The couple from the Morbihan department in the north west region of
Brittany tried to give the boys name Liam, common in English-speaking
countries, to their third child, a baby girl who was born in November.
And true to form, in February the French courts stepped in, with the public
prosecutor saying the name "would be likely to create a risk of gender
confusion" and would be "therefore contrary to the interest of the
child and could harm her in her social relations".
The prosecutor has asked the judge to ban the parents from using the first
name and force them to give "the child another name chosen by the parents
and, failing that, by the judge."
Indeed the prosecutor quoted the examples of the the maverick lead singer
of Britpop group Oasis, Liam Gallagher as well as American-British actor Liam
Neeson who starred in Schindler's List
to support their argument, according to French press reports.
It seems the mother had already been advised to give the child "a more
feminine middle name" by the registrar the day after the baby was born but
she was alone at the time and did not want to make the decision without her
partner.
Part of the problem could be that the French aren't used to having names
that can be given to both boys and girls, with many first names having male and
female equivalents, including Francois and Francoise, Jean and Jeanne, and
Frederic and Frederique.
However even in English-speaking countries, the name Liam is uncommon as a
first name for girls.
The parents, who wish to
remain anonymous, have requested the services of a lawyer and postponed the
date of the baptism.
The date of the trial hearing
has not yet been set.
Parents in France often fallen
foul of the rules regarding baby names.
Up until 1993 parents in
France had to choose a name for their baby from a long list of acceptable
"prenoms" laid out by authorities.
But the list was scrapped
under President François Mitterand and French parents were given the liberty to
be a little bit more inventive. (thelocal.fr, 5/3/2018)
Another row has broken out between a French couple and the country's
"name police" after the parents took the unusual step of naming their
baby boy "Ambre" -- the French equivalent of "Amber".
It's never very long before another baby name wrangle occurs in
France.
This time it's the name "Amber" or "Ambre" in
French.
A lesbian couple from the Breton department of Morbihan don't understand
why they have been banned from naming their baby boy "Ambre" who was
born in January.
"It's very unfair," they told the French press.
The name "Ambre" first appeared in France in the 1950s, according
to reports in the French press, and is considered to be the feminine version of
the word Ambroise which means "immortal".
However it is rarely used in France even for girls. (thelocal.fr, 12/9/2018)
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου