US to ban all but top 1,000 baby names

The United States government today unveiled plans to restrict budding parents to a selection of just 1,000 names for their new arrival – 500 boys names and 500 girls.

The scheme mirrors that put forward in Venezuela (nytimes.com) in 2007, where a spate of wacky baby names provoked a government intervention.

A list of the 1,000 allowable names can be found on the Social Security Administration website. Unbelievably, staple names like Lee, Duncan and Ann will be outlawed when the Act comes into force early 2009.

The move comes after the celebrity baby naming culture has gone bizerk, inspiring hundreds of parents across the US to name their children with awful monikers. Only recently, Hollywood actress Halle Berry named her newborn daughter Nahla Ariela Aubry. Berry will thank her good timing, as all these names will be rejected at birth registration offices.

Bloggers have reacted fiercely, calling the move unconstitutional. SSA representatives refused to comment on this allegation.

I’m from England but I still feel this is outrageous! You can’t stop people from having normal names such as Lee. If they want to stop silly names e.g. Pilot Insepektor (Jason Lee’s son) then the law should be to authorize every name, but that is almost impossible! Or, the child could decide to tell people to call them a different name and when they are old enough, they can change it. I think this is a stupid idea.

u do realise this is a joke helen?

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