Latest news with #Kānaka
Buzz Feed
01-07-2025
- General
- Buzz Feed
State Baby Naming Laws: What's Legal In Your Area
Names are becoming more and more unique every day. But did you know some places have strict laws on what name you're allowed to put on a baby's birth certificate? Well, it's true. And the United States is no exception. In fact, it's illegal to name your child Jesus Christ, Adolf Hitler, Harry 3, Nutella, and @. But the rules don't stop there! Here's a list of states that have specific rules for the name you give your child at birth: Alaska — The use of symbols, including diacritical marks like the kahakō (¯), for names that originate from Kānaka 'Ōiw and Inupiaq cultures is permitted. Arizona — Names can have a total of 141 characters. Arkansas — Names can have apostrophes, hyphens, and spaces, as long as they're not consecutive. California — Derogatory or obscene names, pictographs, and non-English characters are officially banned. Connecticut — Names must contain English letters only, without any symbols. Obscene names prohibited and a name is not required at the time of birth. Delaware — No strict rules; you can change a name at any time. Florida — Parents must sign an agreement on what the child's name will be or the state court will automatically assign one for them. Georgia — No symbols or accents. Hawaii — The use of symbols, including diacritical marks like the kahakō (¯), for names that originate from Kānaka 'Ōiw and Inupiaq cultures is permitted. Idaho — Only English letters allowed. Illinois — No real restrictions. Special characters and numbers are allowed. Indiana — The total length of the first, middle, and last name must be under 100 characters. Iowa — Flexible with naming. Parents can also add a first name (but not change an existing one) until the child is 7 years old. Louisiana — A baby's last name must match the mother's if she wasn't married within 300 days before the birth. Massachusetts — A baby's first, last, and middle names are restricted to a maximum of 40 characters each. Michigan — Names can only have English-language characters in them. Minnesota — Numbers and special symbols are banned, except for apostrophes and hyphens. Mississippi — The child automatically takes on the father's last name if/when the parents are married. A different name can be requested if preferred. New Hampshire — Names can have a maximum of 100 characters total. Apostrophes/dashes are allowed, but no other punctuation. New Jersey — No obscene names, symbols, or numbers. New York — First and middle names have a maximum of 30 characters each, but last names cannot exceed 40 characters. Numbers and symbols in names are strictly forbidden. North Carolina — Accent marks, tildes (á), and hyphens are allowed, but numbers, symbols, and emojis are not. Ohio — You can use hyphens, apostrophes, and spaces, but numbers in names are prohibited. Oklahoma — Nonbinary birth-sex markers are banned. Rhode Island — Accented letters are prohibited on birth certificates, but they can be used formally. South Carolina — Names with numbers and symbols are allowed. Tennessee — Last names follow the father if married, and judges can object to sacrilegious names (i.e., Messiah). Texas — First, middle, and last names can't exceed 100 characters. Only English characters are allowed. Numbers, emojis, and diacritical marks are forbidden. Lastly, Virginia — Numbers, symbols and other special characters such as umlauts and tildes are banned. Tell us about an interesting name you've seen or heard before in the comments!
Mint
07-06-2025
- General
- Mint
Banned baby names in the US: Why you can't name your child King, Nutella, or 1069 in certain American states
Several US states have laws that restrict what parents can legally name their children, with a number of unusual names making the banned list. Among the names that have been rejected by authorities are King, Queen, Jesus Christ, and others to name a few. Check out the full list of banned names here: While the US gives parents broad freedom in naming their children, state laws vary widely. In California and New Jersey, obscene or offensive names are not allowed at all. In other states, like Illinois and South Carolina, names with numbers or symbols — such as '1069' or '@' — are surprisingly allowed. Some rules are shaped by cultural protections. For example, Hawaii and Alaska permit special characters in names that come from indigenous languages, such as the Kānaka 'Ōiwi and Inupiaq communities. North Carolina allows tildes (ñ), but neighbouring Virginia does not. Many states also set strict limits on the number of characters allowed in names. In New York, each part of a name has a specific limit — 30 characters for first and middle names, and 40 for last names. Massachusetts limits each name to 40 characters, while Arizona allows a combined total of 141 characters across all parts. There are also rules around surnames. In Mississippi, a child is automatically given the father's last name unless the parents request otherwise. In Louisiana, if the mother is unmarried and gives birth within 300 days, the baby receives her surname. In Florida, if parents don't agree on a name, a court will choose one. As naming rules shift from state to state, parents are urged to check local laws before picking anything too creative.
