Thank God it's not Friday?Rome, Italy -
19 December 2007
An Italian court has ruled that a couple could not name their son
"Friday" and ordered that he instead be called Gregory after the saint
whose feast day he was born on.
"I think it is ridiculous they even opened a case about it," the family's
lawyer, Paola Rossi, told Reuters by telephone from the northern city
of Genoa on Tuesday.
Friday/Gregory Germano was born in Genoa 15 months ago. The
parents registered him as Friday in the city hall and a priest even
baptised him as Friday -- unusual in Italy since many priests insist
that first names be of Christian origin.
"We named him Friday because we like the sound of the name.
Even if it would have been a girl, we would have named her
Friday," the boy's mother, Mara Germano, told Reuters.
When the boy was about five months old, a city hall clerk brought
the odd name to the attention of a tribunal, which informed the
couple of an administrative norm which bars parents from giving
"ridiculous or shameful" first names to children. - Reuters
Mail & Guardian