Parents want to name their kid "4real"

[Asparagus Queen]

Pair told not to name son '4real'

• New Zealand authorities block couple's bid to name their new son "4real."
• Pair told numerals not allowed in names
• Couple chose name because of the "reality" of his imending birth
Adjust font size:
Decrease fontDecrease font
Enlarge fontEnlarge font

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- New Zealand authorities have blocked a couple's bid to officially name their new son "4real," saying numerals are not allowed.

Pat and Sheena Wheaton said they decided to name their new baby "4real" shortly after having an ultrasound and being struck by the reality of his impending arrival.

"For most of us, when we try to figure out what our names mean, we have to look it up in a babies book and ... there's no direct link between the meaning and the name," Pat Wheaton told TV One on Wednesday. "With this name, everyone knows what it means."

But when the parents filed the name with New Zealand's Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, they were told names beginning with a number were against the rules.

The government office has opened negotiations with the parents about the name under a policy that says all unusual names must be given case-by-case consideration.

"The name has not at this stage been rejected," Registrar-General Brian Clarke said in a statement Thursday. "We are currently in discussions with the parents ... to clarify the situation."

Clarke said the rules are designed to prevent names that are "likely to cause offense to a reasonable person." Satan and Adolf Hitler were proposed names that have been declined, he said.

If no compromise has been reached by July 9, the baby will be registered as "real," officials say.

New Zealand law requires all children born in the South Pacific nation to be registered with the Births, Deaths and Marriages registry within two months of birth.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Can you imagine having that name? I would skip school daily, or drop out in first grade. Parents need to think about what their kids will go through with any name being considered. How would he monogram things or get his initials on many things. Numbers aren't often choices in "Write down your two letter initials" options. What would they name their other kids? 3, 2, and 1? Then if they have more, they could name them "blast" and "off".

[Paul]

I find it funny that the authorities have actually outlawed numerals in names, like it was a regular occurance.

[Christopher]

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

I bet you download music off the internet too.

[Paul]

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

I bet you download music off the internet too.

Don't we all? iTunes is helluva handy!

[Shoyru_Lover]

lol gosh... I have one question for the parents. Why do you hate your son so much?

[Wind]

I wonder if they banned smilies as well, I'd like to call my son and my daughter

[Shadow]

Wow thats something special. I've heard some weird names but I think this one almost tops the list.

[theonlysaneone]

Pair told not to name son '4real'

• New Zealand authorities block couple's bid to name their new son "4real."
• Pair told numerals not allowed in names
• Couple chose name because of the "reality" of his imending birth
Adjust font size:
Decrease fontDecrease font
Enlarge fontEnlarge font

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- New Zealand authorities have blocked a couple's bid to officially name their new son "4real," saying numerals are not allowed.

Pat and Sheena Wheaton said they decided to name their new baby "4real" shortly after having an ultrasound and being struck by the reality of his impending arrival.

"For most of us, when we try to figure out what our names mean, we have to look it up in a babies book and ... there's no direct link between the meaning and the name," Pat Wheaton told TV One on Wednesday. "With this name, everyone knows what it means."

But when the parents filed the name with New Zealand's Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, they were told names beginning with a number were against the rules.

The government office has opened negotiations with the parents about the name under a policy that says all unusual names must be given case-by-case consideration.

"The name has not at this stage been rejected," Registrar-General Brian Clarke said in a statement Thursday. "We are currently in discussions with the parents ... to clarify the situation."

Clarke said the rules are designed to prevent names that are "likely to cause offense to a reasonable person." Satan and Adolf Hitler were proposed names that have been declined, he said.

If no compromise has been reached by July 9, the baby will be registered as "real," officials say.

New Zealand law requires all children born in the South Pacific nation to be registered with the Births, Deaths and Marriages registry within two months of birth.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Can you imagine having that name? I would skip school daily, or drop out in first grade. Parents need to think about what their kids will go through with any name being considered. How would he monogram things or get his initials on many things. Numbers aren't often choices in "Write down your two letter initials" options. What would they name their other kids? 3, 2, and 1? Then if they have more, they could name them "blast" and "off".

A family of engineers near me who work at NASA has kids named Velocity and Gemini, so that wouldn't be so ridiculous.

I wonder if you can give your kids ridiculous black names in New Zealand, like Dabrickashaw or Sharniqua, or 5 different spellings of "unique."

[Kitten Medli]

On one note I think its wrong to tell them their kid can't be named something when it isn't even offensive, but on the other hand it's like.. uh... I wouldn't want to be named 4real. Period.

[Asparagus Queen]

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

I bet you download music off the internet too.

Oh for pete's sake, I forgot the link. http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiap ... .child.ap/ I was reading the morning news, not stealing stories.

I tried to find the laws of what the criteria are to name your child, but I can't find them (yet).

I kind of agree with having some laws like that. I can see people start naming their kids in chatspeak or something... like L3ah, T0m, or 5arah...

[shapu]

http://www.answers.com/topic/list-of-un ... onal-names

I'm going to name my first kid "Rofflecopter"

[Caesara]

I think giving your child an unusual name is perfectly acceptable.. assuming it won't embarrass them later in life. 4real might sound cute, but it would cause some issues for him once he got to an age of interacting with other children. Those parents are stupid, bluntly.

[Mongrel]

4real? Naming him that is like BEGGING him to become a really horrible rapper.

[Light]

4real? Naming him that is like BEGGING him to become a really horrible rapper.

Why not name the son '2cool4u'?

[Paul]

4real? Naming him that is like BEGGING him to become a really horrible rapper.

Why not name the son '2cool4u'?

No. 2kewl4u.