YOU can call your kid Metallica, Fully Hektik Sik or God Bless, but don't even think about giving him the name Ned Kelly - that would be offensive.

Christian names deemed acceptable and unacceptable by the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages provide interesting reading.



The Registry can reject a name for a number of reasons under the Registration Act 1995. Reasons include that the name might be obscene or offensive, is too long or includes ``symbols without phonetic significance.''

The Act also bans official titles, ranks or names ``contrary to the public interest for some other reason.''

Nor can names be a sentence.

Ned Kelly was rejected for public interest reasons, as was Jesus Christ. Post Master General and Chief Maximus were rejected because they are titles.

Other names knocked back included a blank space, the child's Medicare number and the number seven, a name suggested in the sitcom Seinfeld.

Titles including Prince, Princess, Dame, Duke, King, Queens and Lady have all been rejected, but Prince, Queen, Lady and Sir are eligible used on their own.

For reasons known only to the Registrar, Metallica, Fully Hektik Sik and God Bless are acceptable.

For privacy reasons, the Attorney General's office, which oversees the Registry, could not reveal Metallica's identity. Fully Hektik Sik's surname also remains unidentified to all except his/her family and friends.

Attorney General John Hatzistergos urged parents to use common sense when choosing a name for their child.



"A person's name is their signature for life, their identity,'' he said. ``A person's reputation will forever be linked to it and I would remind parents of this special significance when choosing a name for their child.''

Sweden recently ruled Metallica an acceptable name, along with Budweiser.

France and Denmark give citizens a list of names to choose from.

In 1980, prior to the Registry being tightened up in 1995, an Australian couple successfully registered their child with the name Monkey.

