Name that Jongen

After our trip to Barcelona, I remembered a conversation we had with a Belgian guy (he, originally from Greece and his wife, originally from Spain). I have forgotten the names of their two sons, but he explained their choices were limited on what names they could choose. They all lived in Belgium and the boys were born here, but they were following Spanish protocol either way.

In the U.S. you can name your child pretty much whatever you like. You have the freedom to choose any traditional, unique, strange, or dumb-ass name you wish, if you wish. But elsewhere in the world that is not always the case.

Countries like Denmark, Spain, Hungary, Portugal, Germany, France and Argentina, to name a few, publish lists of acceptable names from which new mothers and fathers must choose. Some countries even publish lists of those names which are banned.

For example, once a baby name is chosen in Germany, the expectant parents must register the name with the Standesamt. Using a guide book which translates to "the international manual of first names" they determine if the name you've chosen will be approved or rejected. If your perfect name is rejected, you can appeal, but it'll cost you some additional Euros so best to choose wisely the first time around. You can't go wrong with Maximilian and Sophia.

And Denmark may be the strictest country of all. Naming a child is a serious affair governed by law and subject to approval by the Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs and the Ministry of Family and Consumer Affairs. From what I've read, Scandinavian countries, in general, like sameness rather than uniqueness. Ada and Balthazar are among the most popular in Denmark.

In China, where about 50,000 babies are born every day, you can also basically name your baby anything as long as it can be computer scanned and read on the national identification cards. Among the more popular are Ma 马 and Na 娜.

But back to Spain. In Spain, for example, parents can choose almost any name they like. The traditional naming system is: one or more given names and one or more surnames. Like the simple Juan or Juan Pablo. Pablo isn't a middle name as that is nonexistent in Spain. So if Juan Pablo Fernandez marries Maria Jose' Rodriguez, their child, Pedro would likely be named Pedro Pablo Jose'.

Not everyone in Spain is named Maria or Jose', but close. Foreigners who want to become Spanish citizens are legally obliged to assume Spanish-style names. So if you think you might ever move to Spain, like the couple I mentioned above, it's probably best not to go with Bjorn or Emma. The Registro Civil will need to change that to something more Spanish-sounding like Bjose' and Emmaria.

In the event you're as grateful as Jamal Ibrahim is to Facebook, perhaps this is the name for that newborn. Ibrahim expressed his gratitude for the support of the recent peaceful revolution in Egypt that started on Facebook by naming his newborn daughter Facebook.

Hopefully she will just be happy it's not Friendster.