To Prevent Bullying, Mexican State Bans “Outlandish” Names Like Scrotum, Virgin and Twitter

The state of Sonora, in Northwestern Mexico, has taken action against “name abuse” (the practice of giving children outlandish names that encourage teasing and bullying) by banning 61 names and promising to expand the list as more harmful names come to their attention.

“It’s about protecting children,” said Cristina Ramirez, the director of Sonora’s Civil Registry. “We want to make sure children’s names don’t get them bullied in school.”

Here are some of the names banned in the state of Sonora as reported by Reuters:

Technology Names: Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo, Email

Fictional Names: Harry Potter, Rambo, James Bond, Terminator, Robocop

Medical Terms: Scrotum, Circumcision, Virgin

Brand Names: Burger King, Rolling Stone, USNAVY

Historical Names: like Hitler

Parents may be influenced by the “anything goes” style of baby-naming practiced by celebrities. But if you can’t afford to send your child to school in a chauffeur-driven limousine, accompanied by a bodyguard, picking an “outlandish” name for your child is like putting a “kick me” sign on his back before he gets picked up by school bus for another hellish day.

So let’s call the practice of giving children “funny” or “outrageous” or just plain “weird” names that are likely to embarrass your child and encourage teasing or bullying what it really is: name abuse. Cristina Ramirez put her finger on the problem: children’s “outlandish” names “can get them bullied.” By her choice of language it’s clear that this is a problem that parents needlessly inflict on their children.

What kind of parents do that? People who aren’t primarily concerned about their children’s welfare. The Baby Name Police prefers handing out tickets to parents who abuse their freedom of choice to banning names, but we think a “public scold” is needed to warn parents away from ridiculous names likely to embarrass children and subject them to teasing, harassment, and bullying.

Brit Soccer Star Wayne Rooney’s Name Choice Trashed after He Tweeted Birth Announcement for Klay Anthony Rooney

I was disturbed by Laura Cox’s Reuters article about British soccer star Wayne Rooney, whose happy Tweets about brand new baby, Klay Anthony Rooney, were attacked by Twitter Trolls who badmouthed the baby’s name and even what he looked like.

If you want the lurid details you can read the original article, but suffice it to say their comments were rude and crude and could be fairly described as “personal attacks.”

Most articles about birth announcements either gush over the names or critique them, but this one helped me imagine how critical comments might come across to the parents. I write about celebrity baby names too; my blog is tweeted out on the internet. I get news “feeds” through Twitter, just like those British “Twitter trolls.” And I’m rarely impressed by celebrity baby names, many of of which come across to me as “self-indulgent publicity stunts,” like the names Kanye West and Kim Kardashian have been “leaking” on evening TV talk shows.

But the Rooney article reports that Klay* was named after Muhammad Ali whose birth name was Cassius Clay, that Klay’s older brother was named Kai and the Rooney’s were going with one-syllable “K”-names for both brothers (so they can remember their kids’names when their short-term memory starts to go).

There’s nothing awful or egregious about the names Wayne and Colleen Rooney picked for their two sons. In fact, I think the Rooney boys lucked out. But reading the article helped me empathize with past victims of overly harsh critical comments I’ve written over the years.

My main purpose in writing about celebrity baby names is to turn celebrity birth announcements into “teachable moments” for expecting parents who are likely to read almost anything written about “baby names in the news” (which is also the name of my blog). Of course if you’re a celebrity who gives your baby a “what-were-they-thinking?” name (like Apple, Blue Ivy, or Peaches Honeyblossom) you’re not going to be too happy about my cricial comments, if you happen to read them.

Anyway, I’m feeling contrite and hope y’all don’t perceive me as a rude and crude internet troll. So to make up for any names I may have “greeted” with overly harsh comments, I’m giving Wayne and Colleen Rooney 2 thumbs up for sibling names Klay and Kai.

*I wonder if Rooney is aware of what an amazing star Klay Thompson of the NBA (Golden State Warriors) has become.