Choosing a baby name is a big deal, but not every name gets the green light. Depending on the rules of the province, some baby names might actually get rejected. Alberta is known for having some strict baby-naming regulations compared to other Canadian provinces.
Alberta's restrictions go for anyone choosing, alerting or correcting a legal name, and the province can deny a requested name.
According to the Alberta government website, a name could be denied if it is "confusing, embarrassing to any other person, misleading or defrauding the public," or if it's determined to be "offensive on any other grounds."
The government also outlines some rules that names have to follow.
Alberta's name restrictions
The government also outlines specific rules for legal names. First, both first and last names must start with a letter and use the standard English alphabet of 26 letters. According to the government website, "Greek letters, Inuit letters, Arabic script or Kanji are not acceptable."
You also can’t use actual numbers (like 2 or 5), pictograms, codes, or hieroglyphics. Symbols like slashes, commas, brackets and more are also a no-go for legal names in Alberta.
However, first and last names can include Roman numerals, spelled-out numbers, spaces to separate names, hyphens to join names, and a single letter with a space or period after it. Punctuation is allowed but can’t be used consecutively, and names can’t consist solely of punctuation marks like hyphens, periods, or apostrophes.
Naming a baby in Alberta
When naming a baby in Alberta, the restrictions above all apply. The government outlines additional things to know though, including what happens when parents can't agree on a last name. In such cases, the baby will be registered with both parents' last names hyphenated in alphabetical order.
Even if a name follows all of the rules, it could still be denied if it's deemed offensive or confusing.
Popular baby names in Alberta
If you're curious about what names are trending, the Alberta the government released its list of the most popular baby names for 2023.
For boys, the top baby names were Noah, Liam, Oliver, Theodore, Jack, Henry, Lucas, Benjamin, James, and William. For girls, the top baby names were Olivia, Amelia, Sophia, Charlotte, Emma, Isla, Evelyn, Chloe, Violet, and Ava.
Interestingly, Noah and Olivia have consistently been the most popular baby names in Alberta since 2019.
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