Two parents have been told by a law court they must give their daughter a suitable name otherwise they will do it on their behalf.
The Italian court system has told couple Vittoria and Luca, from Millian, they must give an appropriate name to their 18-month-old daughter by the end of the week.
The shocked mother and father, who have named their daughter Blu, were told by the Italian court her name is not appropriate given her gender.
Mother defends her reasons for naming her daughters Princess Bliss And Precious Bell on This Morning:
Blu’s father Luca says he picked the name because it was an abbreviation for the phrase ‘bella luminosa unica’, which, when translated from English to Italian, means ‘beautiful, vibrant and unique’.
However, due to stringent laws in Italy, the couple are being forced by the court to give her a more traditional name.
Luca told Italian newspaper Il Giorno:
If we don’t come up with an alternative name, a judge will chose it for us.
When we turned up at the Registry Office, we were warned that there could be a risk of being challenged.
His partner Vittoria says:
Since the first day Luca told me he wanted to call his daughter Blu and I chose Blu because It is the colour of the fifth chakra.
While the name ‘Blu’ is about as far off from a traditional name as one can be, it seems a ludicrous thing to be taken to court for. Luca agrees too, labelling the case against him and Vittoria as an ‘absurd discrimination’ when speaking to Italian newspaper Repubblica.
I mean if Jay-Z and Beyoncé have the right to name their child ‘Blue Ivy’ why can’t Luca and Vittoria do the same thing?
He went on to explain to Il Giorno:
… every year, according to ISTAT data (data provided by an Italian National Statistical Office) there are around seven children called Blue[sic], mostly girls. We did not expect to have to change her name a year and a half later, when by now our daughter knows her name is Blue[sic] and it is written everywhere.
While Blu’s parents seem intent on fighting this injustice to the bitter end, they face an uphill struggle as a presidential decree in Itlay states all children should have gender-specific names, according to The Sun.
However, Italian news site The Local reports claims in 2016 six babies were given the birth name Blu, along with the previous five babies who were born in 2015.
This isn’t the first time Italy’s child and parenting laws have caused controversy, last month a lesbian couple were told they won’t be able to register their child unless the mother forges documents claiming she had sex with a man.
Because of strict laws in Italy regarding fertility only heterosexual couples are allowed to procreate and be recognised as a legal family.
It put Chiara Foglietta (who works as a councillor in Turin) and her partner Micaela Ghisleni in a tough position after local officials suggested Foglietta should ‘declare’ she had intercourse with a man in order to register their son Nico.
According to the BBC Chiara refused to lie on official documents.
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