# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/101 "2010-08-24T11:28:59Z")
> [@spingears](#): > > [QUOTE=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. [/QUOTE] Also not obscene, but it does make you wonder: Nicolas Cage named his son Kal-El, which is Superman’s Kryptonian birth name. And Kevin Smith named his daughter Harley Quinn, after the Joker’s girlfriend. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/102 "2010-08-24T17:53:41Z")
I’ve worked at preschools, summer camps, and tutored children at elementary schools. I think the weirdest name I’ve ever come across was **YaMajesty**. Many, many children had horribly mispelled or kre8tively spelled regular names, though. My best friend’s great-aunts all have masculine names (apparently their father REALLY wanted boys). One was supposed to be named ‘William Ofer’, but the doctor felt sorry for her and wrote ‘William Opal’ on the birth certificate instead so she’d have a girl’s name to go by. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/103 "2010-08-24T20:44:32Z")
Has anyone mentioned _Ima Pigg_ of, I think, Texas royalty? I shall google. Wikied instead. Wrong [swine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ima_Hogg). ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/104 "2013-08-12T13:06:55Z")
[ZOMBIE THREAD RESURRECTION] This case is a little like what I was asking, although the name is less obscene and more sacrilegious, I guess. > **[Messiah baby name: Make it Martin instead, judge says](https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Family/2013/0812/Messiah-baby-name-Make-it-Martin-instead-judge-says)** > > Messiah baby name creates controversy in Tennessee. Despite Messiah being among the fastest-rising baby names last year, a judge ruled that Messiah cannot be a baby name in Cocke County. > [@](#): > > Messiah baby name: Make it Martin instead, judge says > Messiah baby name creates controversy in Tennessee. Despite Messiah being among the fastest-rising baby names last year, a judge ruled that Messiah cannot be a baby name in Cocke County. So a judge in the USA has the power to force a name change? ---
**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:** [August 12, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/105 "2013-08-12T14:08:23Z")
The BBC article that I ready says that there are other 700 Messiahs (they are just naughty boys) in the US. This kid seemed to have been singled out. I shall wait for the legal beagles to tune in with their opinion on the merits of the case. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/106 "2013-08-12T14:21:45Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > The BBC article that I ready says that there are other 700 Messiahs (they are just naughty boys) in the US. This kid seemed to have been singled out. I shall wait for the legal beagles to tune in with their opinion on the merits of the case. Not my area of law, but in my opinion, this is a slam-dunk for reversal. The judge basically put, on the record, her reasoning, and that reasoning is solidly grounded in acceptance of Christian theology. That’s impermissible entanglement, the third prong of the Lemon test. The government is not permitted to take the position that “…the religious name [Messiah] was earned by one person and that one person is Jesus Christ.” Wonder how this judge feels about the large numbers of people named Jesus in Latin households? ---
**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:** [August 12, 2013, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/107 "2013-08-12T16:09:10Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > That’s impermissible entanglement, the third prong of the Lemon test. The government is not permitted to take the position that “…the religious name [Messiah] was earned by one person and that one person is Jesus Christ.” Why do you think a judge will make a finding that so obviously relies on _her_ interpretation of a religious text? Is she just stupid? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/108 "2013-08-12T16:16:54Z")
She shouldn’t make a finding based on _any_ interpretation of a religious text. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/109 "2013-08-13T01:53:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > So, they wanted folks to address him as “Sir Sir Vincent”? > > And odd though it may sound, I find the story of Bagina reassuring. The parents may have been loony, but at least they gave a damn about something. As the son of an public school teacher, I know just how rare that is. I find it frightening-when you have idiots having children, that is not rare enough. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/110 "2013-08-13T02:08:00Z")
> [@Khampelf](#): > > Well, Seven hasn’t come back, but I can just imagine that exchange: > > “Is your sister named Eight?” > > “No, Nine.” > > “???” > > “We’re an Odd family.” Try this: “Is your sister named Eight?” “Nein!” ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/111 "2013-08-13T02:22:46Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > Fact. Not rumor, nor urban legend. > > My wife is a teacher. In a public school. She had a child enter her room many years ago. She was informed by this child that her name was Bagina. The child pronounced it clearly as to rhyme with vagina. My wife said ( somewhat shocked ), you mean it’s “Ba-Gee-Nah, right”. The girl insisted that she was saying her name properly. ( This is the 3rd grade. ) > > By the end of day, the child’s parents were in the Principal’s office. They were infuriated that anyone would dare disrespect their daughter by mis-pronouncing their child’s given name. The Principal informed them that they could either alter the accepted pronounciation, or get an attorney and possibly withdraw their daughter but she would **not** permit the entire school to go yelling down the halls, " here comes vagina !!! " > > They folded. Bah-Gee-Nah had a perfectly nice year that year. > > Cartooniverse You wife sound like a real cunt. . . uhhh. . . I mean a real coooont. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/112 "2013-08-13T02:36:27Z")
You mean like Randy Johnson? ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/113 "2013-08-13T03:24:06Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > Why do you think a judge will make a finding that so obviously relies on _her_ interpretation of a religious text? Is she just stupid? To make a point? Because she doesn’t want to support what she considers a blasphem, and thinks that it’s more important than ruling according to law? Washing her hands, like Pontius Pilatus : “This might be reversed, but I won’t have any part in this blasphemy”? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/114 "2013-08-13T03:51:28Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Also not obscene, but it does make you wonder: > > Nicolas Cage named his son Kal-El, which is Superman’s Kryptonian birth name. And Kevin Smith named his daughter Harley Quinn, after the Joker’s girlfriend. The Simonsons had the good taste to name their son Benjamin Kal-El: the Ben is for the Thing, and it’s common enough both in the US and in Spain (where they have or had a house). ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/115 "2013-08-13T04:07:07Z")
Wait, you’re from Spain? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/116 "2013-08-13T04:13:54Z")
Wait, you think only comic book fans who are from Spain know the Simonsons used to have a house in the Costa Brava? ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/117 "2013-08-13T04:39:23Z")
My mom has a co-worker named Clamydia ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/118 "2013-08-13T09:57:32Z")
Since it’s been brought back to life, I’ll add to it. It’s not obscene in any way (or all that odd, either), but I have a friend with the last name of Fogg. He named his daughter Misty Raine Fogg. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/119 "2013-08-13T12:22:35Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > So a judge in the USA has the power to force a name change? In Cocke County, of all places? (rhymes with “cock”.) ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540/120 "2013-08-13T13:50:47Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Not my area of law, but in my opinion, this is a slam-dunk for reversal. The judge basically put, on the record, her reasoning, and that reasoning is solidly grounded in acceptance of Christian theology. Check this case out I remember. The syllabus says it all. [http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/docs/pdf/0/2001/2001-ohio-1326.pdf](http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/docs/pdf/0/2001/2001-ohio-1326.pdf) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-run-into-any-restrictions-giving-my-kid-an-obscene-name-us/276540.md?page=7)