In the U.S., parents have significant freedom in choosing baby names, allowing for unique and unconventional choices without much restriction. In contrast, New Zealand's strict naming guidelines led to the rejection of 71 names from about 60,000 births in one year. The Registrar-General evaluates proposed names against criteria such as offensiveness, resemblance to titles, excessive length, and include numbers or symbols. Notably rejected names include 'King,' 'Sativa,' and 'Prince.' While parents can justify their choices, many names simply do not meet the stringent criteria.
Names must not be offensive, resemble a title or rank, be "unreasonably long," or include numbers of symbols. Community perception, spelling and pronunciation, and parental reasoning for the name are also considered.
Before any name is declined, the Registrar-General communicates with the parent or parents and provides the opportunity for them to provide further justification as to why their child should have that name.
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