Pretty soon we will have similar, except it will be

that insuranance company is not on the list of those approved

or

that procedure is not on the list of those approved for someone your age.

Mornin CD :)

My Aunt and Uncle had to change my cousin's name because the priest wouldn't baptize him if they didn't. They wanted to name him Terry but now his name is Terrence.

They'd have a field day with my daughters names! lol

Interesting, I was just talking to my friend, Tuimjusyekuimuhesuuzumus, about this article and he thought it was ridiculous. He thought people should be named and go by what ever their parents want to name them.

gm CD

Creek Dog

I'm sure they have something similar here in the USA because they wouldn't let my brother name his son Fk' Face. ;-)

Good one. My wife and I both come from German heritage. (Does that make us Germo-Americans?). One of her nieces had quadruplets. When we asked her if she was going to give them all German names, she replied, "Yep. Adolph, Rudolph, Gedoff and Stayoff."

Laws against naming a human being is simply ridiculous. I hope they win and knock down those silly laws with an elegant light breeze!

Creek Dog- LOL!

I think at one time in the US you were ok as long as you named your kid John or Mary. Thankfully we can name our kids (at least for now) what we want... but 'Hashtag'?? Sometimes it goes a little too far!

No such list exist in the United States. You can name your child whatever you like, which is both a good and a bad thing. As to the priest who wouldn't baptize the child unless they changed his name from "Terry" to "Terrence," I would have found a different priest.

I would've also Vince, but I was only two when he was born ;) and they only had once Catholic church there at the time. Heck I think they may still only have one.

G-morning all...

I live in NJ and there is a couple who named their kids F'k up names after Nazi's and lost custody to the state. See below...

A New Jersey Superior Court judge ruled Thursday that a couple would not regain custody of their four children, three of whom are named in honor of prominent Nazi historical figures.

Heath and Deborah Campbell, self-proclaimed Nazis from Holland Township, N.J., first made headlines in January 2009, when a store refused to decorate a birthday cake for their oldest child, Adolf Hitler Campbell, now 6. Shortly after the incident, Adolf and his siblings, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation, now 5, and Honszlynn Hinler Jeanne, now 6, were taken into state custody, the Associated Press reported. Child welfare officials also took custody of the Campbells' youngest child, Hons, hours after his birth in November 2011.

A state appeals court ruled in 2010 that the children were put at risk of abuse and neglect based on a history of domestic violence in the home, ABC News reported. Deborah Campbell once slipped a note under a neighbor's door saying she was terrified of her husband because he had threatened to kill her, according to court documents. Adolf Hitler Campbell also frequently threatened to kill people, ABC News added.

Now, after a three-year battle, the Campbells cannot have custody of their children, according to the court. Heath Campbell last saw his children about a year ago and is now separated from his wife, who moved out of the state, the Star-Ledger reported.

control freaks...when you can sit there and tell someone they are not allowed to have a certain name, you are a FREAK, the true loser....and someone that has never known happiness so much that they are jealous anyone is allowed to do anything...again, FREAK

See how it works.. When you let people name their kids what they want it makes it easier to recognize the fools. This is proof of it working.

control freaks...when you can sit there and tell someone they are not allowed to have a certain name, you are a FREAK, the true loser....and someone that has never known happiness so much that they are jealous anyone is allowed to do anything...again, FREAK

Yup... Next thing you know they'll be legislating portion sizes on soft drinks - those poor people.

I'm sure they all long for the freedoms we cherish here in the good old USA!

in the case of the NJ kids, it appears they were named that way to reflect their parents wacko beliefs and teachings, so in a way its a good thing...still dont like the assumption of the future part and the kids will always want their mommy and daddy, the state may end up with a lot more problems down the road...especially if these kids do bad things in the name of "the state took my mommy from me"...who knows thou, feel bad for those kids, either way they, the kids, lost out

good find, nice comparison

MommaBear:

"...Why do people like you bring in something that has NOTHING to do with the article..."

He was responding to someone who brought up the Tea Party. THAT, had nothing to do with the article!

Actually I think it is a good to idea to limit names, I found out a while back that there is this kid at one of the local elementary schools who's parents names him 'shi- theed' spelled "@!$%#head"! you know! the actual spelling is block by this post.

Those parents should have been sterilized at birth they obviously don't have the brain power to raise a child. We 'Society, the hospital etc.' should have told them no you stupid idiot you can not spell it that way or pick another name. This is the kind of crap that will cause this kid to snap when he gets older and do some heinous crime, set up for failure by his parents.

MommaBearII

If there is a name above the body of text someone writes in a comment, that usually means they are either replying to or commenting on that persons comments.

I am glad I don't live there, and so is my son, "Broken Rubber". :)

I dont have a problem if a country wants to protect its culture. Feminism has raised its ugly head over and over getting weak minded women to give their girl baby a boys name. If she doesnt like the country she lives in she can always leave but dont ask everyone in that country to destroy their culture so you can embrace feminism.

Contrary to what some idiot Americans think ("Merica! Love it or leave it!"), you are not always free to leave. Aside from the cost associated with it, you also need the permission of another country to take you in, and you need to be able to earn a living in that country.

I love all the judging taking place here. Kudos to you absolutists. There are actually two very good reasons why names need to be approved in Iceland. The first reason is because the language is very old and endangered. There are fewer than 350000 people who speak this language that is now the oldest spoken language in Europe if not in the world.

Icelanders have worked hard for decades to maintain their language and odd names of people, businesses and things are one of the more sinister corrosive elements when it comes to languages.

The second reason her name is being rejected relates to the first one but is more technical. Icelandic nouns are either masculine. feminine or neutral. In this instance the mom gave her daughter a masculine name. Kind of like "a boy named Sue." This is also not permitted because this violation of grammatical principles also has a corrosive effect on the language. In this instance I support the names committee and see the mother's ploy for what it is: grandstanding.

Just think if that rule applied in the US. A lot of black kids wouldn't have names.

@Kevin... too funny!

Ahhhh! Just another reminder of why we live in a free country! I suppose if I wanted to name my child hashtag or just a symbol #, could I? Boy named "Sue"? Girl named "Jim"? I guess our government would step in at some point and say "it's really best for the child if you don't name them that!" Some people just throw out the alphabet and see what lands up and that's their child's name!

I understand completely both sides. I have grown up with kids that their parents were absolutely brutal to name their kids what they are such as Adam Balm, Snowy White, L-A (Pronounced) (La Dash uh)

Up-Root, Star Sunshine and Moon Garden to just name a few and believe me they all had their issues growing up.

First you have to understand the culture there. I am of Icelandic descent. Dottir is the last name of females (until marriage) & son is the last name of males, both take the first name of the father and add Dottir or Son (Example: Johnson/Johnsdottir. This has made it easy to trace family trees. When my family came to the US they could no longer do this, and where made to stay with one last name.

So, how is this ruling any different? It is there (the list of names) to keep intact the surname, thus the linage, culture and history of the country. If I know anything about my mother country it's this, they are very proud, steeped in history and culture.

If they (the mother & Father) would have used the name as a middle name, with something more traditional as a first, she could go by her middle name, I know lots of my US relatives did as they did not want to go by their traditional Icelandic names.

Calling another culture "Stupid" shows how little you understand the background and reasoning behind the culture.

I might add, that had it not been for this way of naming children, it would have been harder for people to trace their family trees. (My family traces it's history to 12 generations prior to the year 965).

This is just like "religion", with its rules of do this right this way and don't do this wrong this way. This comes from the problem that first man and woman encountered in the garden of Eden when they 'knew' not to eat of the fruit of "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil". (That is the trees full and proper name.) But the deceiver convinced them how wonderful it would be to do so. Well now, men's religions, men's governments and men are all full of that fruit and we have a rediculous state and mess like this; and the girl and her mom are no less involved.

Therefore, I can't blame most of you for hating religion (and governments like this); but have you checked how much 'knowing' of good and evil you have in you? "Religion" hated Jesus Christ too, and was His biggest problem maker when he lived as a man on earth and eventually screamed and railed for Him to be murdered!

Steve-3564331, you are really overblown! You should quit blowing yourself up. First of all 12 generations of family can't possibly reach back from 2013 to 965. (That would require that every father of each of those generations necessarily had to be in his late 80's before he became a father for the first time; with that probably meaning that every member of each of those 12 generations all lived well over 100 years old and possibly not less than 110 years (for all members of your family for the last 12 generations, Steve?).)

The math nor the practicality of this doesn't even work if we are counting back from (for instance) the year 1960. It would only bring each of these numbers down maybe 3 to 4 years! STEVE; Really man, where are you!

Excellent summation and comment, CorrectIt.

linguist1

There are actually two very good reasons why names need to be approved in Iceland. The first reason is because the language is very old and endangered

Can you name any language that is not primitive (other than, possibly, Latin) that isn't changed by usage?

The second reason her name is (that) .... Icelandic nouns are either masculine. feminine or neutral. In this instance the mom gave her daughter a masculine name. Kind of like "a boy named Sue." This is also not permitted because this violation of grammatical principles also has a corrosive effect on the language

Please explain to me how any individual's name has a corrosive effect on a language. I am not aware of any grammatical rules (principles, if you will) that change because I name my female dog "Duke", even though I may be a cunning linguist.

That's ridiculous--the name seems quite lovely and it's in a novel. What's wrong with it, really?

Hey linguist1 Thoughtful and intelligent comments are not appropriate for this forum. To post here you need to use lots of %$#%#!!s, yell in ALL CAPS and put important things in BOLD CAPS if you really want to be heard. And post comments that have something nothing to do with the topic. Practice phrases like "Get a life!!!" and "MORON!". "Wørst President Ever!" and "Tea P0tty" are also encouraged, especially if they have nothing to do with the topic at hand. Words like "absolutists" and "grandstanding" have WAY to many syllables for many in this forum to grasp. Get a life, moran.

--The Committee of Moderators

PublicSpeech - Steve didn't say it was 12 generations from now to 965 AD. He said his family can trace back 12 generations PRIOR to the year 965 AD. Someone needs to go back to school and learn reading comprehension.

As to the original story - I think that trying to keep your country's heritage alive is commendable, however, how can a name that translates to "light breeze" be masculine?

Dick2100 etc - YOU definitely have the right name. In case you do not understand the meaning of living in a FREE society, in addtion to having inalienable rights and freedoms, you also the right to name your child whatever you want. Various Americans have named their kids Moon Unit, Zeppo, Tatum, KuntaKinshahsha, and other non-mainstream names, and although many of us may think them morons for doing so - it is THEIR RIGHT. If more Americans were aware of the control that many governments in Europe place their citizens under they would tar and feather ANY US politician for trying to emulate such repression. THAT however is what SOCIALISM does.

Z-933870...Right you are. I wish I could pack up and leave this police state, but.... I am too poor to even attempt it. This country keeps most of us poor and living hand to mouth or on credit.

I have never heard anything like this. I always thought you could name you child what ever you wanted to name them.

The article says Germany has this law but if they do it is only for Germans married to Germans because I'm sure Shaniqua & Takisah are not in the German list of names.

That is crazy! My youngest sister was born in Iceland, guess they didn't have any say so because we lived on the Military Base.

Z-933870 -- Your comment made me think of how I have seen that saying tweaked ever so lightly--"America, love it and get up off the couch and fix it!" :)

AmericanPauper--I understand what you are saying. I believe if we all start where we can to change that--for instance, I grow as much of my own food as I can, and also vote with my wallet. Even small changes heading in the right direction is a start that can be built upon. Yes, we are up to our eyeballs in debt in this nation, but we need to start somewhere to change that.

It wouldn't hurt to have a few rules in this country either. Some people stick children with some stupid names that they think are cool at the time. As the old saying goes young and dumb. bandit-3097615 that was a good one. True but funny just the same. Debora-389330 good one to you as well.

This reminds me of that joke: "Le-a"...

The name's pronounced "Ledasha" 'cuz the dash don't be silent.

Seriously--people need to let parents name their kids whatever they want. If the kid isn't happy, they can absolutely change their name once they become an adult (age 18 in all jurisdictions).

I wonder what Blair from the Facts of Life would have to say about all this?

At any rate, if Blaer wants to leave Iceland and needs a sponsor, she can come and be, oh, let's say, my "housekeeper".

Nothing better than living some were your considered property.

that insuranance company is not on the list of those approved

Oh..Wahh

Those poor Icelander's, living under such tyranny. Not being able to name one's child A**hat is a violation of basic human rights and dignity. Someone needs to start a fund to save these poor souls.

I am, once again, astonished at the levels of stupidity present. Yay America...or something like that.

Sometimes intervention is a good thing.

Take, for instance, my mother's favorite male name, which she wanted to give to my brother: Jurn.

In Germany, it's perfectly acceptable. Unfortunately, it's correctly pronounced "Urine". Losing that battle, she suggested "Jurk", pronounced "Yurk" in Germany but so easily mispronounced in America.

Thankfully, my father intervened. He ended up with Bob.

political RW trolls: GO AWAY!!!!!

@ DB Akron

Pretty soon we will have similar, except it will be

that insuranance company is not on the list of those approved

So? You already have "that doctor is not on the list of those approved".

or

that procedure is not on the list of those approved for someone your age.

You already have the part I bolded.

The article states that the letter "c" is not part of the 32 letter Icelandic alphabet. That's quite interesting. Is obvious exceptions have been made. Which came first? The name of the country or it's alphabet? :^)

linguist1

There are actually two very good reasons why names need to be approved in Iceland. The first reason is because the language is very old and endangered

Can you name any language that is not primitive (other than, possibly, Latin) that isn't changed by usage?

Yes...Sanskrit. But we are both wrong, because even Latin and Sanskrit were changed by usage. And that is not the point. Icelandic has remained a vibrant language because it has adapted but it "adapted" within certain parameters and grammatical rules. Words are created instead of adopted. For example "television" did not exist in the the lexicon of any language 75 years ago. But it is clearly an "english" word. So Iceland did not adopt some bastardized version of this word like many other languages. Instead, they created a wholly icelendic word that describes the instrument perfectly: sjonvarp. Which translates loosely as "vision projection."

The second reason her name is (that) .... Icelandic nouns are either masculine. feminine or neutral. In this instance the mom gave her daughter a masculine name. Kind of like "a boy named Sue." This is also not permitted because this violation of grammatical principles also has a corrosive effect on the language

Please explain to me how any individual's name has a corrosive effect on a language. I am not aware of any grammatical rules (principles, if you will) that change because I name my female dog "Duke", even though I may be a cunning linguist.

OK..I'll try. When you have descriptive words change according to a nouns gender then you will have stilted and plain wrong grammar when trying to qualify a person who is feminine but has a masculine name. In Icelandic you would say stulkan min, or strakurinn minn. Translation: my girl, my boy. So if you now have a girl named John, then you would say John min instead of john minn. This will not only sound wrong but it will be grammatically incorrect. And thereby a corrosive effect on language has begun.

I love it. It took less than 10 comments before some tool dragged the US deficit into an article about a kid's name in Iceland.

How much more pathetic can you be? 5 years on the 'vine and I've got pretty low expectations of some of you but this time.....just wow.

Survivor - #1.55

The article states that the letter "c" is not part of the 32 letter Icelandic alphabet. That's quite interesting. Is obvious exceptions have been made. Which came first? The name of the country or it's alphabet? :^)

In Icelandic it is spelled: Ísland

Iceland is the american spelling.

Chris from Yucaipa it took less than that to bring up the teaparty. so your point was to just rail against the opposition and ignore who started it. the debt guy responded to the TP guy and both got collapsed so move along.

this story is a great example of a totalitarian government who controls and oppresses its citizens. there is no valid reason to force a human to accept certain names because the government knows best. preserving culture is not a government role, its societies and if society wants to change you let em. anyone who would disagree is also a control freak who likes to tell others how to think because they think they know what is best, its how all tyrants act.

most of the worlds population is under some form of totalitarian rule, soon to be including the US. its a cycle we cant escape because we are just animals looking for tyrants and sheep.

"The article states that the letter "c" is not part of the 32 letter Icelandic alphabet. That's quite interesting. Is obvious exceptions have been made. Which came first? The name of the country or it's alphabet? :^)"

Actually the official name of Iceland is not Iceland but Lydhveldidh Island, with the local short form name being just Island.

We have name police in the 21st century?? We still have poverty, economic oppression, greed, starvation, child-hood diseases preventable but not prevented; we still have war and wmd promulgation on a global scale, and the list could go on.

Tell me if name police should be a priority, with all the true misery going on in this world?

I weep for our species. Our sense of priorities is all wrong. We are bound to continue to "swallow the camel and strain out the gnat."

Chris (I found out where Yucaipa is) this comment doesn't have anything to do with the article (just like your's doesn't either); Who is the ghoul in the picture on your comment page? I sure hope that you eat enough and take care of yourself well enough that your picture does not look like that. Wow!

PublicSpeech: I see what you are saying to Steve.

NVart: Is that you "Art Bell" in a new disguise? Just had to ask, but I would sure like to know. So let's say 966AD is PRIOR to 965AD. You were counting backward, weren't you? Well even though 966AD is PRIOR to 965AD seems to me that PublicSpeech's math and reasoning is still correct.

But I read Steve's comment and it seems he did what a lot of us would do - googled over quick to Icelandic naming conventions and read a few comments quick so that he could write this great article that looks so grand. Who isn't at times tempted to do so?

PublicSpeech: Seems also that Chris, when he was reading so quickly, he forgot to notice that taking family names only became common on Iceland in, maybe, the 18th century; not the 8th century. Also since the family surnaming legislation passed in 1913 there have been 3 changes in the laws (1925, 1991 and 1996). Doesn't seem any of this legislation could have been used to set a traceable pattern all the way back to 965 AD? Was any human living on Iceland in 965AD?

Tinfoil hat wearers are out in force today. Let me get their logic straight this time; since Iceland has a list of approved baby names, it's proof that Obama is setting up the country to be a dictatorship... Nice. Also pretty sure Iceland has had this law since before Obama was in politics.

"dinohunter" I check out your last question. It seems there was a Norse cheftain, Ingolfur Arnarson, who permanently settled in Iceland with his family and a few of his soldiers accompanying them, in 874 a.d. There had been earlier visitors but they did not stay because they found the place not to their liking. Actually I have always heard it said (in my school history classes) that Iceland was given the wrong name; i.e. Iceland and Greenland should have their names switched. Strangely though until the middle of the last century Iceland was probably considered the poorest country, with a national government, in the world.

It appears from Swedish records that the population of Iceland would have been virtually impossible to establish in a year like 965 a.d. because the island's population was so unstable - many rival cheftains from each of the Scandanavian countries were coming there and fighting with each other over who would populate this little peice of land - possibly until the late 1700's when the Norwegian government stepped in and forced some order to come to the island. This is possibly some 800 years later than Steve is talking about tracing his family history back to. I don't know, Steve; the more I look into this the more I am convinced that you are just too far out - much farther out than Iceland, more like right out beyond the North Pole and into outer space.

Oh by the way "Emp.bob" you are correct about what you state in your comment. That is the spelling shown on the Icelandic national governments official (English) web page.

This is exactly what this country needs; tighter rules and fewer personal rights. Liberals have been exploiting the proverbial "given 'em and inch and they'll take it a mile" for far too long, and it's time everyone in this country learned that in order for a society to remain civilized as well as be governed by some semblance of a value system, you do not have the right to do whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want and with whomever you want.

I know you think you do, but you don't.

dinohunter

Chris (I found out where Yucaipa is) this comment doesn't have anything to do with the article (just like your's doesn't either); Who is the ghoul in the picture on your comment page? I sure hope that you eat enough and take care of yourself well enough that your picture does not look like that. Wow!

Nope, I'm just an old fat white guy who's retired from the Navy and who has a fondness for the movie The Crow (Brandon Lee just before his death) from which that pic was taken.

I can assure both of you that my family tree wasn't looked up on the net nor is it a grand statement.

As I wrote to both of you( PublicSpeech & dinohunter ): You can find my family history at the Library of Congress under

Sigurdson/Gestsson

I have both books. One dated from 1853-1984 & (pre date 965 - 1853) They have been condensed into one book at the library

They where written with the help of all my family members, however my Great Aunt did most of the work & got it published.

And yes I am in the 1853-1984 book.

Sometimes you can trust that people tell the truth on the net.

And my family did come from Scandinavian countries.....I never even meant to suggest that they where there (in Iceland) in 965, BTW I would have noticed that if I goggled. Only that for as long as my family tree goes back that they have been using the naming process we are discussing here

The other day in the Denver VA waiting room, before I was called for my appointment, the nurse called a different name. No one stood, immediately. The nurse called out the name again, and I thought she was being pranked. Yet a man, aged about 60, stood up and left the room with the nurse. The name was the oldest name joke that I knew, and yet someone had given it to this man a LONG time ago....

Micheal Hunt

I'd rather have a unique name than Robert, Michael, David, Johnathan or Christopher which are wayyy too common. I knew a guy named "Feather" and he had a sister named "Poppy". (yep, hippie parents) Another guy I knew had two boys named "Blade" and "Rock".

But of course there has to be rules on what you can name your kid even though I'm not a huge fan of "Big Brother" dictating those rules.

I think a good rule of thumb would be; if you can't legally place the name on a vanity car plate then you probably should reconsider the name choice. And historical names like Stalin, Pol pot and Hitler infamously associated with death and misery should be avoided as well.

Ahh, Emp.bob. Thank you for the clarification.

Actually the Catholic church did that to my mother with my name saying it was not "Christian." My mother was like "Oh really? add in the middle name "Ann."

My name is Welsh is means of the "Guardian of the Sea" or "Great chief."

But yeah, this is a personal example of the hypocrisy of the church and how I ended up with my middle name. Because of this, my younger brother was baptized in the Lutherian Church.

So no, not a Government list, list Iceland, but a Church mandate 39 yrs ago in Connecticut.

The same goes for Mr. Head naming his son Dick.

same goes for... mr. meoff naming his son jack...

This is exactly what this country needs; tighter rules and fewer personal rights. Liberals have been exploiting the proverbial "given 'em and inch and they'll take it a mile" for far too long, and it's time everyone in this country learned that in order for a society to remain civilized as well as be governed by some semblance of a value system, you do not have the right to do whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want and with whomever you want.

I know you think you do, but you don't.

GOD HAS SPOKEN!

I agree with the mother that it is a human right to name your own child. There is absolutely nothing I can do to change this situation but wish them the best. I am just grateful that I was able to name my own child what I wanted.

Usually I'd say this was ridiculous! It's a basic human right to name your child what you like. If you think it's beautiful then so what if others MAY think it's ugly? Those people can take a long walk on a short pier. In this case though I can see the government's point. It is a unique language that only they speak. A far cry from English. It's a big part of their culture and history that makes the Icelanders who and what they are. Perhaps there's a way to translate "light breeze" with a feminine aspect that would be acceptable by both the government and parents?

At least her name isn't Sharron Cox! LOL

SIG..etcwhatever: Have seen scores of babies baptized in the Catholic Church by a priest. Never witnessed or heard of one refusing to baptize anbody because of their name. I have neices and nephews baptized Paxton, Wyatt, Denny, Casey and many other non-biblical names. ( How do I get rid of this frikkin' McDonald add that comes up smack dab in the middle of my comment box. Can't even see what I typed, so if there are typos, that's why.

And the race car driver named Dick Trickle?

1. It is not the role of government to decide where (or if) we can live.

2. It is not the role of government to decide where (or if) we can work.

3. It is not the role of government to decide how we should be named, whether we are gay/straight, whether we are male or female or transition (and it certainly should not be mandated that we have to attend psych sessions to be "approved" for a sex change).

These are respectively life (the freedom to be alive and have a roof over our heads), liberty (the freedom to do anything, or nothing), and the pursuit of happiness (the freedom to be anything).

Other countries sometimes share these, and sometimes don't. We are not the most free country, contrary to what we might think, and I don't at all know about Iceland. Not on the "approved list." Nix the approved list, as you can only think of so many options before there's names you'd approve anyway but forget to allow. If you really must restrict naming (you mustn't) have a banned list instead.

You'd think they'd have a list of banned names not approved names ? I'm sure there are thousands of people in the USA who went through hell in Junior high who wish their name had been banned. People named Poindexter, Melvin, Gaylord, etc or the last name Gay etc. I knew a kid with the last name Roundbottom and he was chubby so you can guess what the other kids said. I also knew a family who's last name was Whores (not spelled that way but pronounced that way) They had three teen age girls and yes they were called whores all the time. Nobody deserves to be made fun of for their name but it happens. I'd change my last name if I though it could lead to my children being picked on.

Interesting story. Life seems pretty good in Iceland, and the general populace doesn't seem to mind the name thing. One way or the other, meh. What's better is how many who posted above were surprised by this law (imagine... average Americans ignorant of foreign cultures) and think Iceland should do away with this law. Somebody call Amnesty International. Luckily, the Icelandic people probably don't read msnbc or care what we think. They seem to be doing fine without the input.

I do enjoy the knuckleheads that drag Obama or the Tea Party into this, though. Absolutely crazy. I always enjoy seeing how far people will reach to point out how much they hate/love the current administration.

Somebody, quick, take a Bushmaster to Iceland and massacre a whole bunch of their school children to make them understand what freedom is all about.

Yeeehaw!!!

How about Shi-Thead? Makes a fine Icelandic name it does.

I am still waiting for some illiterate mother to name their newborn daughter Fellatio.

Nice to see a country without names like Kenesha, Fanesha, Tanesha. I appreciate a country that does things like this to protect its culture from the globalist horde.

@aliengmr Yeah because, you know God forbid anybody have the freedom to name their kid. You government yes man control freaks really crack me up, you think that the omnipotent government who has helped bankrupt the country and crash the economy know whats best for its citizens. Including picking names. Lets say a parent names their kid "A**hat" there is such thing as later getting your name changed, sure its a pain in the posterior but you can do it. It sucks a kid would have to go through early life with a name like that but he/she can easily change that name if it really matters to them. ITS CALLED FREEDOM. Something you seem to have no idea about.

While I don't think Iceland is stupid for wanting to preserve their language. There are two instances in which the name has been used previously, one in a work of literature for a female character. Which illustrates that even with a masculine article, it can be used on a feminine aspect.

The biggest argument however is this, the mother had her daughter named this and was told it was acceptable, then told after the fact that it was not. It was the government's fault for not telling her in advance, when she would have likely been more willing to compromise and change the name. And it's not as if the girl has never used the name. From the sounds, she's only been officially "Girl" but I presume that she gave her name as Blaer and has used it all her life with no trouble. I think it's fair for her to sue to take her name that she's had all her life. In my opinion. Iceland (Someone said Iceland should have been named Greenland, from what I remember, Greenland was originally Iceland but they changed names for reasons I only vaguely remember) should compile an official list of "approved names" and release one every year or so like a phone book to it's populous. That way parents have access to the complete list which they might already do.

I can understand their names being based on the Icelandic pronunciation and alphabet. As previous posters have said, Iceland has a little different setup of names and surnames so they need to have some guidelines for names because they would have to change their entire cultural naming structure if they didn't. Nothing wrong with that, if someone wants to fight for a name they have their heart set on it seems that their is some kind of appeal process.

But in this case, the child was baptized under this name and given rights to the name at birth. Whether or not it was a mistake, she should be given the legal status. It also has precedent as a name in Icelandic literature and it is a word that is in use within their language. Making a person live their life being legally known as "girl" is more embarrassing and demeaning than any name she could have been given.

shhhh - don't tell Obama! If he knew he do this here...

It all smacks a bit too much like tyranny to me.. If the girl likes her name then she has every right to use it.. The government is making a mountain out of a molehill and they are putting themselves in a bad light.. What now, is the next step to arrest the kid and throw her in jail for using her own name?

As a scholar of Nordic languages and culture, I can understand why Iceland wants to preserve its naming traditions; as a former victim of schoolyard bullying, I can understand why the country passed a law against embarrassing names. But Blær's given name is perfectly Norse, has been approved for at least one real-life girl in the past, and has even been used for a female character in serious literature. Why does the government still object? Besides, anyone who can see or hear Blær will know she's female; sometimes common sense matters more than grammatical inflection.

Ruby TUesday, Carrying, Pissed off.... You know this isn't happening in America right??? Are are you that illiterate?

Notfiveo... already been done had a student named felatio cianti.... seriously! lucky for her the middle schoolers didn't know what it meant, but I always wondered if she made through high school. BTW I am quite positive her mother had NO idea what it meant!

@Pissedoff-2371350

Read the article again. This is in Iceland. Nothing to do with what your ideas as an American are. They are fine without your ranting.

The names that are on the list will sound weird to most people who don't speak Icelandic. They choose the names based on whether they take on feminine/masculine articles and whether they fit the normal combinations of Icelandic letters.

Considering some of the ridiculous things that people name their kids (Fantangela, Cedrekitio, Hashtag, etc...) this may not be that bad of an idea.

The have some awesome viking-esque names in Iceland, and I never knew that.

The president is name Olafur Ragnar Grimsson. How awesome of a name is that?

They have Viking names because they are Vikings, well the descendants anyways.

Just call her "Hotsdotter"

Yup! Bjork is in their alphabet!!!

Just like:

Aðalbjörn, Agnar, Alfunnur, Annas (he's popular!), Arngnýr, Arngrímur... these are all pronounceable names (to them!)

I'm quite sure they'd have no trouble with the daughter's name here in Okla. and they're welcome to move to OkC; I'd even let them live with me while they're looking for a place to live.

Let's see... there's the rocker chick named Hole (BWAAAAhahaha... HOLE !) The rapper named Usher, another musician named Flea, and some girl named La-a (pronounced La-DASH-sha)

But they aren't Icelandic. So they get to keep their names.

I want to get myself a viking hat... the one with tusks on it. I will change my name to Thor. Yeah. Has a coolness to it.

Oh yeah, and ... I've actually worked with two people from different cultures; their first name was Nimrod.

Actually, the whack job to whom you refer is Courtney Love. The band she fronts is named Hole.

redphish- don't stop his dumb rant, he doesn't get it that those are stage names either...probably an old bitter man.

JXC - Is "Blue Ivy" a stage name? I'd consider being named that child abuse. The only reason Blue Ivy won't be insulted for her name growing up is because her parents are celebrities. The point is, people really do have crazy names, but who cares? That's the beauty of America. Our freedoms are broader than any other country in the world.

DancingSpiderman, Who is the "rapper"named Usher? What country is he from? I am very familiar with a good singer and dancer who is known as Usher, but I have not heard of a rapper using that name. He has also acted in movies using that name, so another artist cannot use the exact same name.

Its culture. Americans especially the ones 35 and under wouldnt understand it because they have been targeted since their beginning. Thats why gen X marks the spot. We have had our white european culture under attack for years. If Roman Catholics want to limit who they will baptize, ie. children with only acceptable Christian names, its fine with me. Its their religion, they have a right to run it the way they want. Its called Freedom of Religion.

It's not like the Roman Catholics just started doing that. It's been that way forever. My mother couldn't name me exactly what she wanted, it wasn't a Christian name, but it is a common nickname for a Christian name so that is what she did instead. To the guy above who said to find another priest, they all would have said the same thing. Terry is not a Christian name, Terrence is. Call him whatever you want when you get him home.

Getsmadstaysmad, so American culture is under attack because other cultures within the U.S. don't name their children European names? Aren't you suggesting the same type of oppression that you speak against?

Oh, and you are NOT worthy of that avatar! Use a Pokemon or something, but you are NOT worthy of Steve McQueen! He was cool! You are not!

@Human-4637934

Reading comprehension does NOT seem to be your strong point! How you get from what Getmad said to the opinion in your rant defies logic.

Unusual names are not restricted to this generation. Remember Dweezil and Moon Unit Zappa? Their siblings are Ahmet and Diva Muffin. While Frank was a talented musician, he had wierd tastes in names for his kids.

error caused a double post.

David,

Drop a couple hits of acid and not only will their names make sense, but so will his music...

Works for me! :-)

Joe's Garage man!

The Mothers of Invention sincerely regret to inform you...............Loved Zappa!

Suzy Creamcheese

Mudshark!

La-a is an urban legend.

Dick Trickle!!

Fur trapper...called me a dork...Bjork... Bjork... Bjork...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjI2J2SQ528

Creek Dog,

Watch out where the huskies go and don't you eat that yellow snow. Sound advice there.

I thought Iceland was one of the best places on Earth to live? If their biggest problem in that country is having to choose from a limited list of baby names, then I would say they are doing way better than most other developed countries.

With govt control you have to keep things simple for the beaurocrats. When we get full state control of healthcare, we are gonna start getting a bunch of rules imposed on us. For our own good, of course.

how many of the same people criticizing this registry were screaming over a baby girl named Hashtag?

deleted was duplicate post

Who said that this naming thing is their biggest problem?

Especially a government with oppressive conservative values.

Somebody, quick, take a Bushmaster to Iceland and massacre a whole bunch of their school children to make them understand what freedom is all about.

Yeeehaw!!!

Yeah, Arx. Iceland should be more like 'Murica!!!

how many of the same people criticizing this registry were screaming over a baby girl named Hashtag?

And the Baltimore Ravens have a QB named Tyrod. Whats his brother's name? Piston?

@BMCM9

Heard he hooked up with Strut and they have twins, Caster and Camber.

Somebody, quick, take a Bushmaster to Iceland and massacre a whole bunch of their school children to make them understand what freedom is all about.

Yeeehaw!!!

It wasn't funny the 1st time, Olias, & it sure as heck hasn't improved w/ repetition.

As always, a slippery slope--while Hitler may be offensive to a large majority but where do you draw the line? Some other names may be offensive to some but not to others. Frankly if any of these kids ever grow up and get their heads out of their rears and put their father small minded ideals behind them I think they'd have a solid case for a legal name change. And if they don't frankly I'm all for them staying as they are, I wish ALL racists (of any color) would take on names that let the rest of us know so obviously who they are.

Yeah, wouldn't it be great if all racist parents just branded their kids from the get-go so none of us would actually have to use our heads and make up our own minds about how those kids actually think? Because I know that when I see guys wearing hoods and carrying burning crosses I honestly can't tell if they're racists or not until I see the name on their drivers' licenses.

UMM: What's race got to do with it?

I believe the Adolf Hitler name is more of a child abuse issue than a language abuse issue. Naming a child Adolf Hitler (nowadays) is indicative of an upbringing filled with hate and intollerance. The namingis a symptom, not the root of the problem. The root is what caused the kids to be taken away. In Iceland, they are ensuring that names make grammatical sense, which means that anyone coming from another country or culture would not be able to use their traditions names. That is stifling. Names like Rebbecca, Charles, and other names that people would like to use, especially cultures that traditionally name after former generations or the deceased, will instead have to adopt native names.

It is the opposite of the American beauty of the mixing pot. Here, we want people to bring their traditions. There, the trends is to assimilate only.

You know... There was a time that names meant something or you were named after someone notable... I think that parents in general should be careful in naming their children and as to the article.. Iceland needs to grow up. Let the "Stulka" use her name!!!

You either want the government to take care of you or you want to take care of yourself. If you want the government to take care of you, prepare to live by the rules they impose on your life. For your own good, of course.

Kinjiru- the law has nothing to do with protecting the child from "bad naming." Sheesh, do a little research before throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

I'm sure he same way we "let" thousands of laws pass in the US each year. Individual State or National Congressional bodies pass laws that we the people never vote on they simply do so as our representatives.

Exactly UMM-289921, You hit it perfectly. We here in the US allow our Representatives to vote for us, so basically we've given our rights to a handful of people who are incompetent, lazy and stupid. What does that say about the rest of us "Normal" people?

They "let it pass" there, just like it was done in other Scandinavian countries, because there was a fear of outside influence and loss of culture. They also did away with the system where last names where based upon the father's first name. So, no more Peterson, Jacobson, and so forth unless that was already the family surname.

Since Iceland was a Denmark territory they had/have many influences from Denmark.

Surnames are based on a parent's given name.

Sounds like they didn't do away with the last name system at all. At least not in Iceland.

is it just me or are icelandic women kinda hot for being so cold?

In Iceland a persons first name is important, they never use mr/mrs +surname.
So I guess when it's that important they don't want crazy or unpronounceable (for them) first names.

Like the Romance languages, Germanic languages identify the gender of a noun by the article attached to it. For instance, Das Madchen (the young girl) is gender-neutral due to the use of the article "das". On the other hand, Der Rubner (the turnip) is masculine.

But ain't it funny that in linguistic classification that English is a Germanic language.

English is sort of a Germanic language, and it used to have more gender influences than it does now although not to the degree of something like German or Spanish. It actually has several influences, which is one of the reason it is so confusing. There is no "pure English." Instead it is composed of a variety of language influences, all to varying degrees, including: Britton (the original language), Welch, Scottish, Gaelic, Latin (Roman Empire), French, German, Norse (viking), American Indian. It has been a few years since I took a couple of linguistics courses in college, but I can't think of any others.

English is also a language which is constantly changing, or evolving without any unnatural government influences to keep it static, which is why things like Old, Middle, and modern English existed along with countless dialects, vowel shifts, lost letters, and such.

Source: My memories of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language

Fun topic.

Michael, Let me influence another change in your use of English. There are no such people as American "Indians". Christofo Columbo thought he had landed in India, so the misidentification of the locals can stop after 520 years. In Canada, they are called "First People" or original people. Some refer to the various tribes here as Native American or perhaps by their tribe (nation) such as Seneca, Iriquois, Lenape, Souix, ect.

Souurce: Years of wondering why we accept 500 year old misnomers instead of accepting self-determination.

NB820-001 - further evidence of the constant changing language that we call "English" I have worked with the Sioux tribe for about 15 years. They really do not care what outsiders call them, as they call themselves Oyate, which means "The People" in their own language. They think that Native American, First People, American Indian, or any other team is equally meaningless.

Great point though. :)

UMM-289921

But ain't it funny that in linguistic classification that English is a Germanic language.

OK, so...what's funny about that? Other Dutch and Nordic languages are germanic--as they descended from early germanic cultures, the same as Italian, Spanish and French are romantic languages and descended from the Roman culture.

Well I have always wanted to go to Iceland take the boys, it's beautiful. But given my name has a C in it I'm not even in an alphabet there I can imagine introducing myself. My name is on the NO list. WTH !!! As a Mother of 6 boys UNLESS YOU CARRY THE CHILD ENDURE THE DELIVERY then it shouldn't matter what the parents name their children. As long as it IS NOT profane or degrading.

Chrissy, as the mother of two adopted children I have to disagree with you on the carrying and enduring the delivery front! Just kidding...I'm not that easily insulted. I do really have adopted kids though.

NB820, Russell Means, the late American Indian Movement activist, preferred the term, "Indian," as do many native peoples. So, much like your pointing out the bloody obvious about Columbus, your admonition about there being so such people as American "Indians" is simply PC tripe.

ATENTION AMERICANS!!!!! THIS MEANS YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If we continue to let the Government, take away our RIGHT'S, soon we will have to get permission, on what we name, our KIDS ! This includes the Second ammendment ! Sandy Hook was terrible , but taking away our Right's won't make it better, or not happen again !!!! Today our right, to bear Arms , Tomorrow FREE SPEECH ! Be careful the precedents we set ! I LOVE MY COUNTRY , but HATE the IDIOTS In CHARGE ! Soon saying that could land me in JAIL !

Shawn Ct:

Shut up.

Indigo-Rage, Her being 'cute' has what bearing on the story?

The Mom is better looking. IMO. Has nothing to do with the article just an observation.

Hot for being so cold

Just an observation.

They need some sun.

It could be worse...like maybe health care or something.

Oh, wait...

Anti369...You could make that very same comment about oUR government here in America as well..Dont you think???

@Blade: Yes. Sad, isn't it...

America is slowly heading this way. In most municipalities you cant even name your home. You have to conform to US naming conventions which is usually a number so Police can get to you faster to arrest you.

I actually know of an old friend who legally changed his name to VOID in Oregon. Imagine him writing a check.

Thats a perfect example of taking for granted a very basic "right" that we have here in America, that people in other countries would die to have..And more and more, little by little we piss them away..Giving them BACK to the government in our own best "intrests"

The sad part is, over half the country doesn't reallize that, or they just don't care anymore.

Actually Thorbergsdottir is a female name from her father..... Thorberg's daughter (spell daughter > dottir). My mom's side of the family is from Norway and they follow the same naming. I have a far distant ancestor whose last name was Petersdaughter (at least that is how the english spelling came out from translation, I am sure it is actually Pietersdottir).

Also, Augusta (Agusta) is a feminine version of Augustus, so her name is feminine, just derived from a male name, but not a male name in its self.

Well, Nita- you probably shouldn't move to Iceland then

No wonder African American's don't live in those countries. Can you imagine trying to deal with Shamika, Reniaka, Tramika, etc...? I had no idea. She's destined to be a porn star now.

icelandic is what we call them , pretty sure they call themselves something else that is not an english word.

@Marty Naugher - ísland (pronounced as the two words is and land).

Is that for real? Is. . Land? Then why on earth is every map, globe and every printed material referring to Is Land spelled Iceland?? I don't get it. If I am in Is Land, do the maps etc. there have Iceland or Is Land? Wow, that is soooo odd!!

I really hope these are sarcastic comments. But then again I've met plenty of mouthbreathers in America that actually believe American-English is the language of the world, and well, let's just say Americans have become known as the idiots of the West for a reason.

Then why on earth is every map, globe and every printed material referring to Is Land spelled Iceland??

You've obviously never seen a map printed in Icelandic.

Grmasissia, I hope you are joking... ever heard of different languages? Newsvine won't let me post links, but if you go to http[colon-backslash-backslash][world wide web][period]voyagesphotosmanu[period]com[backslash]karte_island you will find a map of Island with the name spelled "Island" rather than "iceland" which is what it is called in the ENGLISH language....

If you read a map in English, the names of the countries will be in English. If you read a map written in Icelandic, then every name will be in that language. Not too difficult to understand, or is it? Italy-Italia-Italie, Japan, Japón, Giappone, etc. See, not that difficult.

Yes, it is: Ísland as it uses a Danish/Swedish dialect.

And it is spelled "Iceland" on English maps because it was named for icebergs observed by Hrafna Flóki, who was the first person known to have wintered there.

Paul-844745 - not to mention The United States, or Estados Unidos or Vereinigte Staaten....It all depends upon your native language.

grmasissa - every map YOU see is probably in English. English HAS a 'c' in its 26 letter alphabet. Icelandic does NOT have it in their 32 letter alphabet. Both alphabets are based on the Roman alphabet (as compared to the Greek, Cyrillic, Armenian, Arabic, Korean, etc. alphabets). However, just because they use a letter that looks similar to ours doesn't mean it is pronounced the same. It is, afterall, a DIFFERENT language and a different country.

Is that for real? Is. . Land? Then why on earth is every map, globe and every printed material referring to Is Land spelled Iceland?? I don't get it. If I am in Is Land, do the maps etc. there have Iceland or Is Land? Wow, that is soooo odd!!

Just a related side note... MANY countries don't spell the name of their country as others...

Sweden is Sverige to Swedes for example (and until recent V and W were basically the same and used v for both)

Many, many languages spells all or most of the countries' names differently from one another-sometimes not even starting with the same letter. Sometimes it's a very small difference (as in perhaps only one letter), and others if you saw the two printed together, unless you spoke both languages you would never guess they meant the same country.

And you know, not everyone in the world speaks English. Therefore, maps are printed in a variety of languages-on a German map, you would see countries such as Deutschland, Oesterreich, Frankreich, whereas in English these would be labeled as Germany, Austria, and France. Note that only one of these countries even starts with the same letter in both languages.

Actually, Iceland would probably be the only country whose maps are written in whatever way they spell Iceland in Icelandic, lol. Because English is the global language now. All UN meetings are spoken in english.

no they are not Ken...they are translated into English. Just so we are clear.

I support the Icelandic name's committee 100%. It is cool to see everyone judging so cleverly without spending a moment to try to understand the reasons behind their decisions. And there are two very good reasons.

First, Icelandic is a very old, endangered language. It is spoken fluently by fewer than 320,000 people. The language has a literary tradition that rivals the world's greatest languages and is now the oldest spoken language in Europe. To preserve the language, Icelanders have worked hard to put controls in place that have nothing to do with curtailing individual freedoms rather they are designed to slow adulteration of their native tongue. One of the quickest destroyers of languages are corrosive effects of foreign names of people, places and things innocently introduced.

The secondary reason has to do with language structure. Icelandic has a male, female and neutral designation for all of its nouns; all verbs, adjectives etc. then have pronunciations according to the gender of the subject. So if a female subject has a male name, the consequences are much more dire than simply naming your boy, Sue. This mother is simply grandstanding. If she wants to call her daughter Blaer, then there is nothing to prevent that, but to have so little regard for her own language and heritage is unforgivable.

Good points, linguist, but what makes a noun (that's not for something that implicitly has a gender) masculine? Why (I'll use German as an example) is table a masculine word? It is feminine in French (at least according to my google search). Occasionally words that one would think of having a particular gender don't (girl is neuter in German-and thus would grammatically be referred to as an it, and nobody gets up in arms about this).

I guess my point is that she is using an Icelandic word as her daughter's name-if she had named her daughter something foreign (like say Amy), I would agree with you much more strongly (as in with both points, rather than just the first, and only partially with the second). Articles aren't typically used in front of names, at least not in any language I've studied (it's never the Sam, or der Robert, it's just Sam or Robert), so I wouldn't see a problem grammatically. It'd be similar to how a German girl has a feminine name, but in order to refer to her as a girl, she is a neuter entity.

In regards to pronunciation, you'll have to help me out a little here. Is there another word that is spelled the same as Blaer, has a different meaning but is feminine? If so, I could certainly see the concern, and would agree that she is simply grandstanding.

Alright-you bring up good points. In Icelandic...the word it itself determines the gender. The conjugation of the word follows certain rules that are gleaned from the word itself. In the word Blaer, the ae are joined to form a single vowel. And that word is masculine. There is another word that means basically the same thing and is not masculine, namely "gola." There are probably many other words that are either neutral or feminine meaning the same thing because Icelandic has dozens of words for different kinds of winds since it is never still there.

And as to your other question, no. There may exist a word in Icelandic that could be construed as masculine or feminine but it would be very rare. Also, unlike in English, rarely if ever will you find multiple meanings for the same word.

I wish this was of the biggest problems we faced in the U.S.

I'm moving back to Deutschland!

linguist-very interesting. Thanks for responding. Icelandic sounds like it is a very complex language. I could certainly see how confusion regarding her name could arise, which raises the question of why they didn't just pick the feminine gola if it means roughly the same (perhaps they though Blaer sounds nicer?).

alright- nice to chat with you. In Icelandic, I suspect Blaer sounds better. It is less common than gola and refers to slightly different type of mild wind than "gola" does. Blaer is almost always going to refer to a very mild, pleasing wind...a summer afternoon breeze, if you will. Whereas "gola" might refer to either a warm or cold wind. Often the latter, indicates winds coming off the ocean.

I think the mother should simply call her Blaer and use something else as her legal name. This used to be quite prevalent in Iceland. For example the name Alex used to be forbidden but not the name Alexander. And believe it or not, the names committee is a lot more lenient than it used to be 20 years ago, so you see a huge influx of new names that meet the committees standards.

linguist-nice talking with you as well. I think that's a fair compromise-Blaer can be her nickname, and she can have a legal name other than just girl.

And then after we let the government tell us what we can name our children, they can tell us what type and color of car to drive, and even IF we can drive...And where we can live..And where we work..And then they can tell us when, where, and HOW to worship...Do you see a trend forming here Greg???...Government having a hand in everything that happens in your life from cradle to grave is WHY we ran the British out and formed our great nation to begin with..Sadly, people here in America, have forgotten that lesson and little by little our rights have been given away so long as the "government " handouts continue..One day, we will wake up and the government will tell us that names will no longer be used as a way of identifying an individual..Instead they will be identified ONLY as a government issued number..

Yeah. Laqueezianesseth and Duwanimonaiti might not make the list.

Some of the names chosen in the last thirty years should be outlawed. We value our freedom too much to allow that but I feel for some of the children given ridiculous names in the US. The parents should be charged with child abuse for some of horrible names chosen for their children....

Blade,

Not trying to nitpick, but the government already tells us whether or not we can drive. It's called a license.

Your not nit picking, and I understand that but what else does the government "do' for us in our own best "intrests?..Can we live where and in what type of house we want??? No..Try buying a lot somewhere in a big city and proceede to pull in a doublewide..Think it will stay there?..Can we say the lords prayer in school?? No..Because some woman in texas doesnt believe in God and didnt want her child subjected to that,so my child hasnt got the "right" to do that anymore like I did..Do we have the right to see the doctor we want??..Not if you have most types of insurance you cant..and now that the government has essentially taken over our health care{for our own good mind you} you will see the doctor that THEY aprove for you..I mean, where does it stop..OR does it EVER stop..The answer to that is,It will stop when we as a society MAKE it stop..

At first I thought, what an outrage! Then, like Greg 2993627, I thought about all the idiotic names parents in the US foist upon their kids these days. Black Americans seem to be the worst offenders. Just watch an NFL game, and you hear names that are nothing more than random collections of letters and punctuation marks. But White rednecks are just as bad, with their Tripp, Trigg, Truck, Case, Colt, Gun-barrell, and whatnot.

But, seriously, I don't think the govt should stop parents from assigning stupid names. Kids need some reason to hate their parents. May as well make if easy for them.

Blade-since you brought it up, there is a difference between a child quietly saying or thinking a prayer to himself, and the school forcing everyone to utter said prayer. Here's a situation for you- how would you feel if school prayer was mandatory, but the religion they chose was Islam? Your child is forced to say an Islamic prayer (or some other religion that is not your own?) every morning-would you be ok with that? The way that you would feel is exactly how others of non-Christian religions (or no religion at all) would feel if some other prayer was mandated school-wide. The point is that this protects everyone equally-not promoting a specific religion is not the same as promoting that religion is bad or evil. (and it doesn't make part of the population feel excluded or alienated-imagine if we had a national religion-but it wasn't the one you follow)

But I do agree, there are some ridiculous (or even misspelled) names out there. Though I don't think there's much we can do about it, short of following Iceland's lead (which I don't suggest we do). Which I guess is why we have a process for legal name changes.

@Blade

Without rules (laws, norms) there would be no society.

To be against rules is ....anti-social!

It is one's choice to be opposed to society. Society has a name for those who isolate themselves from society, if they are passive, - hermits.

There is also a societal designation for many of those folks whose opposition is not passive - prisoners.

Choices.

Can we live where and in what type of house we want??? No..Try buying a lot somewhere in a big city and proceede [sic] to pull in a doublewide [sic]..Think it will stay there?..

True, but that's because of zoning laws. It's not really some sort of government intrusion, at least not as most people see it. Zoning laws are there for a reason.

Can we say the lords [sic] prayer in school??

Of course you can. Does your child really need to be led in prayer by a teacher? Because that's the only difference between now and your childhood. No state-sponsored religion.

Do we have the right to see the doctor we want??.

I haven't read anywhere in the ACA that keeps anyone from seeing their chosen doctor. Hell, before ACA, I can't see the doctor I want because my insurance doesn't cover it. So that's not really a new problem (nor is it governmental, blame the insurance companies).

you will see the doctor that THEY aprove [sic] for you..

Where have you read this?

At the same time, I do hate smoking bans, and soda bans and all other forms of nannying, but I don't see your complaints as that.

Attractive woman at a cocktail party to a man she doesn't know:

"I just read in Cosmopolitan that Native American and Jewish men make the best lovers. Isn't that interesting? Oh, and by the way my name is Jill."

Man: "Pleased to meet you, Jill. I'm Flying Cloud Shapiro."

They felt like they were saving their very cultural existence, their way of life, and their children's way of life. So, they were saving lives. Granted it seems like a strange concept from an American point of view, but you have to remember that these people are not Americans and have their own ideas about how the world should work.

Named "Iceland" by English speakers. Not sure how that is funny but ignorance is bliss I guess, as relevant by so many ignorant comments in these posts.

...and they look at us and say, "Look at all those obese, gun-toting, environmentally-challenged, McMansion living losers"

Since first names are the names that appear in the phone book, calling your child something else (a common thing in the US, as I personally can attest), would be counterproductive. You would think though, once the name passed the priest it would be grandfathered in. The fault was his for allowing it, once she was baptized it should have been a done deal.

Here are some I fine weird Scott, I didnt write this but I agree

You know you live in a Country run by idiots if...
You can get arrested for expired tags on your car but not for being in the country illegally.
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You know you live in a Country run by idiots if...
You have to have your parents signature to go on a school field trip but not to get an abortion.
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You know you live in a Country run by idiots if...
An 80 year old woman can be stripped searched by the TSA but a Muslim woman in a burka is only subject to having her neck and head searched.

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You know you live in a Country run by idiots if...
Your government believes that the best way to eradicate trillions of dollars of debt is to spend trillions more of our money.
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You know you live in a Country run by idiots if...
A seven year old boy can be thrown out of school for calling his teacher "cute" but hosting a sexual exploration or diversity class in grade school is perfectly acceptable.
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You know you live in a Country run by idiots if...
The Supreme Court of the United States can rule that lower courts cannot display the 10 Commandments in their courtroom, while sitting in front of a display of the 10 Commandments.
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You know you live in a Country run by idiots if...
Children are forcibly removed from parents who appropriately discipline them while children of "underprivileged" drug addicts are left to rot in filth infested cesspools of a “home”.
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You know you live in a Country run by idiots if...
Hard work and success are rewarded with higher taxes and government intrusion, while some slothful, lazy behavior is rewarded with EBT cards, WIC checks, Medicaid, subsidized housing, and free cell phones.
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You know you live in a Country run by idiots if...
The government's plan for getting people back to work is to provide 99 weeks of unemployment checks (to not work).
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You know you live in a Country run by idiots if...
Being self-sufficient is considered a threat to the government.
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You know you live in a Country run by idiots if...
Politicians think that stripping away the amendments to the constitution is really protecting the rights of the people.
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You know you live in a Country run by idiots if...
The rights of the Government come before the rights of the individual.
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You know you live in a Country run by idiots if...
You pay your mortgage faithfully, denying yourself the newest big screen TV while your neighbor defaults on his mortgage (while buying iPhones, TV's and new cars) and the government forgives his debt and reduces his mortgage (with your tax dollars).
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You know you live in a Country run by idiots if...
Being stripped of the ability to defend yourself makes you "safe".
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You know you live in a Country run by idiots if...
Using the "N" word is considered "hate speech" but writing and singing songs about raping women and killing cops is considered "art".

Cant wait to get my tatooed barcode on my arm, cant wait until they can tell us where to live and what to wear, cant wait til all those nasty guns that are animated walk out and throw themselves in the fire. I can wait until all the sheep follow the country over the real cliff.

USAgent. Thank you so much for posting this. It's only the tip of the iceberg I'm afraid. I don't think we will get to the place where we are led by sheep, because the underbelly of society has most of the aggression and gunpower, it will be more of a Mad Max type of scenario, but the rich will have an army to protect them and the thugs will rule the streets. The middle man, who is thinking and caring, will be obliterated. I'm so happy that I am old already.

I don't think it's their government so much as their culture, although like any society, the govenment often ends up taking on the role "cultural police". In other words, it's tradition, man! Written into law. It's actually quite conservative, and the practice dates back hundreds of years. It's not some modern attempt at their govenment to control the people.

Half the people here are armed, crazy and hate foreigners. She should stay home and for what she has.

@Ryannyky572. Nobody here is that stupid. Go bark up another tree.