Court Says Baby Can't Be Named 'Friday'

[meegbear]

What's in a name? If the name is Friday, shame and ridicule, according to Italian judges who forbade a couple from naming their child like the character in "Robinson Crusoe."

"They thought that it recalled the figure of a savage, thus creating a sense of inferiority and failing to guarantee the boy the necessary decorum," the couple's lawyer, Paola Rossi, said Wednesday.

The couple are considering appealing the decision to Italy's highest court, she said.

Mara and Roberto Germano, whose son was born on Sept. 3, 2006, had the boy named and baptized Venerdi, Italian for Friday.

Even though the boy was not born on a Friday ��� it was Sunday ��� his parents liked the name, said Rossi.

"They wanted an unusual name, something original, and it did not seem like a shameful name," Rossi said in a telephone interview. "We think it calls to mind the day of the week rather than the novel's character."

Since city hall officials are obliged by law to report odd names, the matter ended up before judges in Genoa, the northern Italian city where the couple live.

Last month, an appeals court stated that Friday falls into the category of the "ridiculous or shameful" names that are barred by law, as it recalled the native servant in Daniel Defoe's novel.

The judges wrote that naming somebody Friday would bar him from "serene interpersonal relationships" and would turn the boy into the "laughing stock of his group," according to a report in La Repubblica this week.

According to the daily, the judges also said that, as a day of the week, Friday raises a sentiment of sadness and penitence, when not being associated with bad luck outright.

Rossi said the court, which upheld a previous ruling made in June, also ordered the boy to be named Gregorio after the saint on whose day he was born.

http://www6.comcast.net/news/articles/odd/2007/12/19/Friday_s.Child/?cvqh=itn_friday

[marzipanni]

1. TGIF!

WTF?
The judges sound superstitious, and they could have at least given the parents a second try at a name.

[gmoney]

2. Tuesday Weld and Wednesday Addams are going to be pissed!

[MrScorpio]

3. Not to mention Friday Foster

[Bucky]

4. And Humpday Rabinowitz

I mean, if there was a guy named Humpday Rabinowitz, that is.

[Cabcere]

5. Paco's cousin?

:hide:

[Radio_Lady]

16. Cabcere, did you invent that name?

Kudos to whomever it was. By the way, I checked -- and no one who ever lived (and died) has had the name Paco Rabinowitz -- out of 80 million records -- truly a unique liaison of names, and comical, I guess, in its own way!

Social Security Death Index Search Results
80,690,794 Records
last updated on 12-14-2007 The key to your research

The most full-featured SSDI search engine on the internet

Field Value Records Results
Last Name RABINOWITZ 2032 2032
First Name PACO 23 0

[Greyskye]

6. Robert Heinlein is crying

[Dr. Strange]

9. Well, considering that he's dead...

wouldn't you cry too?

I haven't read "Friday" yet. Hope to someday...

[Greyskye]

10. They're dry sobs

I've got a huge Heinlein collection from when I was a kid. I wish they had stood the test of time better - he was my favorite author in my early teens.

[DarkTirade]

11. I think his early stuff was better.

The science of the early stuff comes off as being a little goofy nowadays, (nuclear steam powered rockets anyone? :P ) but the stories are better IMO.

[Greyskye]

14. I agree

I think his mind was going towards the end. IMHO, he peaked in '66 with "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress".

[DarkTirade]

21. Unfortunately I think Niven is starting to go a similar route.

I don't mind a little smut in my sci-fi, but when the substance starts getting replaced with smut then you might as well be reading a romance novel. :P

Although I think the last Ringworld book was better than the previous one. The previous one was REALLY muddled. Huge sections that were barely relevant to the plot and pretty much made up of one sex scene after another. Or rather 'rishithra' scene in this case.

[Greyskye]

23. I stopped buying Niven about 20 years ago

Not because I thought his books sucked - I really liked them.

But because I met the man, and he was a real horses ass.

[DarkTirade]

25. Maybe fame got to his head. :P

Or maybe he was born that way.

[AllegroRondo]

7. how about Seven?

[Radio_Lady]

18. And what about Seven-of-Nine? She's a beauty!

[Drunken Irishman]

24. Or Soda?

[CreekDog]

8. No problem, just wait until Saturday.

I kill me. I'm sure you want to also.

[Book Lover]

12. So I can name my kid Pasquale, or Natalia, but not Venerdi?

"Easter" or "Christmas" is OK but not "Friday"? O, Italia, Italia...

http://www.beppegrillo.it/english.php

[Radio_Lady]

13. No one has the surname of "Friday" in Italy?

My best girlfriend's maiden name was "Sontag" -- meaning Sunday in German.

What about Sergeant Joe Friday of Dragnet? Of course, he is a fictional character.

Days of the week and seasons are very usual as last names in many countries and languages.

Strange judgement!

[Aristus]

15. Like Placido Domingo.

"Peaceful Sunday".

[Radio_Lady]

19. Excellent example! Long live his brilliant voice! Thanks, Aristus.

I thought about you the other day and wondered where you are!

We saw the Sanibel Island (Florida) lighthouse during the past week. (Remember you posted a picture of yourself near a coastal lighthouse)

I'm using a library computer and can't Google a picture of the one at Sanibel, but it's pretty unique if you get a chance to see it.

Have a wonderful holiday in Washington state -- or wherever you are!

In peace,

Radio Lady and Audio Al in Florida

[Aristus]

20. Hi, Radio Lady!

:hi:

And now that I think of it, if an Italian couple can name their child Peaceful Sunday, why can't another couple name their child Friday?

[GoddessOfGuinness]

17. I can kind of see the judges' point...

since Friday the 13th is such an ominous day.

But who in the hell are THEY to name a child that is not theirs? It seems to me that the parents should be granted the right to name their kid...even if the name needs to be approved by a court.

[Boojatta]

22. Can an Italian baby be named Mohamed?

That could bring ridicule because it's the name of a teddy bear in Sudan.