# Would I run into any restrictions giving my kid an obscene name? (US) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 24, 2004, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540 "2004-11-24T22:10:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![stochastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@stochastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stochastic)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/21 "2004-11-25T23:21:29Z")
My wife, an adoptions social worker, has come across many unfortunate names given to children by jerkwad biological “parents”. Nothing, at least in this state, can prevent a crack-whore-giving-birth-for-the-ninth-time from putting any name they desire on the birth certificate. One name that comes close to the example given in the OP was a girl named “Cunty”. Needless to say, that’s not the name the girl retained after adoption. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/22 "2004-11-26T04:32:33Z")
Huh. Nobody yet has mentioned the classic SNL skit with Nick Cage? “I’ve got a registered letter here for Asswipe Johnson.” " :mad: That’s ‘oz-WEE-pay’!!!" ---
**Author:** ![LorieSmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a587f6/32.png) [@LorieSmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LorieSmurf)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/23 "2004-11-26T04:57:09Z")
Apparently Shithead is not an uncommon Indian name. I’ve run across a couple of Shitheads in my career as a pediatric RN. It is rather shocking, but at least it’s pronounced Sha-Thaid. I just have to wonder about parents who have been in America and know American obsene words and attitudes subjecting their children to those names. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/24 "2004-11-26T04:59:02Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > p.s. minor hijack: This is the same school where my wife had a young man named Sir Vincent. ( He did have a last name, which of course is both irrelevant and private) Sir Vincent was his legal first name. His parents said they wanted their son to always be shown proper respect. Again, first-person witnessed story. Man… :dubious: The teachers would probably just call him Vincent. The best strategy is to change your own last name to Sir before you have a kid, and then make your child’s first, middle, and last name “Sir”. “Sir Sir Sir” That way the teachers would have no way around calling your kid Sir. Or what about “Sir God Master”? ---
**Author:** ![Catalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@Catalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catalyst)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/25 "2004-11-26T07:28:58Z")
And of course there’s always Major Major Major Major. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/26 "2004-11-26T10:23:24Z")
It’s not really obscene but had I been born female I’d be posting as JFMarch: January February March. I plan on giving my first daughter the honor of this name. People can call her Jan for short. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/27 "2004-11-26T12:43:46Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > The teachers would probably just call him Vincent. The best strategy is to change your own last name to Sir before you have a kid, and then make your child’s first, middle, and last name “Sir”. > > “Sir Sir Sir” > > That way the teachers would have no way around calling your kid Sir. > > Or what about “Sir God Master”? No. This was a few years ago so there is no need to surmise what the teachers “would” do. The bloom went off that rose fairly quickly since there was the novely aspect but no inappropriate aspect to his name. It simply became pronounced as **Sirvincent** and that was that. His parents got their wish and nobody tried to dodge around the name. To be fair on this one, people have a right to be called what they want to be called. I’ve worked a few days with **Queen Latifah**. I am aware that is not her given name. I am also aware that I was not the only one to call her “Queen” when speaking to her. It is the name she goes by. ( on a personal note, she deserves the name anyway. That woman is pure class and gentleness up one side and down another. ) ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/28 "2004-11-26T13:41:09Z")
I once worked with a Doctor Obispo (Doctor Bishop). I was baffled that there was a doctor in the refrigeration department. I later found out it was his real name. Way to go about not spending money on his education. ---
**Author:** ![RACHXXX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e99b99/32.png) [@RACHXXX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RACHXXX)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/29 "2004-11-26T13:49:29Z")
i once knew a lady who had a little and called it chain. now the child is about 30 and has a surname saw!! any more suggestions as to why not to call your child weird names?? 😛 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RACHXXX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e99b99/32.png) [@RACHXXX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RACHXXX)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/30 "2004-11-26T13:51:32Z")
> [@RACHXXX](#): > > i once knew a lady who had a little and called it chain. now the child is about 30 and has a surname saw!! > > any more suggestions as to why not to call your child weird names?? > > 😛 > 🙂 erm, lol i meant :- i once knew a lady who had a little BOY and called it chain. now the child is about 30 and has a surname saw!! any more suggestions as to why not to call your child weird names?? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/31 "2004-11-27T02:48:09Z")
The guy who invented the Lear jet (and the eight-track tape) named his daughter ‘Shanda.’ ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/32 "2004-11-27T03:10:13Z")
> [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > The guy who invented the Lear jet (and the eight-track tape) named his daughter ‘Shanda.’ Is that good, bad, or WHAT? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/33 "2004-11-27T03:27:52Z")
> [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > The guy who invented the Lear jet (and the eight-track tape) named his daughter ‘Shanda.’ If I recall correctly, Bill Lear named his daughter “Crystal Shanda”. ---
**Author:** ![izzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c2a13f/32.png) [@izzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/izzy)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/34 "2004-11-27T05:46:49Z")
I remember reading somewhere that yes, what Prince did was perfectly fine, and legally his name was that symbol. He was in court and the judge got so fed up that he insisted that for the rest of the trial they’d refer to him by his borth name. I might’ve read it here on the Straightdope. And in Japan, they do an actual list of approved names. Japanese-born Koreans have to have a legal Korean name and a legal Japanese name approved from a list. They don’t have Japanese citizenship, so on their passport they have a Korean name, and I think it actually takes precedence. Thing is, they rarely reveal to others that they are ethnic Korean and only let people know their Japanese names. And also, there was a case of these two Japanese parents who wanted to name their kid, “Akuma,” which is “devil.” They didn’t let them. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/35 "2004-11-27T13:33:05Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > If I recall correctly, Bill Lear named his daughter “Crystal Shanda”. :smack: That is a clever play on phonics/words! Hardly obscene per OP. Too many parents think it cute or something to saddle a child with a name they will forever hate or feel disgraced over. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/36 "2004-11-27T15:05:53Z")
> [@Seven](#): > > My real name is in fact Seven. Man or woman? ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/37 "2004-11-27T16:13:39Z")
> [@spingears](#): > > Don’t forget the PFC with the given name of “Sargent” [OT] After looking at a list of ranks of the U.S. Marines, I always thought “Lance Corporal” would be an interesting name.[/OT] And I must say that “CuntFuck McNiggerWop” is pretty damn funny. ---
**Author:** ![Spongemom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Spongemom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spongemom)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/38 "2004-11-27T19:04:04Z")
I have one child, 2-year-old Joe D (Joseph Daniel). His father, my ex, has several other kids. (Long story). Of those kids, one boy has the initials B.A.G., and another has the initials T.A.G. My ex insisted (assuming that he would have his last name) that I give my son a first name starting with an F, because he thought it was “neat”. I thought it was absurd. Can you imagine the ridicule in school? Thankfully, I left that bastard long before I had to choose a name, and my son has my last name, giving him the initials J.D.E., which is a lot better than my dipshit ex’s idea. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/39 "2004-11-27T22:29:20Z")
Another story from a social worker. I heard about a little boy legally named “Niggah”. When he was taken from his mother, the social workers got his name changed. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/40 "2004-11-28T00:05:57Z")
From the Social Security Death Index: TANYA SHITSMAN 12 Dec 1913 – Nov 1984 ANNA SHITMAN 12 Jan 1896 – Feb 1989 ANTHONY SHITSICK 2 Jul 1889 – Jan 1973 CLARENCE SHITTUM 7 Oct 1947 – Jan 1971 CARL SHITFORD 26 Aug 1924 – Oct 1970 WING J. SHIT 18 Dec 1920 – 5 Apr 2000 SHIT C. SHUM 8 Nov 1944 – 8 Aug 2003 SHIT Y. YEUNG 12 Jul 1911 – 5 Feb 1994 SHITAE E. COCKERHAM 18 Mar 1998 – 18 Mar 1998 CUNTHIA D. CROWSON 19 Oct 1960 – 14 Jul 2001 FUK FU 8 Jun 1924 – 4 May 2003 FUK MAN LEUNG 12 Jun 1935 – 7 Jun 1998 FUK WONG 26 Jan 1922 – 20 Apr 2000 VAGINAG KOROGHLIAN 24 Feb 1940 – Sep 1981 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540.md?page=3)