Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Well, nobody likes Monday

The last time we made mention of a family deciding to name a child something, only to see them stopped by their local governments, we were detailing the story of young "4real". And, well, there's just no good reason that the parents should have been allowed to follow through with their wishes, although their second choice, "Superman", wasn't much better. If only that family had lived in Italy, where they wouldn't have needed to worry about an alternate name. It would have been chosen for them.

After all, that's what happened to an Italian couple who were looking to name their child "Friday". Because, in Italy, when the courts feel that the name chosen could lead to a lifetime of teasing, possible difficulties in establishing friendships, and a potential lawsuit from an American chain restaurant, it's clear that neither the wishes of the parents nor the opinion of the baptising priest should play into it. The boy's new name? Gregory, as he was born on the feast day for the Saint. And we all know that there's no possible way for people to make fun of the name "Gregory" (and yes, we happen to know some very nice Gregory's, but that's besides the point).

Given that the Italian courts were able to do this to young Friday, is there a chance that such powers could come across the pond? More specifically, could the Hollywood elite (who seem to have an addiction to naming their children some of the most bizarre names possible) be affected by such a ruling? As the couple themselves point out, the chances of this name-change happening to a richer, more famous family are fairly slim, but we can hold out hope. After all, we were a little off-kilter when we heard names like Apple (Paltrow), Audio Science (Sossamon), and Alcamy (Henricksen), and we're actively fearful as to what the newest babies being born into Hollywood will be named. Of course, after Nic Cage's child, Kal-El, there are few names that could reach the same levels of bizarre and nerdy, so there's a small comfort.

It really could have been worse. The couple could have named their child Sunday. And since we know that everyone rests on Sunday....

Yeah, we're a little ashamed we went there, too.

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