Choosing Your Child’s First Name: When Originality Becomes Illegality

As a parent, you get to decide the first and last name that your child will have. There are prizes awarded each year for the most unusual names parents choose. However, in Quebec, certain rules must be followed. 

In April, a Texas resident changed his first and family name to “Literally Anybody Else” before announcing himself as a candidate for the American presidential election. In one week, his social media post was shared over 3,500 times. The man, previously known as Dustin Ebey, showed American media official documents, such as his driver’s licence, proving the legal name change.  

In 2022, also in the United States, Elon Musk and the singer Grimes named their second child Exa Dark Sideræl Musk. They had named their first child X Æ A-12 Musk. Would such names be possible in Quebec? 

A choice that can be refused 

As with many legal questions, the answer is “it depends”. Once you have chosen your child’s first and family names, you send them to the Directeur de l’état civil (registrar of civil status). If you gave your child a name that is unusual or that might cause them to be mocked or ridiculed, the Directeur might ask you to choose a less controversial name.  
  
If you refuse to change the name in question, the matter could wind up in court, where a judge will decide if the name should be changed. The judge must base the decision on the best interests of the child, rather than your wishes as a parent.  

Few such cases have made it to court in Quebec. For example, a judge refused the name “Spatule” (spatula) on the basis that the child would be mocked about it. However, another judge found the name “Caresse” to be acceptable and unnecessary to change. 

Changing your Name 

A person can ask to change their first or family names by filing an application with the Directeur de l’état civil. There must be a serious reason for doing so. For children under 14, the application must be made by the parents.  

The fact that a person would be mocked for their first or family name is among the reasons that could justify a name change. Note that the reasons justifying the change of a first name may differ from those for changing a family name.