In February of 2009, authorities in Moscow refused to issue a birth certificate to a seven-year-old boy whose parents, Vyacheslav Voronin and Marina Frolova, had named him BOH DVF 260602 (roughly). His name is an abbreviation that stands for “Biological Object Human, descendant of the Voronins and Frolovs, born on 26 June 2002.”
How is the name pronounced? The boy goes by the first section of the name, BOH, which sounds like “botch” in Russian.
Here’s what the boy’s father had to say about the name:
It will make his life easier, so he won’t interact with those idiots who think one’s name defines their appearance. Every person who gets a traditional name is automatically linked to his historical background. And he will be devoid of his ancestors’ legacy.
The main issue seems to be the inclusion of numbers. There are no baby name laws in Russia, but the registry office insists that a baby’s name must consist of letters only. (The office hasn’t challenged other recent baby names such as Aviation Dispatcher, Cool, Dolphin, Leaf Salad, Moon, North, Privatization, Russia, Simply a Hero, Wind, and Viagra.)
BOH DVF 260602’s parents have taken the case before several judicial bodies, but have had no luck so far. The European Court of Human Rights refused to hear the case. The parents don’t want to drop the numbers, but until the matter is settled their son will have no birth certificate, no insurance, and a hard time enrolling in school.
Update, 2017: The boy “later obtained a “World Passport’ from the “World Service Authority,” which allowed him to enroll in Russia’s school system, where he’s now a ninth grader.”
Sources: Digit-named boy ignored by authorities, Six-year-old with weird name refused birth certificate; Russia Cracks Down on Parents With ‘Excessively Original’ Ideas About Baby Names
