Wondering somethung about Monica
In the comments for 'Monica", one of the comments states that it is illegal to name your kid that in some countries. Where is doing this illegal, and why?
vote up1vote down

Replies

I know that in France it is illegal to name your children certain names, but I don't know if Monica is one of them?
vote up1vote down
What names?What names are illegal in France, and where can I find reliable sources on name regulations in other countries?
vote up1vote down
The French used to have one of the strictest naming laws in Europe, with a list of acceptable names that had to be used. However, a series of court cases (some by Breton nationalists who wanted to revive ancient Breton names that weren't on the official list) eventually led to a change in the law. Since 1993, French parents have been able to give their children any names they wish. Registrars don't have the power to refuse to register names on their own, though they can refer names they think would be detrimental to the child to a court for a ruling. However, this almost never happens. At least until recently Denmark still had a list of names which are officially approved of. If you wanted to give a child a name which is not on the list, and both parents are Danish citizens, I believe one had to get special permission from the government. However, recently the lists of names disappeared from the official government website. I don't know if that means the law has changed and there is no longer a specific list or not. Perhaps someone from Denmark will enlighten us. Germany and Austria have laws which prevent parents from giving children names which do not clearly designate their gender, prevent parents from turning surnames into given names, and require that parents be able to prove that any name they give has been used in the world somewhere before. Sweden also has laws which prevent turning surnames into given names, and which allow registrars to refuse to record names that they think would be detrimental to the child, though Swedish correspondents have told me that law is very seldom enforced. There probably are other continental European countries which have or have had laws regarding naming. Japan also has laws which determine the kanji characters that may be used in creating given names.
vote up1vote down
Some other countriesSpain has more or less the same naming law that other European countries (not surnames as given names, clear designation of gender, not nicknames as names...). http://civil.udg.es/normacivil/estatal/persona/PF/L40-99.htmPortugal has a list of approved names:
http://www.dgrn.mj.pt/civil/adm_nadm.aspArgentina has a law very similar to Spanish naming law, but the actual rule in use is a list of approved names for any province. There is the Buenos Aires city list:
http://www.buenosaires.gov.ar/registrocivil/nombres/?menu_id=28In France, Catalan nationalists, Occitan nationalists and Basque nationalists still have problems with civil officers to use correct Catalan, Occitan or Basque names (for instance, case Alà Baylac-Ferrer, Catalan teacher at Ceret high school, vs. French governement, right now at the European Court of Human Rights: http://www.ucestiu.com/XXXVIIIUCE/diari/Diari%20de%20Prada_21agost.pdf).Poland, Netherlands, Finland and Iceland have naming regulations, but I haven't link to they.Lumia
http://onomastica.mailcatala.com
vote up1vote down
The article about the schoolteacher is interesting, I had no idea about any of that so Thank you!This may sound like a silly question, but is the article written in Catalan? I've never seen any before, but I can read it pretty easily.

This message was edited 11/27/2006, 9:05 AM

vote up1vote down
Yes, it is in Catalan
Lumia
http://onomastica.mailcatala.com
vote up1vote down
Not, it isn't.In fact, as far as I know, Monica is not illegal in any place (I checked the information with all countries where I know that there are some naming regulations, because I'm particularly interested in this name). Sometimes, some people's comments to names are not reliable. AndrewJKD (the author of the comment about Monica as illegal name) is only 13 years old and perhaps his sources of information about names laws are not as good as they should be.
Lumia
http://onomastica.mailcatala.com
vote up1vote down
Sounds very strange...here in Sweden it's a rather common name (although not popular right now). I've never heard of it being illegal anywhere.Surrealism is the magical surprise of finding a lion in a wardrobe where you were sure of finding shirts - Frida Kahlo
vote up1vote down
Never heard or read the slightest hint of this, and I would notice something like this at once when I saw it because I have a Monica in the family.Just tried a Google search as well, with no result.
Rene     www.AboutNames.ch
vote up1vote down