Lucifer, King, Jhudg: The 51 baby names banned in New Zealand in 2025
By Amy Lyall|
While deciding on a baby name can be hard enough for parents, it turns out quite a few were declined in 2025 over in New Zealand.?
Names including royal titles and even strains of cannabis were among some of the monikers the Department of Internal Affairs' Registrar-General denied last year.?
A proactively-released document confirmed there were 51 names that were rejected over the year, with one name denied eight times.?
King was submitted, and rejected, eight times by parents in 2025.?
The royal-inspired name also topped the list in 2024, when it was rejected 11 times.?
Last year, the name Prince came in a close second, after it was declined a total of seven times.?
Rounding out the top three was Princess, which was rejected six times.?
READ MORE: Why Sarah Abo's pregnancy announcement is so important
READ MORE: Sisters receive same diagnosis two years apart
READ MORE:?A-list star speaks for the first time about scary post-birth complication
Justice was rejected as a name four times, while the choice of Major for a first name was declined on three occasions.?
Bishop and Heli were both rejected twice, while there were also two names that were rejected for the reason of not having a surname.?
The name Queen was denied twice, while the unique spelling of Qwen was rejected just once.?
Indica, which is also the name of a Cannabis strain, was rejected once with an alternate spelling of "Indika".?
Other names that were rejected once over the last year include: Jhudg, Lucifer, Maejor, Princepepe, Rabbi, III, Sativa, Sovereign and Soveryn.?
According to the Births, Deaths and Marriage Registration Act of 2021, names in New Zealand must not:
- be offensive
- resemble a title or rank without adequate justification
- be unreasonably long
- include numbers or symbols
The Registrar who processes the applications must ensure that any names submitted meet the criteria and review the application.?
If a name does not meet the criteria, it's not just rejected and sent back. Instead, the Registrar will communicate the issue with the parent who applied to register the name and in many cases, according to the document, the name will be changed.?
"Parents whose applications for registration are declined may appeal to the Family Court within 28 working days after the date on which the decision is notified," reads the letter.?
In Australia there are similar criteria about names which are banned, or will be rejected.
For example, in most Australian states Section 4(1) of the Act defines a prohibited name to mean a name that:
1. Is obscene or offensive
2. Can't be established by repute or usage
3. Is contrary to the public interest.
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.
