Parents lose custody for calling daughter Talula Does The Hula

[Cal]

I read this in the newspaper this morning... I typed it up for you guys... It's... bizarre to say the least..

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Parents lose custody battle for calling daughter Talula Does The Hula

Mary Fitzgerald

A JUDGE in New Zealand has deplored the use of unusual children's names after he made a nine-year-old girl called Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii a ward of court so her unfortunate moniker could be changed at her request.

Some of the rather creative names allowed by New Zealand registration officials and criticised by Judge Rob Murfitt include Number 16 Bus Shelter and Midnight Chardonnay. The judge described as "tragic" the decision to register one child under the name Violence.

The parents of twins were permitted to name their offspring Benson and Hedges, after the cigarette brand.

Among the names rejected by registration officials were Fish and Chips, Yeah Detroit, Stallion, Twisty Poi, Keenan Got Lucy and Sex Fruit. One mother even attempted to use SMS language for her daughter's name.

In that case, the girl was initially called O.crnia, but the name was changed to Oceania during negotiations over a parenting order.

The judge listed the outlandish names in his written ruling on a custody battle over Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii, who lived with her family on New Zealand's North Island.

A lawyer told the court the girl was so embarrassed by her name, she did not even tell her friends.

She said her name was "K" because she feared being "mocked and teased", the lawyer added.

Judge Murfitt said such names risked exposing children to ridicule.

"The court is profoundly concerned about the very poor judgement which this child's parents have shown in choosing the name," he wrote. "It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap, unnecessarily."

The court was told the girl fully understood the absurdity of her name, unlike her parents who had apparently not considered the implications of their unusual choice.

The judge ordered that the court take custody of the girl until her name could be formally changed. The ruling was issued in February but only came to light in law reports made public this week. The girl has since changed her name, but it has not been disclosed in order to protect her privacy.

Registrar Brian Clarke said New Zealand law prohibits names that would offend a reasonable person, that consist of more than 100 characters or that include titles, military rank, punctuation or numerals.

[~Lynd~]

That's strange to say the least.Yes it's weird to give a child such names but not grounds to lose custody i wouldn't have thought.They can always change it later.

[emmasi]

Are you sure it was a real article Cal ?

I suppose it is a form of cruelty, if the kid herself is that embarrassed that she won't tell her friends her name, and the parents either think it's funny or don't care. Some people are a worry.

[MissOlivia22]

I saw that on yahoo news XD

What a name to give a child though. Imagine the bullying she would have suffered, no wonder she told her friends to call K

[KaitieL]

So this is what they were talking about on the Morning Show this morning. It's getting beyond ridiculous the names parents are giving their children these days. It's like it's a competition to see who can come up with the most weird name. I don't agree they should lose custody just because of it - but who else knows what goes on through their heads if they give names like that. Whatever happened to normal/common names?

[zzazzb]

Poor girl, imaging getting that called out every time the roll was called before class.

[Ryan]

Used to be someone in my class called Neil Diamond. The Sweet Caroline jokes became tired pretty quickly however. My favourite is Number 16 Bus Shelter

[emmasi]

I don't think Midnight Chardonnay is that bad... it just sounds like a celebrity baby.

[Cal]

I quite like Midnight Chardonnay...

[Ryan]

Cal, if you called your child that, I'd personally hunt you down and shoot you.