4 April 2025
45 Pipitea Street, Wellington 6011
Phone +64 4 495 7200
dia.govt.nz
Oliver Robinson
fyi-request-30347-
[email address]
Tēnā koe Oliver
OIA request 24/25 0883 Request for Declined names by Registrar General in 2024
Thank you for your Official Information Act (Act) request received by the Department of Internal
Affairs (Department) on 9 March 2025.
You requested –
I am requesting a list of the names that were declined by the Registrar-General of Births,
Deaths and Marriages in 2024. Please include all names declined by the Registrar-
General of Births, Deaths and Marriages in 2024 along with the number of instances in
which each name was declined. Any format is fine.
In response to your request, I can provide you with the following information.
In 2024 the Department registered almost 60,000 births.
The Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 2021 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.
As part of our processes, we review proposed names to see that they meet these criteria.
Over 2024, the Department sought more information from the parents on some proposed
names, and in 71 instances an alternative name was registered.
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 expected 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.
We continue to urge parents to think carefully about names. Names are a gift. Generally, the
name registered will be with the individual for the rest of their lives.
Please note that the names provided in this table can be in any part of the person’s overall
name.
Page 2 of 4
Names that were declined and the number of
times they were declined by the Registrar-General in 2024
Name
Count
King
11
Prince
10
Princess
4
[No Surname]
3
Rogue
3
Sativa
3
Caesar
2
JP
2
Pryncess
2
`[in name]
1
Allah
1
Állah
1
Bishop
1
Crown
1
Crownos
1
Duke
1
Emperor
1
Fanny
1
General
1
Ice
1
Indica
1
Juke
1
Justice
1
KC
1
Kingi
1
Kingz
1
Kyng
1
Lady
1
Magesty
1
Major
1
Messiah
1
Mighty
1
Prinz
1
Prynce
1
Queen
1
Roil
1
Royal
1
Royallty
1
Saint
1
Solvreign
1
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As this information may be of interest to other members of the public, the Department has
decided to proactively release a copy of this response on the DIA website. All requestor data,
including your name and contact details, will be removed prior to release. The released
response will be made available here:
https://www.dia.govt.nz/Official-Information-Act-
Requests-2.
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 Operations
Regulatory and Identity Services
Page 4 of 4
