Judge vetoes girl's name
2008-07-24 07:32
Wellington - A New Zealand judge has slammed parents who called their child Talua Does the Hula from Hawaii and ordered she be given a more suitable name, a newspaper reported on Thursday.
"It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap," Family Court Judge Rob Murfitt said, ruling that the nine-year-old be made a guardian of the court until she gets a new name.
The girl, subject of a custody battle between her separated parents, told the judge she was so embarrassed she had not revealed her given name, which was not officially registered, to her friends for fear of being mocked and teased, the Taranaki Daily News reported.
The judge told the paper that Family Court judges were "dismayed by the eccentricity of names" that parents were giving their children, citing twins named Fish and Chips and Benson and Hedges (a brand of cigarettes).
Other names included Number 16 Bus Shelter, Midnight Chardonnay, Fat Boy, Cinderella Beauty Blossom, Got Lucky and Sex Fruit, he said. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA