Parents in Court Battle Over Baby's Name

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Tuesday July 24 8:19 AM ET

Parents in Court Battle Over Baby's Name

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German couple who want to call their baby daughter Jona will have to wait for a court to decide whether it is suitable for a girl.

The Kepurra family from the eastern German town of Oranienburg have been battling officials for a year over their choice of name.

Jona, a common girl's name in Israel, is cited in reference books as a version of the biblical name Jonah, the male character who spent three days and three nights in the belly of a whale.

But registry office authorities in Germany insist it is a boy's name and have asked that a recent court decision allowing the Kepurras to use the name for their daughter be reexamined.

Officials said Monday the baby would remain nameless until the court decision.

The legal wrangling in Germany contrasts sharply with the relaxed approach to names in many other countries.

The late American musician Frank Zappa called one of his children Moon Unit, while British rock star turned campaigner Bob Geldof named his daughters Fifi Trixibelle, Peaches and Pixie.

In Russia, the Soviet era prompted many unusual names including Stalinita for girls.

-- Tidbit (of@the.day), July 24, 2001

Answers

Europe will lead, all right.

-- J (Y2J@home.comm), July 24, 2001.

I wonder if Adolfita is allowed.

-- Buddy (buddydc@go.com), July 24, 2001.

Frank Zappa called one of his children Moon Unit

How could they overlook poor Dweezil Zappa?

-- Little Nipper (canis@minor.net), July 24, 2001.


In the U.S., there was an expert in the somewhat arcane field of logical data modeling who sued for and won the right to call himself "III".

-- David L (bumpkin@dnet.net), July 24, 2001.

Not being able to pick parents really sucks.

-- Carlos (riffraff@cybertime.net), July 26, 2001.


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