In recent years, unusual given names for girls and boys have been making their way onto birth certificates. However, whether such names truly serve the child’s well-being is a question mark. While parents may want to be in the spotlight, children often crave normality. Now, Russian lawmakers are pushing for a law that could put a stop to creative naming practices.
The proposed law aims to restrict unusual names when registering newborns. The initiative envisions a list of allowed names from which parents could choose, explained Tatjana Buzkaja, the first deputy chair of the Duma Committee on Family and Child Protection. “We are in constant contact with the Justice Ministry, the text of the law is complete and the explanations are also” she said. The draft will be presented to the Duma as soon as the source of the list of permitted names is determined.
Originally, the idea was to prevent girls from being given male names and vice versa. However, this concept has since been expanded: a “name catalog” is now planned, from which parents can choose.
“We must protect children from being named Pelmen, Tisch, or Nachttisch” emphasized Buzkaja.
Previously, Duma Deputy Speaker Vladislav Dovgan had proposed giving minors the right to change their name without their parents’ consent if they were being bullied due to their name. He cited a Moscow statistics example, where parents in 2023 had named their children Lucifer, Sugar, Cat and characters from the video game Dota 2 (Invoker, Mirana, Luna). According to Buzkaja, children would need to fall back on the pre-established catalog in such cases.
Currently, the laws prohibit giving newborns names that contain numbers, symbols, or vulgar expressions. Titles, ranks, or offices are also not allowed.
Last year, Russian media reported that a resident of Naberezhnye Chelny planned to name his future son Oreschnik, inspired by the Oreschnik rocket attack on Ukraine. However, the couple’s pregnancy status remains unclear, as the father already has 14 children with his wife.
In Moscow, in 2024, the most common given names for newborn girls were Sofia and boys were Mikhail, according to the city’s registration office’s year-end report. Unusual names included Romeo, Sokrates, Europa and Kleopatra.