33. What’s in a Name?

 

We take our names for granted.  They are assigned to us by our parents at birth.  In fact, parents and their newborn are typically not allowed to leave the hospital until they have provided a name.  And we often wonder about the choices our parents made.  My childhood friend Ross Ross never quite forgave his parents, especially when we nicknamed him “Ross Squared”.  

 

The Manitoba Department of Vital Statistics (they keep track of births, deaths, and marriages for the Province of Manitoba – stuff of keen interest to genealogists) naming policy states, "the given name and the surname must consist only of the letters 'a' to 'z' and accents from the English or French languages but may include hyphens and apostrophes."

 

But what if the name you chose does not quite fit these rules?  Take for example, Kakeka Thundersky.  Thundersky's daughter, named Tokala Wači Wiŋ, born in Winnipeg last year, a traditional Lakota Sioux name translating to "dancing kit fox woman."

 

Tokala Wači Wiŋ was supposed to be written together as a first name. Instead, Manitoba's Vital Statistics Branch made Tokala the first name, turned Wači Wiŋ into two middle names, and didn't include the accents.

The parents said nurses alerted them that the colon symbol and accented "e" may not be accepted.  All of this has proven to be unfair to this new mother and her precious child that she wished to honor with a traditional culturally appropriate name. 

Manitoba and many other jurisdictions are now actively working to find ways to adjust their legislation to accommodate our various segments of population that have unique naming considerations.

Check out the naming restrictions at play in your jurisdiction.  You might be surprised.

 

Ron Gilmore

Email:         rvg3@me.com

Website:     https://www.rgenealogy.ca