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‘Prince William’ baby name blocked in France

France's most popular baby names for 2015 were revealed on Wednesday, together with a few names that fell foul of the law, including that of a prince.

Published: 14 October 2015 11:59 CEST
'Prince William' baby name blocked in France
Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge as they show their newly-born daughter to the media. Photo: AFP
If you're having a baby in France, you might want to forget calling him “Prince William”. 
 
Or “Mini Cooper”, for that matter. 
 
Parents in Perpignan, southern France, tried both names on their son and daughter this year, but French officials stepped in, claiming the names would only lead to a childhood of mockery, reported L'Indépendant.  
 

(Britain's Prince William and Prince Harry tour a building site in Manchester. Photo: AFP)
 
While the names are yet to be officially banned, the deputy prosecutor objected to the names called on the court judges to make a decision under article 57 in civil law that allows judges to over rule parents' choice of baby names “in the interests of the child”.
 
It might seem unfair to the parents of France's “Prince William” (who presumably has been renamed something more in accordance with the law), especially considering names like Tarzan, Mowgli, and Khaleesi (from Game of Thrones) have all got the green light.
 
 

(Photo: C More)
 
Strange baby names have been a phenomenon in France ever since 1993, when a law change meant parents didn't have to choose names from a long list of “acceptable” options.
 
And since the law change, judges have been forced to step in on a number of occasions.
 
This year has already seen bans on the names Nutella and Fraise (which is French for Strawberry), along with a slew of others.
 
France bars parents from naming baby 'Nutella'

(French court bars parents from naming children Nutella and Fraise (Strawberry) Photo: Esimpraim/Flickr)
 
For those who like to play it a bit safer, Wednesday saw the annual rankings of the most popular baby names in France for 2015 revealed in Le Parisien.
 
The newest edition of “L'Officiel des Prenoms” found that Léo was the most popular boy's name in France, knocking Nathan off the top spot where it's been for the past three years. 
 
And for the girls, Louise came in top, knocking Emma off its five-year ruling. Lèa, in tenth place, spent almost ten years in top spot before Emma, and might just see a resurgence as the career of actress Léa Seydoux continues to soar.
 
Bond girl Léa Seydoux: Seven things to know
(Léa Seydoux. Photo: AFP)
 
The top twenty names for girls
 
1. Louise
2. Emma
3. Chloé
4. Lola
5. Inès
6. Manon
7. Jade
8. Alice
9. Lina
10. Léa
11. Camille
12. Juliette
13. Léna
14. Sarah
15. Lilou
16. Eva
17. Zoé
18. Anna
19. Adèle, Rose
20. Mila
 

(Photo: Le Parisien)
 
The top twenty names for boys
 
1. Léo
2. Gabriel
3. Adam
4. Timéo
5. Raphaël
6. Lucas
7. Louis
8. Arthur
9. Nathan
10. Hugo
11. Nolan
12. Enzo
13. Jules
14. Liam
15. Ethan
16. Noah
17. Sacha
18. Tom
19. Théo
20. Gabin, Maël
 
Stephanie Rapoport, author of the ranking, uses trends drawn from official registry data to predict the names parents will choose in the year ahead.
 

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NAMES

Adolf, Alexa, Greta: These are the names Germans don’t want to give their kids

History, technology and current political trends all seem to have an influence when German parents decide on names for their children, a new survey shows.

Published: 25 March 2021 10:28 CET
Adolf, Alexa, Greta: These are the names Germans don’t want to give their kids
File photo: dpa | Fabian Strauch

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Adolf is the least popular name for Germans to give their children. 

While Adolphus was a relatively popular name in the first part of the 20th century, its association primarily with Adolf Hitler has since made it taboo.

A survey brought out by YouGov on Thursday shows that 89 percent of Germans say it is “unlikely” they would call their child Adolf, although 8 percent still say it is “likely” they would do so.

READ ALSO: What it’s like to share a name with the world’s most notorious dictator

Alexa, the name of Amazon’s virtual assistant, is also rather unpopular, with 79 percent of respondents saying they would probably not pick this as a name for their child.

Kevin, a name strongly associated with the fashion of giving children American names during the communist era in East German, is also now unpopular. Some 80 percent say they wouldn’t give their child this name.

According to a survey done in 2011, men called Kevin also have less luck in finding love online, presumably because of the negative associations of the once popular name.

For girls, Greta seems to be unpopular, with three quarters of respondents saying they wouldn’t use it as a name for their child. YouGov says that “perhaps people have the polarizing climate activist Greta Thunberg in the backs of their minds.”

Asked what they believed has the most impact on how names are chosen, the respondents said that family and ethnic background have an overwhelmingly positive influence.

Politics and current trends on the other hand were seen to have a generally negative impact on the favourability of names.

The survey also found out that Germans are generally very happy with their given names, with 84 percent voicing satisfaction and just 13 percent expressing dissatisfaction.

The results come from a representative study of 2,058 people in Germany between February 12th and February 15th.

SEE ALSO: These are Germany’s most popular baby names for 2020

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