There are no federally illegal baby names in the US: birth certificates are a state matter, so each state’s vital records rules decide which characters and how long a name can be, while countries like New Zealand and Iceland can decline names outright.
If you have seen a viral list of illegal baby names, you may be wondering whether your favorite pick is allowed. In the U.S., the real limits are mostly technical: what your state’s birth certificate form can hold. Numerals, emoji and, until recently in California, accent marks are the usual sticking points.
This guide explains how U.S. naming rules actually work, what happened in the famous Tennessee “Messiah” case, how California’s 2025 accent-mark law changes things, and how New Zealand, Iceland, Denmark and Sweden approve or decline names. You will also find how to check your own state’s rules and tips for a unique name that clears paperwork.
Key Takeaways
The U.S. has no national list of banned baby names.
Birth certificates are state records, so your state’s rules apply.
California’s form uses the 26 English letters: no numerals or emoji.
A 2025 California law will allow accents, tildes and umlauts on vital records.
New Zealand declines titles like King, and Iceland and Denmark use approved lists.
Table of Contents
Are There Illegal Baby Names in the US?
Quick Answer
Not in the way most viral lists suggest. The U.S. has no national list of illegal baby names. Birth certificates are issued and kept by states (the federal government does not keep these records), so naming rules come from each state’s vital records office. Those rules are mostly technical: which characters the form accepts (in California, for example: English letters plus a hyphen or apostrophe when needed, but not numerals or emoji). Countries such as New Zealand, Iceland, Denmark and Sweden go further and can decline a name outright.
Your baby’s birth certificate is filed with a state vital statistics office or a city or county office where the birth happened, and the federal government does not maintain those files, according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. So the honest answer about illegal names in the US is: it depends on your state’s birth certificate rules.
We could not find any official U.S. list of banned first names. Every state or country claim on this page comes from a government source or a major news report we read in November 2026.
What US Birth Certificate Rules Can Limit
Each state writes its own rules, so treat these as questions to ask, with California as a worked example.
What to ask about
Why it matters
California example
Allowed characters
Forms accept a fixed set of letters and marks
The 26 letters of the English alphabet
Numerals
A digit in a name may be refused
Not allowed
Symbols, emoji and pictograms
Not every system can store them
Expressly forbidden
Punctuation
Common in family names
Hyphen or apostrophe allowed when necessary
Accents and diacritical marks
Part of many names, like Ñ or É
Allowed by a 2025 law, phased in (see below)
Length
Long names may not fit a field
Ask the hospital birth registrar
Questions to ask about your state’s birth certificate name rules.
California: Accents, Numbers and a 2025 Law
California draws the most questions because of its 26-letter rule and its history with accent marks.
Numbers and symbols. When a celebrity couple announced a baby name containing a numeral and a symbol in 2020, CBS News looked at the California Department of Public Health vital records handbook. It quoted the rule that the form is completed using the 26 alphabetical characters of the English language and reported that numbers do not comply, emoji and ideograms are expressly forbidden, and a hyphen or apostrophe is allowed when necessary.
Accents and other diacritical marks. California vital records have left out marks like á, ñ or ü, which is why the state now offers amendments for names recorded inaccurately because a mark was missing. The change came with AB 64 (Pacheco), Chapter 662, Statutes of 2025, which Governor Gavin Newsom approved on October 12, 2025. According to the California Department of Public Health’s December 2025 letter to local health offices, the law allows ten marks on vital records: the acute accent, grave accent, circumflex, diaeresis or umlaut, tilde, cedilla, ring, macron, breve and caron (háček).
The timing matters if you are expecting. CDPH says the state’s vital records office begins amending existing records to add missing diacritical marks on July 1, 2026, by affidavit with a $26 fee that includes one certified copy. For new registrations, CDPH says diacritical marks may be included no earlier than two years after funds are appropriated. Expecting in California? Ask the hospital registrar whether accents can be entered yet, and if not, how to amend later.
Our Hispanic girl names include many names spelled with accents. U.S. paperwork does not always carry accents and special characters, so ask before the certificate is filed.
Baby on the way? Get ahead on sleep.
Our free two-minute quiz builds a gentle, personalized sleep plan you can use from the first weeks at home.
One well-known U.S. case of an official changing a baby’s first name was reversed within weeks. In August 2013, a child support magistrate in Tennessee, Lu Ann Ballew, ordered during a paternity hearing that a baby named Messiah Deshawn Martin be renamed Martin Deshawn McCullough. The parents had gone to court over the baby’s last name, not his first.
On September 18, 2013, Chancellor Telford E. Forgety of Cocke County Chancery Court overturned the order, CBS News and the Associated Press reported. He found no legal basis for changing a child’s first name when both parents agree on it, and ruled that the magistrate’s decision violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The baby’s name became Messiah Deshawn McCullough, with the parents’ agreement on the last name.
The Messiah case is often listed as proof that a name is “illegal in the US,” but the final ruling went the other way.
Illegal Baby Names Around the World
Several countries review names before registration. Here is how four work, per each government’s own pages.
Country
Who decides
Key rules
New Zealand
Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Department of Internal Affairs)
No titles or ranks, numerals or symbols, or offensive names; 70 characters maximum
Iceland
Personal Names Committee and the Personal Names Register (Registers Iceland)
Names off the register need committee approval; must fit Icelandic grammar and spelling; up to three personal names
Denmark
Familieretshuset (Agency of Family Law) and the local registration authority
Approved name lists; other names need an application
Sweden
Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency)
Apply within three months; no names that could cause discomfort, offend, or are unsuitable
How naming rules work in four countries with official name review.
France, Germany, Japan and Portugal often appear on banned-name lists too; we left them out because we could not confirm current rules on an official site or in major news today.
New Zealand’s Declined Baby Names List
New Zealand is unusual because its Department of Internal Affairs publishes the names it declined each year. In its January 2024 release covering 2023, the department said its guidelines exist so that names do not cause offense, are a reasonable length, and do not represent an official title or rank.
Declined name (2023)
Times declined
Prince
5
Bishop, III, King, Major, Royal
3 each
Messiah, Princess, Prynce, Rogue, Royale, Sovereign
Most declined baby names in New Zealand in 2023, per the Department of Internal Affairs.
The pattern is clear: most declined names are titles (King, Prince, Bishop, Judge, Justice), and a few are numerals or Roman numerals (III, XIX). The Registrar-General also said that when a name is in review, parents get the chance to present their reasoning, so a decline is not always the end of the conversation.
Iceland keeps a Personal Names Register of every approved Icelandic name. Registers Iceland says a name that is not listed needs approval from the Personal Names Committee, for a fee, and the committee’s ruling cannot be overturned by another government body. Names must be able to take a genitive ending (or be established in Icelandic by custom), fit Icelandic spelling conventions, and not cause the bearer embarrassment. A child must be named before 6 months of age, and no one can have more than three personal names.
Denmark works from lists. The official citizen portal, borger.dk, says Familieretshuset publishes lists of approved first names. For a name not on a list, you apply and explain your connection to it; once approved, anyone can use it. The guiding principle is that a name should not be a disadvantage to the child.
Sweden reviews each newborn’s name. Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency, says parents must apply within three months of birth and that the agency checks the name against the rules before approving it. It cannot approve a name that could cause discomfort for the person who carries it, could be seen as offensive by others, or is unsuitable for another reason, such as containing numbers. A child must have at least one first name, and there is no limit on how many. See our Swedish names guide for name ideas.
How to Check Your State’s Rules Before Baby Arrives
The best source is the office that will file your baby’s record.
Ask the hospital birth registrar: The person who collects the birth certificate worksheet knows what the form accepts. Ask on your hospital tour.
Contact your state vital records office: Find it through your state health department or the CDC’s Where to Write for Vital Records directory.
Ask specific questions: Can the form take accents or other marks? Hyphens, apostrophes or spaces? Is there a character limit for first, middle and last names? Are numerals allowed?
Get it in writing if it matters: If a special character matters, ask for the rule by email.
Planning a home or birth center birth: Ask your midwife how the birth certificate is filed.
Rules change, as California’s 2025 law shows, and this page is general information, not legal advice. Check with your state before you finalize your baby’s name.
What Happens If a Name Is Rejected
It depends on where you live.
In the U.S.: If the form cannot accept a character, ask the registrar about your spelling options and how to amend the record later if rules change, as California’s new amendment process for accent marks shows.
In New Zealand: The Registrar-General says parents get a chance to explain their reasoning while a name is under review.
In Denmark: You apply and explain your connection to the name. Complaints go through the registration authority, which forwards them to Familieretshuset.
Changing a name later. In the U.S., correcting or changing a name on a birth certificate is handled by your state, and a full legal name change may require a court order. Your state vital records office can explain the steps, forms and fees. If you are torn, one option is a conventional first name with the bold choice in the middle spot; see our middle names and middle names for boys guides.
Tips for a Unique Name That Will Clear Paperwork
Spell it with letters: Use letters, not numerals or symbols. A name like Seven can be spelled out instead of written as a digit.
Check special characters early: Ask your registrar now whether the form can carry an accent, tilde or umlaut.
Mind the length: A long hyphenated or multi-part name may hit field limits on forms and IDs. Our long names list can help you weigh options.
Think beyond the certificate: Schools and medical systems may handle special characters differently.
Say it out loud with your full last name: Check the initials too.
Looking for something distinctive that will not run into trouble? Start with our unique baby names and gender-neutral names lists, which use ordinary letters.
The U.S. does not have a national list of illegal baby names. Birth certificates are a state matter, and the rules mostly cover which characters and how many fit on the form: California’s handbook, for example, sticks to the 26 English letters plus limited punctuation, and its new 2025 law will add accent marks. Courts have also pushed back on officials who tried to overrule parents’ choices, as Tennessee’s Messiah case shows.
Other countries are stricter. New Zealand declines titles like King and Prince, Iceland and Denmark work from approved name lists, and Sweden reviews every newborn’s name. Wherever you live, ask your hospital registrar or state vital records office before the birth, keep the spelling to letters your state accepts, and you will have far fewer surprises.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there illegal baby names in the US?
There is no national list of illegal baby names in the U.S. Birth certificates are filed and kept by states, so each state’s vital records office sets the rules. Those rules mostly limit which characters the form accepts. California’s handbook, for example, uses the 26 English letters and does not allow numerals or emoji.
Can you name your baby anything you want in the US?
Mostly, yes, as long as the name fits your state’s birth certificate rules. In California, the handbook allows the 26 English letters and some punctuation, such as hyphens and apostrophes, but not numerals or symbols. Rules differ by state, so check with your hospital birth registrar before the birth.
Can you name your baby King or Messiah?
In the U.S., a Tennessee judge ruled in 2013 that a magistrate could not change a baby’s first name from Messiah when both parents agreed on it. In New Zealand, officials decline official titles and ranks, and King, Prince, Royal and Messiah have all appeared on its published lists of declined names.
Can a baby’s name have accents or a tilde?
It depends on your state. California signed a law in October 2025 allowing ten diacritical marks, including accents, the tilde and the umlaut, on birth certificates and other vital records. Ask your hospital registrar whether your state’s form can carry the mark before the birth certificate is filed.
Can you put a number or emoji in a baby’s name?
Not in California. Its vital records handbook says the birth certificate is completed using the 26 alphabetical characters of the English language, and CBS News reported that pictures and symbols such as emoji are expressly forbidden. New Zealand and Sweden also do not accept numerals in first names. Spell a number out in letters instead.
Which country has the strictest baby name laws?
Iceland is often cited because names must be on the Personal Names Register or be approved by the Personal Names Committee, whose ruling cannot be overturned by another government body. Denmark also uses approved name lists, Sweden reviews every newborn’s name, and New Zealand declines titles, numerals, offensive names and names over 70 characters.
Calmer days, better nights.
Betteroo builds a personalized sleep plan for your baby. Take the free two-minute quiz and have it ready before the newborn weeks.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Where to Write for Vital Records. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/w2w.pdf
