3 Banned Baby Names in Texas and the United States

Naming a baby is tricky. Most parents want to name their baby something special, but not so special they spend a lifetime trying to explain or spell it (I'm looking at YOU, Mama).

I have only met one other person in my entire life that spelled the name 'Tamme'  the same way I do. When we discussed it, she told me her parents wanted to spell her name the way it sounds. My mother felt the same way! I always have to spell my name, and every time I do, the person needing it questions me as if I'm unsure about the spelling.

However, it could be much worse. Here are three names that are illegal to give your child in the state of Texas - for good reasons, as you will discover.

Naming Laws in Texas

According to babynamequest.com, in Texas, you’ve got to stay under 100 letters total for the first, middle and last name. So you may name your baby John Smith III, but not John Smith the 3rd.

• #1 - Rhoshandiatellyneshiaunneveshenk Koyaanisquatsiuth - the world's longest name.

In 1984, Sandra Williams, from Houston, Texas wanted to give her baby a record-breaking name. It took her six months to come up with one for her daughter, featuring a combo of relatives, movies, and cars.

The unique first name took a very long time for the girl, (who answers to the name of 'Jamie'), to learn. Her mother explained that she had to record the name on a tape, and play it back to her over and over.

On a 1997 appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show, she pronounced it:

The name also caused Texas to change the law, so no one else would be able to give any child a name with over 100 letters.

• #2 - Mon1ka - Not only is this name illegal in Texas, but also nationwide. You can't give your child a name containing any numbers, like R2-D2 or C-3PO, according to usbirthcertificates.com.

• #3 - Zoë instead of Zoe - In Texas, you're not allowed to use special characters or diacritical marks like accents (é,í), tildes (ñ, õ) or umlauts (an umlaut is a symbol that is written over vowels. like ë).