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Naming Regulations and Trends Worldwide

A couple in New Zealand was not allowed to name their son 4Real as names beginning with numbers are not allowed. They instead named him Superman. In Britain, unusual names from popular culture like Gandalf are becoming more common, though the top names remain traditional like Jack and Grace. Other countries have stricter naming rules, for example requiring names be chosen from an approved list in countries like Japan, Denmark and Germany. In China, names cannot use foreign letters or symbols.

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Ruben Dario Barros Gonzalez
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8 views1 page

Naming Regulations and Trends Worldwide

A couple in New Zealand was not allowed to name their son 4Real as names beginning with numbers are not allowed. They instead named him Superman. In Britain, unusual names from popular culture like Gandalf are becoming more common, though the top names remain traditional like Jack and Grace. Other countries have stricter naming rules, for example requiring names be chosen from an approved list in countries like Japan, Denmark and Germany. In China, names cannot use foreign letters or symbols.

Uploaded by

Ruben Dario Barros Gonzalez
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Recently, a couple in New Zealand was not allowed to name their baby son 4Real.

Even though New Zealand has


quite liberal rules about naming children, names beginning with a number are not allowed. They decided to call him
Superman instead.

In many countries around the world, unusual names for children are becoming more popular, especially since the
increasing fashion for celebrities to give their children silly names. In Britain, you can call a child almost anything you
like - the only restrictions on parents relate to offensive words. Some parents choose names which come from popular
culture. For example, there have been six boys named Gandalf after the character in the Lord of the Rings novels and
films. Equally, names relating to sport are fairly common - since 1984, 36 children have been called Arsenal after the
football team.

Other countries have much stricter rules about how parents should name their children. Countries including Japan,
Denmark, Germany and Argentina have an approved list of names from which parents must choose. In China, there
are some rules about what you may call a child - no foreign letters or symbols are allowed. As a result, just a year ago,
a couple could not name their baby son @.

In Britain, some names which were previously considered old-fashioned have become more popular again, such as
Maisie or Ella for a girl, or Alfie or Noah for a boy. But the most popular names are not the silly ones. The top names
are fairly traditional - Jack, Charlie and Thomas for boys and Grace, Ruby and Jessica for girls

1.- Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE? Copy the evidence from the text. No marks are given for
only TRUE or FALSE.

a) There are no rules about what you can name your child in the UK.

b) Some children in the UK now have names of fictional characters.

2.- In your own words and based on the ideas in the text, answer the following questions. Do not copy from
the text.

a) What was the New Zealand couples problem and how did they solve it? They didn't get permission for their first
choice of name for their son, so they chose another one.

b) Explain at least three different regulations on naming children mentioned in the text. Names cannot start with a
[Link] words are not allowed as [Link] must be chosen from an official [Link] must not contain
certain characters.

3.- Find the words in the text that mean:

a) trend (paragraph 2)fashion

b) select (paragraph 2)choose

c) in the same way (paragraph 2) equally

d) like (paragraph 4) such as

4.- Complete the following sentences. Use the appropriate form of the word in brackets when given.

a) Naming your baby is one of _____ (important) tasks you will ever face. A silly name may affect you and your child
_____ ever!

b) _____ you dont like the first name that comes into your mind, keep _____ (search) until you find a name that you
really like.

c) No one _____ (like) having their name constantly _____ (mispronounce), thats for sure.

d) Once you have an idea for your _____ (baby) name, always check the initials! I had a neighbour _____ initials were
P.I.G..

5.- Write about 100 to 150 words on the following topic. What names would you give your children and which
ones would you avoid? Explain why. (Puntuacin mxima: 3 puntos)

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