Rejected first baby names since the implementation of the 1995 bylaws created by Section 18(8) of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act. Organised by Name, year, and gender of the proposed child to be registered.
Mitigating future applications of names already previously rejected for registration.
Allowing the public to easily access already rejected names instead of having to search year by year if the name they want to use has been previously rejected.
Dataset submitted
27 November 2025 45 Pipitea Street, Wellington 6011 Phone +64 4 495 7200 dia.govt.nz Anon via Data.govt.nz https://data.govt.nz/datasetrequest/show/1271?token=c6a74f6a0210920fffb60c4f2131d14e#agencyresponsebox Tēnā koe Anon OIA request 25/26 0468 Request for Rejected baby names Thank you for your Official Information Act (Act) request received by the Department of Internal Affairs (Department) on 30 October 2025. You requested – • Rejected first baby names since the implementation of the 1995 bylaws created by Section 18(8) of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act. Organised by Name, year, and gender of the proposed child to be registered. In response to your request, I can provide you with the following information. Please find attached alongside this letter as Appendix A: Names that were declined by the Registrar-General from 2009 – 2024. (Uploaded as a dataset by Vi Saena) I note that we are unable to provide the following information: • Data from 1995-2008 and gender as to provide this information would require reviewing each individual record. Therefore, I must refuse this portion of your request pursuant to section 18(f) of the Act; that the information requested cannot be made available without substantial collation or research. • The collation of this data is a manual, and very time-consuming process. The Department will have the full list of names for 2025 available by the end of January 2026. If you require this data, please lodge an Official Information Act request then we will provide. It is worth noting that the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act sets out the criteria the Registrar-General must consider when registering a child’s name. According to these criteria, names must not: • be offensive • resemble a title or rank without adequate justification • be unreasonably long • include numbers or symbols. Page 2 of 2 As part of the Department’s processes, proposed names are reviewed to see that they meet these criteria. The Registrar-General’s staff review each application for registration and make a judgment about whether a name may be acceptable for registration. We consider each application for registration against the legislative criteria by determining: • how the name may be perceived in the community • how the name is spelt and how it sounds when spoken • how the name would impact how others see/treat them • where appropriate, why the parents/individual wish to register the name. Staff are empowered to exercise their professional judgement when making these decisions and have the discretion to seek a decision from the Registrar-General. The Registrar-General makes the final decision to decline to register a name. Each name or combination of names is considered on its merits and will only be declined if the Registrar-General believes it does not meet the legislative criteria. Before any name is declined, the Registrar-General communicates with the parent or parents and provides the opportunity for them to provide further justification as to why their child should have that name. The Registrar-General then considers the reasons provided while balancing them against the legislative criteria. This allows parents to provide information on whether there is a familial link or other reason of significance to the name that should be considered. Often a new name is supplied. However, there are instances where the Registrar General accepts the reasoning provided by the parent or parents and registers the child with the original proposed name. Whether a name causes offence or not is a question of judgement and whether a name is potentially offensive changes over time. 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. Parents are encouraged to think carefully about names as generally, the name registered will be with that child for the rest of their lives. You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602. Ngā mihi John Crawford-Smith Principal Advisor Regulatory and Identity Services
3 Votes
Agency responded
1 Subscriber
recordservices-nz.org
This request sounds very relevant. Having a public list of rejected baby names would help many families before they register their child’s name. It could also provide insights into the most common reasons for rejection and how the 1995 Act is being applied. An open dataset like this would be valuable not only for parents but also for researchers and genealogists.