Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/05/06/baby_q/
Swedish couple demand right to name baby 'Q'
Now pay attention, Supreme Administrative Court
Posted in Bootnotes, 6th May 2009 12:58 GMT
Free whitepaper – Optimizing the data center for cost and efficiency
A Swedish couple's battle to name their son "Q" will shortly arrive on appeal at the Supreme Administrative Court, aka Regeringsrätten, which will determine if current regs allow single-letter first names.
The parents insist the sprog is not named in honour of the James Bond gadgetmeister, but is rather the victim of a wayward, last-minute decision. This didn't much impress the powers that be, who ruled Q offside.
The couple's appeal filing explains that the unfortunate infant "answers to the name which they have used since birth", adding: "He is quite simply Q with half of the inhabitants of the Åre area. There are stranger names in the valley."
In order to avoid falling foul of a possible single-letter ban, mum and dad have offered an alternative spelling for the court's consideration: "Q:u".
It's just as well for the Swedish legal system that crime in the sun-kissed Scandinavian paradise is restricted to occasional pop pineapple mashing (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/04/06/swedish_pinapple_shocker/), because it evidently spends around 90 per cent of its time tackling Qs, Dark Knights (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/11/dark_knight_nej/), Elvis (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/05/swedish_elvis/) and Metallica (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/04/04/metallica/). ®
Bootnote
Thanks to Mike Richards for the tip-off. Regarding "stranger names in the valley", Mike notes: "Sadly the article doesn't say what those could be but it does give the impression that Åre is the Royston Vasey of Jämtland."
Non-Blighty readers unacquainted with Royston Vasey should seek enlightenment here (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/welcome-to-the-real-royston-vasey--youll-never-leave-726913.html).