I learned something interesting while I was in Portugal a few months back: the Government has an official list of names which parents are allowed to name their children. It is actually illegal to give your child a name that is not on this list.
I decided to search for the list today, and found the Portuguese Ministry of Justice List of Admissible Names for the Year 2000 (I can’t seem to find a more recent version, although I did find a list of the changes in 2000 and 2001).
Luckily, my name is on the list, right between Filipa do Nazaré and Filomena (good name).
I learned a bunch of interesting facts during my search (the sources aren’t of much interest unless you can read Portuguese, which means two of you — my parents):
- Each child may have a maximum of six names: Each name may be simple (i.e. Amorzinda) or compound (e.g. Ana de São José). A maximum of two can be proper names (i.e. American first and middle name) and a maximum of four can be family names. (I have three names, my mother has five names, and one of my cousins has six)
- Each proper name must be in the list of Admissible Names: They must conform to Portuguese phonetics, and cannot be gender-ambiguous. Violations are punished by death, I presume.
- Siblings may not have the same name: unless one of them is deceased.
- Family names must come from the parents: Each of the child’s family names must be present in one of the parent’s names.
- Some names may only be used as middle names: For example, Ianesis is allowed as a second name for females only (a new addition in 2001). Gláucia is allowed as a male first name or a female second name.
- If one of the parents is a foreigner: Foreign names are allowed as long as they are legal names in the parent’s country of origin (must provide documentation).
- If the child is a foreign citizen: Foreign and Portuguese names may be mixed, assuming it is legal in the child’s country (and documentation is provided).
I’m pretty sure I translated all that correctly, although I may have a couple of mistakes since I’m not used to reading bureaucratic text.