Proposal would require some name dropping
Names like Dummy Ruiz and Dear Pineapple may become a thing of the past in the Dominican Republic as officials consider a ban on odd monikers.
Officials say Dominicans are increasingly giving their children names that are car brands, cartoon characters or even body parts, and a judge has submitted a proposal to the Central Electoral Commission that would put some limits on the practice.
Some examples in the nation’s civil registry: Mazda Altagracia, Toshiba Fidelina, Seno (Breast) Jimenez, Querida Pina (Dear Pineapple), Tonton (Dummy) Ruiz and Querido Familia (Dear Family) Perez.
Other names put a spin on the famous, such as Winston Churchill de la Cruz or Ernesto Che Perez.
Electoral commission judge Jose Angel Aquinas, who submitted the proposal, wrote that names that are confusing or that give no indication of gender should be rejected. He said vulgar names, those having more than three words or those difficult to pronounce (unless they are of children born to foreigners) should be banned.
No date has been set for consideration of the proposal.
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