While many nations have laws on such matters, the United Kingdom does
not. In Scotland, the registrar may refuse to record a name if it is
thought to be offensive, but in England and Wales, the registrar has
no such right of refusal.
"In Sao Paulo, a baby boy is chortling away, unaware that a court is
deciding his fate. If it finds in his father's favour, he is in all
kinds of trouble. There may be a law in Brazil against giving your
child a name that might cause him to be mocked, but daddy wants to
call his son Osama bin Laden. The same father, Osvaldo Oliveira
Soares, has form for trying to use babies as political statements.
Nine years ago, he was banned from naming a previous son Saddam
Hussein.
Unlike Brazil, there is no law in Britain that restricts a parent's
right to name their child. "It's not for the registrar to say if
someone has picked a name they don't think is suitable," says Alison
Cathcart, superintendent registrar at Westminster register office.
"But if someone is from a different culture and wants to register a
name that sounds like a swear word in English then we do advise them
of that."
Guardian Unlimited: Remember, a name is for life
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4293520,00.html
"You can give your child any forenames or surname that you like. In
Scotland the registrar has the power to refuse to record a name if he
or she deems it to be potentially offensive, although in practice a
name is rarely objected to. In England and Wales, the registrar has no
right to refuse your choice, although if your choice is too outrageous
you may find that you are asked to think of the effect on the child
before confirming it is what you want."
Precious Little One: Registering the Birth
http://www.preciouslittleone.com/babynames/registering.asp
"One might have thought that this is a strictly private or family
matter far removed from the concerns of society, the law or the state.
But this is not at all the case. In the Western world only Great
Britain and - to almost the same extent - the United States retain the
Roman custom of virtually complete freedom when choosing or changing
one's name. The only exception is when it's done for fraudulent
purposes. In the rest of Europe, and the Europeanised parts of South
America for instance, there's a wide range of more or less restrictive
legislation."
Gunnar Pettersson: Names Never Hurt You
http://www.powrd.demon.co.uk/pdf/names.pdf
Google search strategy:
Google Web Search: uk law "giving a child a name"
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Google Web Search: uk "registering a birth" "any name"
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Google Web Search: uk "give your child any" name
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=uk+%22give+your+child+any%22+name
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