In a page out of Mitch’s playbook, I had to write about a story I read about in the news this week. Apparently, in France, the government has a say in what names a parent can use for their children. Up until 1993, parents can only choose names from an approved government list. While the list is no longer mandatory, the government has been known to intervene when it determines that children’s names are inappropriate.

Recently, in Brittany, France a baby girl was born whose parents named her Liam. A public prosecutor wants to ban the family from using this name because it "would be likely to create a risk of gender confusion" for the child down the road. And what's more, he said that naming a little girl Liam is "contrary to the interest of the child and could harm her in her social relations." The case is still winding its way through the French court system and there have not yet been a determination whether little Liam will keep her name.

Twenty-two years ago, when my youngest daughter was born we named her Sydney. At that time, Sydney was a predominately male name. In fact, after her birth we received gifts from two different couples that were obviously meant for a boy. I remember chuckling as I returned each gift, explaining to two different sales clerks that my child was, actually, a girl. Clearly, if I lived in France, my daughter’s name would have been deemed inappropriate and prosecutors definitely would have been knocking on my door.

Would your child's name make theapproved  list in France?