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From Loco to Caca: What kind of baby names are banned in Spain?

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From Loco to Caca: What kind of baby names are banned in Spain?
Photo by CESAR MANSO / AFP

Spain's naming laws restrict what parents can call their children, usually to protect the child from potentially offensive names. But what names are actually banned in the country?

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Spain's laws regarding baby names forbid any name that could offend a person's dignity or lead to confusion, such as using a last name as a first name, or a name a sibling already has.

The law, which dates back to 1957, means the civil registry can reject names that have negative connotations or affect the child's dignity. However, each individual province's Civil Registry offices can outline its own guidelines.

The list of the types of names that are forbidden, though updated on several occasions to adapt to changing times, remains long. Here are the main ones to know:

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1. Giving the same name to siblings

To avoid identity confusion, giving the same name to two of your children is not allowed, even if the name is translated into a different languages. For example, the brother of a child called Juan cannot be called John.

2. Names with negative connotations

The Civil Registry (Registro civil) will reject any name that may be interpreted as having negative connotations, or that could affect the child's dignity. Thanks to this rule, there can be no one called Hitler, Cain, Lucifer, Judas, Stalin or Osama Bin Laden. Similarly, the law protects children from being called things like "Loco" (Crazy) or "Caca" (Poo) since this could make them the object of ridicule or even cause them psychological and physical harm.

However, this criteria has been criticised as it's usually up to the person at the Civil Registry to decide whether a name is offensive or not. There are plenty of women in Spain with Biblical names that have negative connotations, such as Dolores (meaning "pains") and Angustias ("anguishes").

Meanwhile, the national debate was reignited in 2016 when parents in a suburb of Madrid were told that "Lobo" (Wolf) was not an appropriate name for their newborn son. The couple responded by arguing that wolves represent strength and intelligence, and that plenty other common names such as Paloma (Dove) and León (Lion) also come from animals.

3. More than two simple names or one compound name

Parents are not allowed to give their child excessively long names anymore: more than two simple names or one compound name is the maximum. Three or four first names were previously quite common in Spain, but now names like King Felipe VI's (Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia), are a thing of the past.

4. Surnames

The law also prevents people from having a first name that is also a common surname. Though there isn't a specific list of these names, if you really like the idea of calling your child García or Pérez these are very likely to be rejected on the grounds that it could cause too much confusion.

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5. Diminutives

While shortened names may be allowed, diminutives by adding the affectionate endings -ita or -ito won't be accepted by the Civil Registry. Even if you want to call your son "Juanito" you will have to put him down officially as "Juan".

On the other hand, names like Paco (previously a shortened version of Francisco) are now considered names in their own right.

6. Acronyms

While acronyms and blended names are common for companies in Spain, such as Maipe for Maite y Pedro, or Marfranol for María, Francisco y Olga, this will not be considered valid for a person. Similarly, if you want to call your child JC, you will have to put him down as Juan Carlos or another combination of two names with those initials.

7. Fruits, vegetables and other objects

"Pera" and "Pepino" are not considered acceptable names for people. In the same way, "Coche" or "Casa" will also be rejected.

8. Brands, famous people or cities

Though there is no specific list, names like Nike, Spielberg or Barcelona are also likely to be rejected by the Civil Registry. Similarly, even though La Casa de Papel may have given many parents the idea of calling their child "Tokyo" or "Berlin", calling your child after a city is not likely to work either. However, Shakira and Piqué got away with it when they called their son Milan (without an accent on the a) because it's a common Slavic name.

READ ALSO: These are Spain's most popular baby names

This may seem like a lot of rules, but Spanish laws were much more restrictive in the past. During the Franco dictatorship, all children had to be christened with first names from the Bible. Only after Franco's death in 1975 did the Constitution reestablish the freedom to give non-Christian names.

Also, Spain is not the only country that bans certain names. Iceland has a Naming Committee that must approve names before they are put in the registry, and Portugal also provides a list of 2,600 names that are not allowed. Courts in the US have also ruled names like "Queen", "Jesus Christ" or "Santa Claus" illegal.

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