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Like styles of jeans and pop stars, baby name trends come and go. Right now, quirky spellings and names inspired by mythology (Lilith, Persephone) or places (Ocean, London) are falling out of favor, while gender-fluid (Parker, Remi) and romantic, vintage names (Eliana, Ophelia) are on the rise. While it might seem like you can call your child anything these days, that’s actually not the case.
In America, there are state laws that dictate what you can and can’t put on a birth certificate. The most common restrictions are special characters (including accented letters like “ñ”), numbers, symbols, and emojis because they cannot be entered in record systems—tough luck if you’ve been dreaming about a daughter named B@il3y. Here are seven of the most surprising baby naming laws in the U.S., according to USBirthCertificates.com.
1. Professional titles
In many states, parents cannot give their child a name like Judge or Doctor. This law is reportedly in place to prevent impersonation and misleading people. (Not that you would ask a baby for medical advice.)
2. Royal or religious titles
Likewise, the names Queen, King, Majesty, and Princess are banned in some states for similar reasons.
3. Santa Claus
Sorry, you can’t name your baby after the big guy in the red suit. While Santa is permitted as a first name, many states do not allow the full moniker because it could confuse children.
4. Jesus Christ
Similarly, courts in some states have rejected this name outright, deeming it blasphemous.
Jesús or Jesus, however, is accepted as a first name.
5. Long names
Name lengths are often regulated, too. In New York, parents must keep it brief: first and middle names cannot be longer than 30 characters each. Massachusetts restricts first, middle, and last names to 40 characters each.
6. “Baby boy” or “baby girl”
You might call your child your “baby,” but you can’t name them that. According to the Social Security Administration, the following words cannot be registered as a first name: Baby, Baby Boy and Baby Girl (spelled in any way), Infant, No Name, Unnamed and Uname. The processing system views these words as incomplete or invalid responses.
7. Test
Like “baby,” if you try to name your child “Test,” the Social Security System will view it as invalid. “Void” and “Unknown” trigger the same response.
