Date: Thu, 05 Sep 2002 14:22:09 -0400
From: "Michael Walsh" <MJW at mail.press.jhu.edu>
To: <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] The Name Game . . .
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

>From CNN.com:

" BERLIN, Germany -- A Turkish couple
living in Germany who want to call
their child Osama bin Laden have been
refused permission by German officials
but are to appeal to a judge.

Names can only be registered in Germany
if they fulfil certain criteria. A name must
clearly identify the child's gender and must
not ridicule the child or be offensive.

"Hitler" is banned as a name for that reason.

Registrations officials in Cologne, where
the young couple live, rejected the name
because it would not be allowed in
Turkey, a spokeswoman for the
magistrates court now dealing with the
case said on Thursday.

"Another reason was the obvious association of the name with the terror =
attacks of
September 11," she said.

The German rules on babies' names also say that
non-German parents must give their children names
that are acceptable in their home country.

However, registration officials do not have the
power to ban the couple from using the name of the
al Qaeda leader for their child and the case has been
referred to a judge.

The parents, both under 30, have been asked to
make a statement to the judge, the spokeswoman
said.

She declined to comment on whether the couple had
other children and what their names were.

The United States blames al Qaeda and its leader,
Saudi-born bin Laden, for the September 11 attacks."