Lina and Newar, a Colombian couple living in Spain, wanted to name their daughter Beliza after one of the child’s great-grandmothers.
But the Civil Registry of Spain wouldn’t allow them to register the name. The officials complained that the name didn’t exist, it didn’t go with either gender, and it contained a Z. (Even though Belisa, a variant of the name, has been used in literature by two of Spain’s great writers: Lope de Vega and Federico Garcia Lorca.)
What do you think about governments having the right to approve baby names? Is the Spanish government taking things too far in this case?
Source: Dan la nacionalidad a un bebé, pero no le dejan llamarse Beliza