By School Reporters Max, Mitul, Leo and Rahil
This week the BBC reported that a French court ruled a couple could not call their child ‘Nutella.’ They were told to name her
‘Ella’ instead. There are many places in the world which have banned names. Some, such as Akuma (banned in Japan, where it means ‘devil’) and Mona Lisa (banned in Portugal), are relatively normal and perhaps understandably banned. However, some are quite peculiar. In New Zealand the name ‘Number 16 Bus Shelter’ is allowed but the name ‘Yeah Detroit!’ is not. Other names which are normal in some countries are banned in others. For example, in Iceland ‘Carolina’ is banned, even though here it is quite a common, normal name. This issue raises a hotly contested debate: does the state have the right to tell us what we should or should not call our children? Are they right in preventing us from calling our children some quite strange and possibly disastrous names? Let’s hear from both sides of the debate:
Some names last across time. Out of our head monitors from 1606 to
1686, 12 were called William.
The state should be allowed to censor what people call their children:
Although some believe that people should have the freedom to name their child whatever they want, I believe the state has a responsibility to stop people naming their child inappropriate names. The name
‘Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlb b11116’, pronounced Albin, is banned in
Sweden and quite rightly so. The parents of this child protest that they have the right to name what they want, however this is clearly an outrageous name. These same parents also asked for the name ‘A’ however, surprisingly, that was rejected too. Naming a child inappropriately could have a detrimental effect on their future.
We interviewed Mr Powell, chemistry teacher, who claimed that if a name offends someone, the state should have the power to intervene.
The state should not be allowed to censor what people call their children:
Names shouldn’t be banned as this form of censorship goes against the concept of freedom of speech. As you have the right

to swear, even though it’s not very good, you have similarly the right to name your child whatever you want. Banning names is evidence that freedom of speech is not real at the moment in many countries. I believe that freedom of speech often only applies when it suits the state concerned.
I believe in real freedom of speech as do many others so I think it is right to name your child whatever you want. A student who we interviewed a similar opinion. He said: “I think it is unacceptable for the state to do this as people have a right to free speech and free will”.