Kid Sues Iceland Over Name

If you are a parent, naming your soon-to-born child can be a nightmare. What name is strong, best suits their gender, can't be made fun of easily, etc - are all valid concerns when picking a name.

In the country of Iceland, they have a name registry that is a list of "suitable" names for children so that they are not made fun of, etc. One teenager is suing the country over the official use of her name.

Blaer Bjarkardottir was told she is unable to use her name "officially" because it is not in the above named registry. She is 15 and when born the priest let her name go, allowing it to appear on her birth certificate by mistake.

The registry is made up of 1,712 male and 1,853 female names. If a name does not appear on the list, a parent can apply for a hearing to get the name added. Blaer's mother did not win her hearing and the name was not added. The reason for this was the name "takes a masculine article", even though it was used for a female character in a novel by Icelandic author.

Until the new court hearing on January 25th Blaer's name appears as "Stulka" on her passport - which means "girl".

(Sky News)