A French couple has been reported to the police after they attempted to name their newborn son Jihad.

The Muslim parents tried to register the name at their town hall in the Toulouse suburb of Léguevin when their son was born in August. Town hall officials then alerted the public prosecutor, who is challenging the name in family court due to its links to terrorism.

The couple, who have not been identified, have claimed that "jihad" does not mean "Holy War," but rather effort, struggle and self-denial, the Mirror reported.

A judge in family court will now have the authority to decide whether or not to order the couple to choose a different name for their son.

France has strict laws that govern what parents can name their children. Until 1993, parents were only allowed to choose a first name from an officially approved list, according to the Telegraph.

French parents are allow to name their children whatever they want as long as it does not go against the child's interests later in life.

If the Toulouse boy is allowed to keep his name, he would not be the first child to be named "Jihad" in France.

According to The Telegraph, in 2013 a mother whose son is named Jihad sent the three-year-old boy to school in Nimes in a t-shirt that read "I am a bomb" on the front, and "Born on September 11" on the back. The mother was given a suspended jail sentence for using her child to "glorify terrorism".

Authorities have also stopped parents from naming their children Nutella and Fraise (Strawberry).