French Court Bans Couple From Naming Their Baby 'Nutella,' Says It Is 'Against the Child's Interests' Probably true.
By Laura Entis
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Nutella is the brand name of an Italian chocolate hazelnut spread, not an appropriate name for a baby, a French court has ruled.
When a couple, residents of the northern French township Valenciennes, tried to name their newborn after the admittedly delicious spread back in September, the register alerted the local prosecutor who challenged the decision in court, La Voix du Nord newspaper reports.
The judge was not impressed by the unique name. "The name "Nutella' given to the child is that of the commercial brand a spread," the court's decision read, adding that it was throwing out the name because "it is against the child's interests" since "wearing a name like that can only lead to teasing or disparaging thoughts."
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When the couple failed to show up at court, the judge settled on simply trimming off the "Nut' from the baby's name, leaving her with the more traditional "Ella."
According to La Voix du Nord, this isn't the only time the Valenciennes court has overturned a baby name. Recently, the court ruled against a couple's decision to name their baby "Fraise" (Strawberry), arguing that she would likely be the brunt of jokes due to the popular crude French colloquialism "ramène ta fraise," which pretty much translates to "get your ass over here.'
While parents in France are allowed to name their children whatever they want, the court may intervene if a name appears to be against the child's best interests, the Telegraph reports.
This line of logic, however well intentioned, would never fly stateside. If we're setting Nutella as the bar for "against the child's best interests," half of Hollywood's offspring may have to be renamed. (We're looking at you, Apple, Bear Blu, Blanket, Pilot Inspektor, Jermajesty, North West, Royal Reign, Audio Science and…Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen.)
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