9:54a.m. 25th July 2008

| New Zealand Herald

You can call your children what you like – as long as they're not named after Adolf Hitler, the Antichrist or anything likely to embarrass them in the playground.

A Family Court judge in New Zealand has ruled that a New Plymouth couple burdened their child with a "social disability and handicap" when they named her "Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii".

Judge Rob Murfitt ordered temporary court custody for the nine-year-old to ensure a proper name was found for her.

The girl said she was so embarrassed that she had not revealed her name to any of her friends.

"She fears being mocked and teased, and in that she has a greater level of insight than either of her parents," said Judge Murfitt.

The story follows a controversy which erupted last year when the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs ruled a couple could not name their baby boy 4Real - so they threatened to call him Superman instead.

New Zealand Internal Affairs spokesman Tony Wallace said this week that unless names caused offence, were more than 100 characters long or used an official title, there was no reason not to register them.

"It's not for us to determine whether a name should or should not be registered because it's unusual or funny ... It's whether it's offensive to a reasonable person," he said.

However, Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro lamented the "ridiculous" lack of insight some parents had into the effect the wrong name could have on their children.

Other New Zealand children have been given names such as Number 16 Bus Shelter, Violence and Benson and Hedges (twins).

Bloggers on the New Zealand Herald website were divided over the issue, with some agreeing that giving children inappropriate names was a form of abuse, while others arguing that the judge’s ruling was political correctness gone mad.

What do you think? Should parents be able to name their children whatever they wish or are some names simply unacceptable?