You might think that your name is perfectly normal…but it’s possible that your moniker could be banned in another country.
For example, you can’t call a baby Charlotte in Portugal and there’s no chance of getting away with a baby Ashley in Germany. Here are the common names which have been banned abroad…
Portugal: No nicknames allowed
In Portugal, the government keeps an 80-page guide to which baby names are allowed and which are forbidden.
Aiden, Ashley, Bruce, Charlotte, Dylan and Jenny are all banned, with foreign names not permitted to be used for Portuguese babies.
This means that Portuguese parents looking for inspiration from Prince William and Kate Middleton’s daughter Charlotte will have to look elsewhere.
Another rule is that babies must be given full names – with no nicknames or abbreviations.
This means you can call a baby Thomas or Catherine, but not Tom or Kate.
Other banned names include references to pop culture, so there’s no chance you’d get away with naming a baby Rhianna.
Saudi Arabia: Alice banned
Parents in Saudi Arabia are forced to keep to a strict set of rules when it comes to settling on a baby name.
They aren’t allowed to use names which contradict the culture or religion of the country, with a number of foreign names banned alongside any name with royal connotations.
Elaine, Maya, Linda, Lauren and Alice have all found their way onto the banned list, as well as the names of Muslim prophets and the names of gods.
Iceland: Mind your C’s and Q’s
Icelandic parents have to submit their child’s name to the National Registry within six months of the baby being born.
Staff at the registry will then check the moniker against a list of approved names, with some seriously strict requirements.
Names must fit with Icelandic grammar, and need to be capable of being written with Icelandic spellings.
Since the Icelandic alphabet doesn’t have a C, Q or W, any name with these letters in would be banned.
This means that among the hundreds of outlawed names, there are no babies called Chris, Chloe, William or Jack.
Germany: Boys will be boys
In Germany, there are a few strict rules to keep on top of when it comes to naming your baby.
For one, gender-neutral names aren’t allowed – it must be possible to tell what gender a child is by its first name.
This means there’s a ban on calling your baby Taylor, Ashley, Riley, Morgan, Jordan or any other unisex name you can think of.
A second rule is that last names aren’t allowed to be used as first names – so you won’t find any babies called Anderson either.
Denmark: List off
Denmark has a list of around 7,000 baby names which are allowed in the country.
Like Germany, gender-neutral names are off the list – as are creative spellings of any common names.
Malaysia: Human nature
In Malaysia, any names based on nature are a big no-no, so there are no names which have anything to do with plants and animals.
This means that Bear, Violet, Rose and Lilly are all forbidden names in the Asian country.
Common baby names banned overseas
- Aiden (Portugal)
- Alice (Saudi Arabia)
- Ashley (Germany, Denmark, Portugal)
- Bruce (Portugal, Iceland)
- Charlotte (Portugal, Iceland)
- Chloe (Iceland)
- Chris (Iceland)
- Dylan (Portugal)
- Elaine (Saudi Arabia)
- Jack (Iceland)
- Jenny (Portugal)
- Jordan (Germany, Denmark)
- Kate (Portugal)
- Lauren (Saudi Arabia)
- Lilly (Malaysia)
- Linda (Saudi Arabia)
- Maya (Saudi Arabia)
- Morgan (Germany, Denmark)
- Rose (Malaysia)
- Taylor (Germany, Denmark)
- Tom (Portugal)
- Violet (Malaysia)
- William (Iceland