After having recently gone through the process of naming a child myself, I found myself sometimes walking a fine line between trying to pick a name that was unique, interesting and with character and picking a name that was bland, or overused. Choosing a name for a child is a great responsibility that no parent should take lightly. In trying to pick a great name for my child, I will freely admit that at times I wished that my choices were not limited to the relative few that would be deemed acceptable by the conventions of society. Part of me wanted to choose a moniker that would be a real stand out, something that would differentiate my child from all the other children out there with their boring, pedestrian names, something that would symbolize just how special a person my son or daughter was going to be.
In the end, we decided upon Rachel Alexandra, not exactly the most unusual name out there, but one which my wife and I thought fitting for our brand new beautiful daughter. However, had we gone in a different direction and picked a more far out and eccentric name I think that it would have shown courage and creativity. Any loving parent that chooses to go in this direction should not be chastised for their decision and they most certainly should not have the courts step in to overrule their choice.
Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii was a name we never actually even considered. Even if it is something that we had thought of, I doubt that it would have made the final cut. This is beside the point though. What does matter is that this do-gooder judge in New Zealand clearly overstepped a boundary. I don't think the judges in Australia would get away with this kind of interference.
Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii is a great name and I would like to see more parents take that kind of risk. It's sure a lot more interesting than Jane or Susan so I salute them for their creativity. I'm sure she will be a stronger person for the experience.
On a side note, Eugene Volakh of Slate Magazine in an article last week reported in in a related article that there are no known cases of boys changing their names to, or from, Sue. Also, if anyone wants to change their name to a number, at least in the United States, you might have a problem as a result of a North Dakota Supreme Court Decision in 1976 where it was ruled that Michael Dengler could not change his name to 1069 despite what I found to be an entirely convincing argument.
Petition of Michael Herbert Dengler to Change His Name to 1069
The petitioner, in support of his request, states that he was adopted and given the name Michael Herbert Dengler; that his personal philosophy has experienced expansion and quests for answers to various philosophies, including recognized schools of thought as well as his own personal philosophy, which he has adapted from those of other schools of thought and other cultures; that a person's name should be a mark of indicium which corresponds to and is a verbal and graphic manifestation of the person's philosophy. This is followed by petitioner's explanation of the characters:
"The first character, 1, stands for my concept of nature which manifests itself as one individual among the various forms of life. I stand as a single entity amongst millions of other entities, animate and inanimate. But yet even though I am an entity unto myself, I am part of the whole of life which is one. I am one; life is one; and together we are one.
"The second character, 0, shows my relationship with time in movement through life; I feel that I recognize a
[246 N.W.2d 760]
past, experience a present, and am aware of a future with equal regard. I am therefore zero with respect to my march on the road of life.
"The third character, 6, is equal to the relationship I have with the universe in my understanding of space of my spatial occupancy through this life.
"The fourth and final character, 9, stands for the relationship I have to essence in the difference in the meaning when actualizing the spatially ever present nature of life. This final digit is like a string which surrounds the entirety of the previous three digits and explains the first three digits' concepts as they interact among each other to produce my philosophy."
Petitioner concluded with:
"The interaction of these phenomenon, which are represented by these numerals, creates an identity which is me. The only way that this identity can be expressed is 1069."**The photo I used was lifted from a fellow blogger. If she should ever happen to come upon this I hope that she is ok with it. The photo is not of Talula herself.
2 comments:
I knew Mr 1069 as my Social Studies teacher in Fargo at the Jr High school I attended. Ben Franklin Jr High. Mr 1069 was a interest teacher, a head of his time, too bad that the school board let him go. Some times being as philosophical and into trying to understand your relationship in this world can cost you so much. He was a good teacher.
Nowadays 1069 is a boozer in Leipzig, a town in eastern germany. He works as a teacher in a free school and survives from money and beds, that good friends give him.
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