# What happens if parents refuse to name their child?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-parents-refuse-to-name-their-child/635629>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 23, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-parents-refuse-to-name-their-child/635629 "2012-09-23T22:29:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-parents-refuse-to-name-their-child/635629/41 "2012-09-26T02:44:35Z")

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Picabo Street was known as Baby Girl for the first few years of her life. When her parents wanted to take the family on a trip abroad they were required to provide a name for the passport. Picabo was the name of a town in Idaho(?).

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**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-parents-refuse-to-name-their-child/635629/42 "2012-09-26T07:10:50Z")

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Largely a moot point now that **kayaker** has found the source, but-

> [@Cheshire\_Human](#):
>
> Show me a _documented_ “Nosmo”, and I might be more inclined to believe your story.

I can assure you I was not making up a story, I was relating something told to me.

> [@](#):
>
> If you want to assert that one exists, present evidence that one does. I merely put a (very low, i.e 4) upper limit on the ones that might actually exist.
> 
> I await your evidence that one ever did…

Respectfully, you are arguing against neither claims I made nor positions I took. As I said, it was quite possible that it was an urban legend, but based on facts in evidence it was not definitely one.

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**Author:** ![Klostertal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@Klostertal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Klostertal)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-parents-refuse-to-name-their-child/635629/43 "2012-09-26T14:36:42Z")

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What would happen if a couple were to have a baby at home and simply not tell any authorities about it? How long could they pull it off? (Surely it wouldn’t last past school age.) What would be the consequences?

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**Author:** ![Mac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Mac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mac)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-parents-refuse-to-name-their-child/635629/44 "2012-09-26T15:12:04Z")

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> [@Klostertal](#):
>
> What would happen if a couple were to have a baby at home and simply not tell any authorities about it? How long could they pull it off? (Surely it wouldn’t last past school age.) What would be the consequences?

A sad sidetrack but how old were Jaycee Dugard’s children before the police figured out who they were? I think the oldest was about 5-6 years old.

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**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-parents-refuse-to-name-their-child/635629/45 "2012-09-26T15:35:44Z")

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[Nosmo King](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosmo_King)

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