01-07-2025
Almost Every State In The USA Has A Rule For What You Can Name Your Child — Here's Yours
Names are becoming more and more unique every day. But did you know some places have strict laws on what name you're allowed to put on a baby's birth certificate? Well, it's true.
And the United States is no exception. In fact, it's illegal to name your child Jesus Christ, Adolf Hitler, Harry 3, Nutella, and @.
But the rules don't stop there! Here's a list of states that have specific rules for the name you give your child at birth:
Not every state has naming regulations, so some states are missing from the list.
— The use of symbols, including diacritical marks like the kahakō (¯), for names that originate from Kānaka 'Ōiw and Inupiaq cultures is permitted.
— Names can have a total of 141 characters.
— Names can have apostrophes, hyphens, and spaces, as long as they're not consecutive.
— Derogatory or obscene names, pictographs, and non-English characters are officially banned.
— Names must contain English letters only, without any symbols. Obscene names prohibited and a name is not required at the time of birth.
— No strict rules; you can change a name at any time.
— Parents must sign an agreement on what the child's name will be or the state court will automatically assign one for them.
— No symbols or accents.
— The use of symbols, including diacritical marks like the kahakō (¯), for names that originate from Kānaka 'Ōiw and Inupiaq cultures is permitted.
— Only English letters allowed.
— No real restrictions. Special characters and numbers are allowed.
— The total length of the first, middle, and last name must be under 100 characters.
— Flexible with naming. Parents can also add a first name (but not change an existing one) until the child is 7 years old.
— A baby's last name must match the mother's if she wasn't married within 300 days before the birth.
— A baby's first, last, and middle names are restricted to a maximum of 40 characters each.
— Names can only have English-language characters in them.
— Numbers and special symbols are banned, except for apostrophes and hyphens.
— The child automatically takes on the father's last name if/when the parents are married. A different name can be requested if preferred.
Hampshire — Names can have a maximum of 100 characters total. Apostrophes/dashes are allowed, but no other punctuation.
Jersey — No obscene names, symbols, or numbers.
York — First and middle names have a maximum of 30 characters each, but last names cannot exceed 40 characters. Numbers and symbols in names are strictly forbidden.
Carolina — Accent marks, tildes (á), and hyphens are allowed, but numbers, symbols, and emojis are not.
— You can use hyphens, apostrophes, and spaces, but numbers in names are prohibited.
— Nonbinary birth-sex markers are banned.
Island — Accented letters are prohibited on birth certificates, but they can be used formally.
Carolina — Names with numbers and symbols are allowed.
— Last names follow the father if married, and judges can object to sacrilegious names (i.e., Messiah).
— First, middle, and last names can't exceed 100 characters. Only English characters are allowed. Numbers, emojis, and diacritical marks are forbidden.
Virginia — Numbers, symbols and other special characters such as umlauts and tildes are banned.
Tell us about an interesting name you've seen or heard before in the comments!
