Australian blogger and influencer Claire Alexander-Johnston (aka JetSetMama) was worried she might’ve broken the law when she announced her latest baby’s name this week: Citizen. Given that her other three children have unusual names, too–Atlas, Everest, and Zephyr–Citizen might not seem like much of a stretch. But, according to Australian law, there are restrictions against “title” names that might be misleading. This includes names like King, Duke, and Captain. She held off on naming the newborn for 10 days, after concerns about the legality of her choice. As it turned out, Citizen is perfectly legal, so Citizen it is. And while we wouldn’t pick it, we’re glad she was able to hold on to her top-choice name (especially since one of her fall-back options was apparently Disco?!).
Around the world, there are more naming restrictions than you might expect. For instance, in Iceland, parents must select from an approved list of 1,853 female names and 1,712 male ones, in order to meet set rules of grammar and gender. But it’s also an attempt to maintain certain standards: names that won’t be an embarrassment for the child, as ruled by officials, and as a way to further preserve Icelandic culture–because officials insist that it must be possible to render the name in the Icelandic language. Japan, Sweden, China, and Germany also have name laws on the books. Lovers of the surname style may be disappointed to learn that in Germany, for instance, using last names as first names is banned.
As Americans, we have very few restrictions on what we can name our children (though there are a few state-by-state restrictions, as well as a clause in California that bans diacritical marks). How else could you explain how the former Jeffrey Drew Wilschke of Madison Wisconsin, was able to legally change his name to Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop?
In what country is Enzokuhle the most popular name for boys and girls? That would be South Africa, where this isiZulu name meaning “do good” dominates both charts. Statistics South Africa reported on the popularity of names by region. Some areas featured names familiar to Western and Northern eyes, such as Liam, Elijah, Noah, Mia, Ava, and Isabella. But names specific to the region and people of South Africa dominated these lists, with top picks like Philasande, Lethabo, and Amahle.
Next, celebrity baby name news! First up is a true rockstar baby name if we’ve ever heard one: Slash Electric, the name of Amber Rose and Alexander Edwards’s new baby. At first glance, you may go, “WHAT?” but there’s apparently a deeply personal association going on here. Turns out Amber Rose is a huge Guns ‘n’ Roses fan, and especially a fan of guitarist Slash. Can’t hate on that.
Bucking the trend of out-there baby names though are actress Ellie Kemper and reality star and designer, Lauren Conrad, who kept it classic with their newborn sons’ names: Kemper went with Matthew and Conrad chose Charlie Wolf. Interestingly, Conrad’s Charlie Wolf isn’t the only celebrity baby Charlie Wolf. Zooey Deschanel’s son with ex-husband Jacob Pechenik shares this exact moniker.
Shay Mitchell of Pretty Little Liars gave birth this week and recorded the 33-hour ordeal for all to see:
The YouTube video has been viewed over 3.2 million times as of this writing. But while we can watch every detail of her delivery, we’ll have to wait to find out baby’s name, which has yet to be revealed. Any guesses?
Finally, namers, if you’ve ever wanted to name a celebrity baby yourself, Real Housewife Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave is looking for naming help! She posted to her Instagram stories that she and her husband, Edwin, were on the struggle bus to name town. Their guidelines? Edwin is requesting a Spanish name so that his mother can pronounce it. They’re also looking for something that is one or two syllables, uncommon, and that fits with the names of their other children, Cruz and Slate. Actually, pretty reasonable. What would you suggest for the Arroyaves?
And that’s this week’s name news!