A Tennessee mom is appealing a judge’s decision that her son’s name be changed from Messiah to something else. Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew ordered the child’s name changed to Martin DeShawn McCullough. The new name represents both names of the two parents. The judge commented controversially, “the word Messiah is a title that has only been earned by one person, and that one person is Jesus Christ.” Magistrate Ballew said that she was looking out for the best interest of the child, and that the community in which the child lives and will live will have a significant amount of friction with the name of the baby. The judge mentioned, [the name] could put him at odds with a lot of people, and at this point he has had no choice in what his name is,” according to US News.
Certainly people of all religious backgrounds and cultures have different naming traditions, and of course constitutional rights have been interpreted such that parents feel they are ‘free’ to name their baby whatever they like. Recently, judges have forced parents into naming their children other names than they intended, as some people have taken the ‘freedom’ of baby naming very far. Judges have felt that some names that parents’ have chosen would inadvertently harm the child. Examples of names that judges forced parents to change are, Talula does the Hula, number 16 bus shelter, Midnight Chardonnay, Fish and Chips, Yea Detroit, and a slew of other weird names that some judges think would cause children to have a ‘social disability’ in having a foolish name, according to the New Zealand Guardian.
Judges agree that naming a child too weird of a name hurts the child. The mother of the child commented that she was shocked and that she chose the name so as to alliterate with the names of her other children. She commented, “I didn’t think a judge could make me change my baby’s name because of her religious beliefs.”
While I believe that parents have the right to name their children whatever they want, and I sincerely believe in separation of church and state, I can understand the idea that a name can harm a child. Even I have had issues with this as a child, because my last name is Marsh. I was always called marshmallow or compared to marshes (as in swamps). I believe that parents should be cautious in naming their children, so as to protect them from social complications, and the cruelty of others. However, if a mother feels that Messiah is the name that her son should have, the court should have no say in the matter. I would love to see where in the Constitution it says that a parent cannot name their children the name of their choice. As long as she takes care of him, raises him properly, and loves him unconditionally, what difference does it make? The judge was wrong with this ruling, and the statement: “the word Messiah is a title that has only been earned by one person, and that one person is Jesus Christ,” from a judge is unacceptable.