Story highlights Syrian father of 11-month-old Angela Merkel says he was "shocked" at asylum rejection

More than 200,000 Syrians have applied for asylum in Germany so far in 2016

(CNN) A Syrian family that named their baby Angela Merkel after arriving in Germany last year has had their application for asylum in the country rejected.

Mamon Alhamza, 27, and Tema Alhawar, 21, fled the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli last year to escape the civil war that has ravaged the nation, leaving an estimated 400,000 people dead

Alhawar, who was heavily pregnant when she arrived in Germany, gave birth to their daughter on December 27 while the couple was living at an accommodation facility for refugees in Duisburg.

Writing to CNN on WhatsApp, Alhamza said the couple had decided to name their daughter after the chancellor as an "expression of thanks to the German government" for their warm welcome into the country and the care his wife received during childbirth.

Angela Merkel Alhawar smiling at her home in Mönchengladbach, Germany.

The pair wanted to show their gratitude to German chancellor Angela Merkel, their daughter's namesake, for the open door immigration policy which allowed them to seek refuge in the nation last November.

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