Some countries have a list of preapproved baby names.
Although it may sound like something from the handbook of an oppressive regime, there are several generally tolerant countries that require parents to pick from a list of government-approved choices for baby names. Iceland, Denmark, Portugal, and Hungary are among these nations, although parents with a strong preference for something unique can apply for exceptions.
Other countries have no such lists, but possess rules about what falls within the boundaries of acceptability. In New Zealand, for example, the Office of the Registrar-General will reject names that reflect an official title (such as "King") or have nonnumerical or nonalphabetic characters (such as "/"). Germany's Standesamt will deny attempts to bestow the names of inanimate objects (e.g., "telephone") or common surnames on children. Saudi Arabia's interior ministry has banned names that contradict the kingdom's cultural sensibilities or are simply deemed "too foreign" (examples include names such as "Linda"). And the governments of numerous other countries, from Mexico and Australia to France and Italy, will step in to nix a moniker that could offend others or threaten a child's emotional well-being.
The United States isn't exempt from such oversight into family matters either, as there are naming restrictions in place that vary by state. Several states forbid obscene and derogatory names, and others prohibit the inclusion of numbers, symbols, or even accented letters (which means no way, "José"). A few have limits on the number of characters permissible in the full or individual first, middle, and last names. Otherwise, the land of the free largely lives up to its billing in the baby-naming department.
While many names in the Western world are drawn from traditional European choices and religious texts, others were spawned by the minds that composed some of our most treasured works. William Shakespeare is responsible for several, including Jessica from The Merchant of Venice. Jonathan Swift brought us Vanessa from his poem "Cadenus and Vanessa," and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow did the same with the poem "Evangeline." Partial credit goes to Johanna Spyri and J. M. Barrie, whose respective creations of Heidi and Wendy from Peter Pan gave life to stand-alone versions of existing nicknames. And while it’s a stretch to say that the title character of The Picture of Dorian Gray inspired a legion of like-named babies, Oscar Wilde at least deserves honorable mention for introducing that moniker to the public domain.
