These banned baby names and wild baby-naming laws will leave you speechless!

There’s nothing easy about naming your baby — but it could be a lot harder. 

After all, the United States is known for having relatively relaxed naming laws that encourage the use of creativity and outside-of-the-box thinking when choosing a baby name for your future son or daughter. 

But the same can’t be said for the rest of the world. 

RELATED: Once-Popular Banned Baby Names That Parents Avoided in 2024

For example, parents in Denmark are forced to pick a name from a pre-approved baby name list. And if you like a name that’s not on the list, you must apply to have it approved before making it official. 

Other countries, such as Germany, require that your baby’s first name be gender-appropriate. 

But even the United States doesn’t give parents total freedom in choosing a name. 

In fact, USbirthcertificates.com recently revealed a list of 11 banned baby names that have been ruled illegal by courts within the United States — some of which are more understandable than others. 

Those illegal baby names include the following:

• King
• Queen
• Jesus Christ
• III
• Santa Claus
• Majesty
• Adolf Hitler
• Nutella
• Messiah
• @
• 1069

Despite being deemed illegal, the Social Security Administration (SSA) shows that 1,001 baby boys were named King in 2024 — and 99 baby girls were named Queen. 

Names like Kingsley, Kingston, Myking, Kingdom, Queenie and Queena were also used in 2024. 

More than 2,200 baby boys were named Jesus and 24 baby girls were named Santa, but there were no reportings of any Jesus Christ or Santa Claus born in 2024. 

Furthermore, 144 baby girls (and 50 baby boys) were named Majesty and 1,734 baby boys (and 14 baby girls) were named Messiah. 

Illegal? Yes. Completely off the table? Not really.

In 2013, a Tennessee judge ordered a mother to change the name of her son during a paternity hearing. The judge argued that the baby’s name, Messiah, was “a title that is held only by Jesus Christ.” 

But a second judge overturned the ruling one month later — and the baby was allowed to keep the name.

Of course, not everyone’s that lucky. 

In 1984, a man named Thomas Boyd Ritchie III wanted to change his name to the Roman Numeral “III,” pronounced “three,” because it was the only thing that distinguished him from his father and grandfather. 

The California Courts of Appeal denied his request on the grounds that III isn’t a word — it’s a symbol.

The same thing happened in 1976 to Michael Herbert Dengler, who wanted to change his name to 1069. The North Dakota Supreme Court ruled against his request, arguing that numbers can’t be names. 

Dengler then took his case to Minnesota, where he lost yet another ruling on the same grounds. 

And let’s not forget about the headlines Elon Musk and Grimes made in May 2020 when they wanted to name their son X Æ A-12 Musk. At the time, many people were unsure if he was being serious or not. 

He was — but California law wouldn’t allow it. 

Since baby names in California can only use the 26 alphabetical characters of the English language, the couple decided to go with X Æ A-Xii instead, replacing the number 12 with Roman Numerals. 

Baby-naming laws often vary by state

Aside from the illegal names above, baby-naming laws often change depending on the state you live in.

For example, Massachusetts limits a baby’s first name to a maximum of 40 characters and New York only allows 30, but parents in Arizona are allowed to submit names that are 45 characters long.

Meanwhile, states like Colorado, Oklahoma and Montana have no restrictions on baby name length. 

Illinois and South Carolina are two of the only states that allow numbers and symbols in a first name, while most other states ban the use of special characters, emojis, digits, symbols and numbers. 

Here are some other surprising baby-naming laws found in states across the country: 

• Babies born in Michigan and Connecticut technically don’t need a name
• If you can’t decide on a name in Florida, the courts will pick one for you
• Kentucky, South Carolina, Delaware, Maryland and Montana allow obscene names
• California doesn't allow accent marks in a baby’s name
• Tildes (ñ) are banned in Virginia but allowed in North Carolina 
• Parents in Kentucky can choose any name for their baby’s last name

Before falling too in love with a baby name, make sure you check your local naming laws first!

While living in the United States comes with a great deal of freedom when choosing a baby’s name, that’s not to say all baby names are approved — and even some of those that are allowed should be avoided. 

At the end of the day, think about how the name might sound in a social setting, such as school or a job.

After all, it’s a name that your child will (hopefully) keep for the rest of their life — and one that will help define who they are in this world. 

Other illegal baby names from around the globe

Baby naming laws vary around the world, but countries outside of the US are generally more strict. 

For example, names like Chief Maximus, Sex Fruit, Anal and Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii (yes, the whole thing) are all banned in New Zealand, while Snake and 007 are banned in Malaysia. 

Likewise, parents in France can’t name their child Prince William, Griezmann Mbappe or Nutella. 

Here are some other illegal baby names from across the world, according to USbirthcertificates.com: 

• Robocop (Mexico)
• Linda (Saudi Arabia)
• Friday (Italy)
• Sarah (Morocco)
• Osama bin Laden (Germany)
• Metallica (Sweden)
• Devil (Japan)
• Blue (Italy)
• Quran (China)
• BRFXXCCXXMNPCCCCLLLMMNPRXVCLMNCKSSQLBB11116 (Sweden)
• Harriet (Iceland)
• Cyanide (United Kingdom)
• Monkey (Denmark)
• Thor (Portugal)
• Bridge (Norway)
• Wolf (Spain)
• Tom (Portugal)
• Camilla (Iceland)
• Judas (Switzerland)
• Duke (Australia)

Not only that, but parents in Victoria, Australia aren’t allowed to name their children Justice, Saint or Princess because they’re considered deceptive and may cause confusion with official titles. 

Even the name Televizor, meaning “television,” is banned in Romania. 

More recently, Japan introduced a set of baby-naming rules designed to put an end to the use of kirakira (shiny or glittery) names that have grown increasingly popular among parents looking to get creative. 

That means no more names like Pikachu, Naiki (Nike), Daiya (Diamond), Ōjisama (Prince) and Kitty.

ALSO ON MOD MOMS CLUB: Meghan Markle shares the advice she gives expecting parents when picking out a baby name

If you’re having a hard time finding the perfect baby name for your child, then don’t worry. Mod Moms Club is here to save the day with a baby name generator that can help anyone narrow down their list!