Australia, meet baby Methamphetamine Rules: How a journalist ended up naming her child after an illegal drug
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When it comes time to pick out a name for your little bundle of joy, the options can seem endless.
But as much fun as the task is, one thing remains clear: the mother and baby will ultimately be held by the hefty responsibility of the life-defining name they choose.
While many parents turn to commonplace monikers like James, Joe, and Mary for their little ones, some push for creative and original titles like Neo, Scarlett, or Orion.
But one Australian journalist has recently taken originality—and risk—to the extreme after deciding to give her son the 'bizarre' name of Methamphetamine Rules.
Yes, you read that right. The baby's name is Methamphetamine Rules.
As the news spread, so did shockwaves among Aussies, who were both horrified and baffled by the decision. Many were baffled as to how the name managed to slip through the vetting process.
The journalist in question, Kirsten Drysdale from Newcastle, NSW, came forward with a special explanation. It appears that she chose her son's title as part of an experiment for the upcoming ABC television show WTFAQ.
Getting to the bottom of perplexing questions, WTFAQ provides viewers with answers on all sorts of weird and wonderful topics. In this case, the show was looking into how the birth registry chooses legal names for babies if their parents don't submit an 'acceptable' name.
'People think there's a specific blacklist of names, but there's not—there's just legislation that says it can't be obscene or offensive, too long, there are character limits, it can't use symbols or be an official rank or title,' Drysdale said.
'But all of those things are open to interpretation by the staff at the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages in each state; they're the people who decide whether the name is allowed.'
'If parents submit a name that's not acceptable, and don't come up with an alternative, the Registrar may assign a name to the baby.'
And since Drysdale was pregnant at the time, she saw an opportunity. Drysdale opted to test this question with the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages. She confidently clicked the send button on the website with 'Methamphetamine Rules' as her baby's name, fully expecting it to be rejected.
But her answer came after a few weeks, when a birth certificate for her newborn arrived bearing the very unique name in print.
Naturally, she was met with confusion (but not surprise) from her partner, family, and peers, who called her a 'fool' before she could even explain her decisions. She added that, not shortly after, they managed to find the funny side of the situation.
'Some people feel very appalled by this, but it was a fairly harmless outcome,' she said.
'I really, really didn't think it would happen.'
Credit: Instagram/abctv.
Fortunately, in the next few days, Baby Methamphetamine Rules will officially have a different name. Drysdale has confirmed that they are in the process of changing the name on the birth certificate, and there will be no record of the original name.
'Because this has happened this way, and it shouldn't have gone through in the first place, the registrar is very kindly working with us to do a correction,' she said.
In response to the incident, the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages wrote: 'While an unusual name has unfortunately slipped through, the NSW Registrar will be exercising her ability to correct the name in consultation with the parents.'
'The Registry has since strengthened its processes in response to this highly unusual event.'
At the end of the day, the journalist reassured that no long-term damage was done to her son. Though episodes of WTFAQ have yet to air, it's exciting to think about how the public would react to this incident and know how easily babies can be given 'bizarre' names.
What are your thoughts on this story, members? Have you heard of 'weird' baby names similar to this? Share them in the comments below!
But as much fun as the task is, one thing remains clear: the mother and baby will ultimately be held by the hefty responsibility of the life-defining name they choose.
While many parents turn to commonplace monikers like James, Joe, and Mary for their little ones, some push for creative and original titles like Neo, Scarlett, or Orion.
But one Australian journalist has recently taken originality—and risk—to the extreme after deciding to give her son the 'bizarre' name of Methamphetamine Rules.
An ABC journalist revealed why she named her child Methamphetamine Rules. Credit: Instagram/abctv.
Yes, you read that right. The baby's name is Methamphetamine Rules.
As the news spread, so did shockwaves among Aussies, who were both horrified and baffled by the decision. Many were baffled as to how the name managed to slip through the vetting process.
The journalist in question, Kirsten Drysdale from Newcastle, NSW, came forward with a special explanation. It appears that she chose her son's title as part of an experiment for the upcoming ABC television show WTFAQ.
Getting to the bottom of perplexing questions, WTFAQ provides viewers with answers on all sorts of weird and wonderful topics. In this case, the show was looking into how the birth registry chooses legal names for babies if their parents don't submit an 'acceptable' name.
'People think there's a specific blacklist of names, but there's not—there's just legislation that says it can't be obscene or offensive, too long, there are character limits, it can't use symbols or be an official rank or title,' Drysdale said.
'But all of those things are open to interpretation by the staff at the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages in each state; they're the people who decide whether the name is allowed.'
'If parents submit a name that's not acceptable, and don't come up with an alternative, the Registrar may assign a name to the baby.'
And since Drysdale was pregnant at the time, she saw an opportunity. Drysdale opted to test this question with the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages. She confidently clicked the send button on the website with 'Methamphetamine Rules' as her baby's name, fully expecting it to be rejected.
But her answer came after a few weeks, when a birth certificate for her newborn arrived bearing the very unique name in print.
Naturally, she was met with confusion (but not surprise) from her partner, family, and peers, who called her a 'fool' before she could even explain her decisions. She added that, not shortly after, they managed to find the funny side of the situation.
'Some people feel very appalled by this, but it was a fairly harmless outcome,' she said.
'I really, really didn't think it would happen.'
Credit: Instagram/abctv.
Fortunately, in the next few days, Baby Methamphetamine Rules will officially have a different name. Drysdale has confirmed that they are in the process of changing the name on the birth certificate, and there will be no record of the original name.
'Because this has happened this way, and it shouldn't have gone through in the first place, the registrar is very kindly working with us to do a correction,' she said.
In response to the incident, the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages wrote: 'While an unusual name has unfortunately slipped through, the NSW Registrar will be exercising her ability to correct the name in consultation with the parents.'
'The Registry has since strengthened its processes in response to this highly unusual event.'
At the end of the day, the journalist reassured that no long-term damage was done to her son. Though episodes of WTFAQ have yet to air, it's exciting to think about how the public would react to this incident and know how easily babies can be given 'bizarre' names.
What are your thoughts on this story, members? Have you heard of 'weird' baby names similar to this? Share them in the comments below!
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