While giving a government official the right to veto names chosen by parents (in many states they already can nix names to which a person can change his name) is disturbing, so are some of the names that parents select for their kids. Call me a fascist, but some of the names with which parents saddle their kids are nothing short of child abuse. Had Dwyane Wade not had basketball skills and tried to earn a living as an accountant, he would have had a difficult time getting clients because his horribly misspelled name would make people think he’s either stupid or careless (two big no-nos when selecting an accountant). And someone who I always knew to be truthful swore to me that he knew a girl whose parents named her Clitoris.
I think there should be an official registry of first names, with the correct spelling (or spellings if there’s more than one recognized spelling) of every name imaginable. If someone wants to name their kid a name that’s not on the list, and can show that it’s a real name in some other language or culture, then the name should be allowed to be given and should be added to the official list. But just as we don’t allow parents to burn their children with cigarettes, we should prevent them from doung even worse long-term damage to them by giving them names like “Madysyn” or “Budweiser” and having the state aid and abet the abusive parents by recognizing such names.
Are you sure it wasn't Mulva? ;)