If Blac Chyna and Tyga had welcomed their son in New Zealand, they might’ve run into some issues. The former couple chose to name their son “King Cairo,” which is evidently not an acceptable baby name in New Zealand. In the island country, parents’ proposed baby names have to be reviewed by the government. Each year, the country releases a list of the most commonly denied names. In 2024, “King” was at the top of the list.
Several rules exist for baby names in New Zealand.
Per Today.com, the guidelines are fairly simple: Baby names can’t be “offensive” or “unreasonably long.” Additionally, the names parents choose for their little ones can’t contain numbers or symbols and can’t “resemble a title or rank without adequate justification,” even those with creative spellings.
As reported by the news outlet, nearly 60,000 births were registered in New Zealand in 2024. That year, 11 parents tried to name their child “King,” only to have the name be rejected.
Other commonly rejected names included Prince and Princess.
Last year, parents requested the name “Prince” for their children 10 times. Several other royal-inspired names were requested and rejected, including Princess, Pryncess, Lady, Magesty, Prinz, Prynce, Queen, Royal, and Royallty. The government also declined parents’ requests for some faith-based names, such as Allah, Messiah, and Saint.
Lots of US-based celebrities would struggle with naming their children there.
According to a Department of Internal Affairs Official Information Act inquiry shared by Today.com, when reviewing proposed baby names, staff members consider “how the name may be perceived in the community” and “how the name would impact how others see/treat them,” along with the name’s spelling and sound.
Based on these standards, it seems as though a lot of American celebrities would fail to meet them. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have a 9-year-old son named Saint, which is one of the names rejected last year.
Additionally, people have pointed out that President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have a son named Barron, which would likely be flagged as well.
The rules might seem strict to Americans.
For many Americans, the concept seems a bit strange. Reacting to the list of banned names on Reddit, one person in the US wrote, “Double funny for me looking at this as an American because names like Messiah, Justice, KC, Prince and Bishop are used here.”
Several others added that they know people with names that are on the list of rejected baby names.
“I work with kids in the US and I know kids named King, Princess, Royal, and Bishop,” another person commented. “It felt weird to call them by their names at first but now they just feel like normal names.”
Someone else added, “New Zealand would hate to see my family coming lol.”
