Little Saint finally gets his name
An Auckland couple have won a 41⁄2 month battle with the Government to name their baby son Saint.
During their legal crusade the little boy went without an official name, causing headaches with registering for a GP, enrolling in daycare, and when the family flew to Queenstown. They had to get a letter of explanation from their lawyer about why he had no name.
This month Births, Deaths and Marriages released its annual roll call of the names it had rejected the most often in 2019, and Saint joined two dozen names — including King, Justice, Lord, Crown and Prince — on the no-no list.
Registrar-General Jeff Montgomery said the guidelines made sure the names don’t cause offence, were a reasonable length and don’t unjustifiably resemble an official title or rank.
It was that last part that sparked Shakayla Clements’ battle after her son’s birth in December 2018.
“I got rejected twice for my son’s name, but I’m stubborn and was willing to go to court and contest it.”
She and her partner, Mootee Kokoria, weren’t trying to give their baby an official title or rank, Clements said.
They also weren’t copying reality TV star Kim Kardashian and her rapper husband Kanye West, who named their son Saint three years earlier, she said.
They were honouring a family and cultural tradition.
“My son’s father is from Kiribati and for the first grandchild the grandparents name the child after a family member.
“My partner’s parents wanted Saint because that’s the name of his great-aunt. I doubt my son’s grandparents have ever even heard of Kim Kardashian.”
The Kiribati spelling of Saint was Tiant, but the pronunciation was similar to Santa, so the couple wanted to use the English spelling for their son, Clements said.
And the name had been met with smiles wherever Saint went. No one had expressed offence at the family’s choice.
“All I’ve had is [people saying], ‘that’s a cool name’.”
The couple explained their family and cultural reasons for Saint’s name in a reply to Births, Deaths and Marriages, and then engaged lawyer Bevan Marten , who wrote a letter on behalf of the couple.
In a letter from an Internal Affairs lawyer they were again turned down, but were told the RegistrarGeneral was open to further discussions.
The Registrar-General then decided in May to allow Saint’s name to be registered.
Montgomery wrote that they had compelling reasons to name their child Saint.
He also said given the title of Saint was often conferred posthumously it was unlikely to cause confusion for a Kiwi child or that the name would be used for mischievous or fraudulent purposes.
Names that resembled titles or ranks could be used if the parents could provide adequate justification, Montgomery told the Herald on Sunday.
“I was very pleased to assist in baby Saint’s case. He will be proud of his mother when he learns how she fought for the Kiribati tradition in which he was named.”
I doubt my son’s grandparents have ever even heard of Kim Kardashian. Shakayla Clements