Swedes battle to name daughter Metallica
Print storyAuthorites unrocked by 'inappropriate' moniker
Posted in Entertainment, 4th April 2007 13:13 GMT
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A Swedish couple is battling the country's National Tax Authority for the right to call their daughter "Metallica", the BBC reports.
In Sweden, both first names and surnames have to be officially approved. On the banned list are "offensive, unsuitable or inappropriate" titles, as well as those which might "cause discomfort for the one using it".
Michael and Karolina Tomaro have already baptised the six-month-old headbanger but, despite a ruling by Goteburg's County Administrative Court that there was "no reason to block the name", came unstuck when they "tried to register the name with tax authorities before applying for a passport". Officials didn't much like the Metallica tag, and sent the case to a higher court for consideration.
Karolina Tomaro bemoaned: "We've had to cancel trips and can't get anywhere because we can't get her a passport without an approved name."
Other names which have in the past fallen foul of Sweden's vetting process include "Ikea" and "Veranda", the Beeb notes. "Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116" (pronounced Albin, in case you were wondering) also got the bum's rush back in 1996, when a boy's parents tried it on "as a protest against Swedish naming laws".
Sadly, though, some poor Swedish kid is called Oliver Google Kai. Nobody objected back in 2005 when search engine expert Kelias Kai and his wife Carol slapped the poor blighter with this inspired choice of middle name. ®
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