The department recently published the top 100 baby names in New Zealand, but on the other side are those turned down by the registrar-general of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
The most-declined name was 'King', rejected nine times. It has been the most-declined name in New Zealand since 2009.
Other rejected names in 2022 were:
- Saint (8 times)
- Royal (7 times)
- Messiah (4 times)
- Prince or Princess (7 times)
- Sovereign (3 times)
- Sire (2 times)
- Biship, Chiefy-Renata, Duke, Empres, Empress-Jade, General, Hosea-King, Justice, Justyce, KingJayceon, King-Kelly, Majesteigh, Major, Mayjor, Meziah, Padre, Queen, Rhoyal, Rogue, Royale, Royalty, Saynt, Soulijah, Truleigh-Saint (all once each).
"There are guidelines in place to ensure that names don't cause offence, are a reasonable length and don't represent an official title or rank," said Jeff Montgomery, registrar-general of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
Names that do not meet the criteria can be reviewed by the registrar-general on a case-by-case basis.
The significance of a name to the family is considered on balance with how the name may be perceived by the public, and the department's obligations under the relevant legislation.
As for the most popular names, for boys Oliver topped the list for a 10th year in a row. For girls, Isla retook the crown from Charlotte after previously being the most popular name in 2020.
Here are some tips for ensuring you can register your baby's name without hassle:
- avoid official titles, using numeric characters or symbols, like a backslash or a punctuation mark
- avoid swear words
- limit the name to no more than 70 characters
- and register the baby's name online. It's the quickest and easiest way to register a birth.
