A boy named Friday

Yesterday, as I was glancing through the paper, I noticed a story that was titled

Il bimbo che non può chiamarsi Venerdì

in other words, literally translated,

The boy who can’t call himself Friday

It seems that the judge in Genoa has ordered that the parents of a baby boy cannot give him the name Venerdì – Friday in English.

Personally I can’t imagine why they would want to name their child Friday, but everyone to their own tastes.

The problem it seems is that, in Italy, there is a law preventing “ridiculous or shameful” names. And so, the judge ruled that the child, who is now 15 months old, can’t be named Friday.

The judge went on to say that the name Friday brings to mind the character in Robinson Crusoe who is treated as an inferior and is seen as a savage, therefore the name is not appropriate for a child. He also mentioned that there are religious implications and superstitions surrounding Friday – that Friday has connotations of sadness and penitence, not to mention the unlucky Friday the 17th (Friday the 13th in America).

In any event, the child may be named Gregorio (Gregory) for the Saint celebrated on his birth day, but he cannot be named Venerdì.
It’s interesting. On one hand, I think parents ought to be able to name their child what they want. But then I think about names such as Ima Hogg, Rocky Rhodes, etc. They may seem cute or funny, but if you talk to people who have these types of names, they’re not exactly thrilled about them. (I wouldn’t be thrilled with the name Ima Hogg either.)

We haven’t yet picked out a name for our child, but I guess we’d better take this into consideration when it’s time. Not that we would give him a name that we thought would be embarrassing. But then, I wouldn’t think Friday would be especially embarrassing either.

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