitiates a showing of gender and generally rejects 15-20 percent of the 1,000 or so names they review a year.
Some rejected names in Denmark are Anus, Pluto and Monkey. Some acceptable names not on the list of 7,000 are Benji, Jiminico, Molli and Fee.
China has an interesting policy on names as well. With over 70,000 characters in the Chinese language, but only around 13,000 able to be represented on the computer, Chinese law necessitates that parents name their children with a spelling in the parameters of those 13,000. Non-Chinese symbols or characters are also not allowed. Most new parents are encouraged to give their infants simplified names rather than traditional Chinese ones to keep within what fits on a Chinese keyboard.

I've read this before, glad you posted, I was about to look for it.

Lyzza350 · August 2013

How dare she! That is outrageous for so many reasons. That is his parents decision to name him as they will. And who is that judge I say that the name messiah has been earned solely by Jesus Christ?!?! Others may not believe that at all.

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