Oh deer... Reality TV Star Mae be in Breach of the Law

Not really but we couldn’t resist the pun. However, if Love Island couple Tommy Fury and Molly-Mae Hague were in Iceland they would be. Where parents can only choose names on the official Government issued Personal Names Register. Bambi is not on that list (neither is Thumper).

Although no official “banned” names exist in the UK, authorities can step in when parents choose a baby name deemed offensive. Names that contain obscenities, numerals, misleading titles, or are impossible to pronounce are likely to be rejected by the Registering Officer. In one case in 2016, a mum in Wales was banned from calling her daughter Cyanide due to the emotional harm the child could suffer.

Speaking of emotional harm and suffering, in 2019 a teen from Oklahoma sued her parents for the name they had given her 18 years previous. Alyxys-Beyleighe Cardamom Dehbohrah Eikenboom claimed,

“It was so embarrassing to have my teachers stumble over that random assortment of letters my parents christened me with. I struggled making friends because no one could remember my name.”

Ms Eikenboom has legally changed her name to Bailey and filed the lawsuit claiming $2.3 million in damages, citing that the name had caused her mental anguish, distress, and emotional trauma.

Influencer Molly Mae and boxer boyfriend Tommy Fury, are not the first, and won’t be the last celebrities to choose an interesting name for their newborn. Famously Chris Martin, of Coldplay fame and his actress wife Gweneth Paltrow named their first child Apple in 2004. The Kardashian family have North West, Stormi, True, Reign, Dream and Aire. And what’s maybe more surprising is that actress Anne Hathaway has two sons, simply named Jonathan and Jack.

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Our Family Law expert

“People often say to me that family law must be a depressing job – but I’ve never felt that. What we do makes a difference. I love working with my clients to understand their stories, help them work out where they want to get to, and collaborate with them to achieve their goals. Seeing people come through it and embark on a new stage of their lives is a great feeling.”

Dianne Millen, Head of Family Law