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Short Stuff: Can You Not Have A Name? · Stuff You Should Know

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh, and
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: there's Chuck, and Jerry's here too. Set in the tempo,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: and this is stuff you should know, short stuff.
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: That's right. I guess you could have said there's and
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: and there's.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: I wish I had now, maybe we should retake the
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: whole thing.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: Nah, a dumb joke, because what we're talking about is naming,
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: and specifically sort of like the rules and laws about
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: naming somebody and having a name and if you need
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: a name legally.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: This is so in our wheelhouse. Man, we've been talking
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: about this stuff since basically day one of stuff you
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: should know.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, this seemed familiar enough to where I thought we
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: might have done it.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: No, we haven't done this particularly, but we've talked about
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: I think in some of like our videos, maybe about
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: people who gave their kids weird names, like I will
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: never forget, Yeah Detroit, you remember.
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: I forgot about that?
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, But we're talking about today is which by the way, Yes,
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: somebody tried to name their kid yeah Detroit, right, one
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: word and there might have been an exclamation point. I
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: don't remember. You gotta have one the best name, or
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: at least a tempted name I've ever.
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: Heard, or maybe an in terror bang.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, So we're talking about something a little more
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: specific today, though. We're talking about can you live without
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: a name? Is it? Is it something you could possibly do?
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  Speaker 1: And the short answer is no. The bigger answer is
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: even more interesting than just being cold.
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: Now. Yeah, I mean, it's not illegal to not have
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: a name, but try getting through life without a name.
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: It's going to be a big pain. So like, get
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: here you yeah, get it, getting a job, getting a
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: driver's license, just almost anything that you do these days
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: might require some form of identification, and if you don't
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: have a name, it's going to make it challenging.
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, like you just could not make it
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: through life, at least in the United States and most
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: other countries, probably just about any country because you just
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: like no one can say you're you. That's how we you,
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: that's how we do it. That's the first way we
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: do it is with a name. I think when you're named,
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: even before you're named, even before you get your Social
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: Security number, you have your name. That's how you're identified.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: That's how they keep up with you. Who's who at
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: the hospital?
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: Even Yeah, you can change your name, and you know,
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: depending on your state, there's different ways you can go
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: about that. You can you can just start using a
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: different name, and even without making it like the official
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: legal way like on formal documents. Even Emily changed her
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: spelling of her name and it was just unofficial for
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: many many years until she finally had it officially changed,
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: which is interesting.
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: Nice.
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, she went from whye to ie.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: I always loved the i e on the end of
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: her name. I thought that was nice touch. I didn't
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: realize it was her own choosing.
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: So like a teenager thing.
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: She keeps getting better and better, you know.
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: I think so too. Well, she's in her fifties.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: So there are some rules. I should say not everybody
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: has rules. Usually in the United States, at least, the
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: laws about what you can or can't name your kid are.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: It's by the states, and there's at least a dozen
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  Speaker 1: states that don't have any laws. They're basically like, you
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: can name your kid whatever you want, okay, but plenty
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: of other states do have laws. One of the big
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: ones that you'll find not just among the states that
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: have laws about what you can name your kid, but
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: also internationally, is that you can't name your kid in number,
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: although there is a workaround. You could spell out that,
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: yeahber So you can't do the number three, but you
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: could name your kid phr ee.
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: Right, Or you could name your kid plan nine, but
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: you'd have to spell out nine.
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: Yes, would you do it all? One word or two words?
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  Speaker 2: Plan nine? Bryant, I think that'd be pretty fun. Is
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: one word?
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  Speaker 1: That's a great name, man? Yeah? What else you can't use?
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  Speaker 1: Vulgar words?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, extent? It can't be Jesus Christ or what Adolf
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: Hitler's on the list too, right.
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  Speaker 1: Yep, same with Santa Claus in some places. Nutella is
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: another one.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's it?
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  Speaker 1: Is it nutella? I always say nutella.
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  Speaker 2: I've always sad nutella, but it probably is nutella.
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  Speaker 1: I don't know who used to say who's right? In
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: this topsy turvy world.
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  Speaker 2: Any kind of racial slur you can't use? Or if
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  Speaker 2: it's a name like intentionally used to like commit fraud,
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: like to get out of a debt or something like that,
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  Speaker 2: you can't change your name for that reason.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: But I mean, would you be dumb enough to go
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: and change your name and tell like the probably not
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: the people at the vital records, Like yeah, I'm doing
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: this because I owe a law of money. Yeah, emojis
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: are out pretty much across the board. Oh good, And
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  Speaker 1: that's the United States. And you're like, well, it's kind
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: of strict if you do think that, that's kind of strict,
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: But around the world it can be even stricter. Like
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: they're like, Portugal is very strict. Not only do they
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: have some serious naming laws, there's a list of approved
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  Speaker 1: names that you have to select from. I think Iceland
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  Speaker 1: and Denmark also have similar lists. And in Portugal it
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  Speaker 1: has to be what they consider gender appropriate and still
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  Speaker 1: and they will kick your door down if you try
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  Speaker 1: anything different.
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: Wow.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Portugal is hardcore about naming.
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: Maybe we should take a break and we'll talk a
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: little bit more about naming that baby right for this,
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: all right, So in the United States, when a birth happens,
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: the parents are legally obligated at some point in time
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  Speaker 2: to register that birth with a government entity Vital Records
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  Speaker 2: Department or Department of Health and Human Services, something like that.
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: And every country has a version of something like that,
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: and on that form you got to fill out the name,
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: but it depends on what state you're in as far
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: as like how long you have to decide that it does.
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: You don't have to name your baby before you leave
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: the hospital.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: No, that's a pretty a pretty common misconception, at least
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: according to Kristen Conger, who hats off wrote this one
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: originally from.
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: Here, Yeah it works, former colleague Kristen Conger and host
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: and founder of Unlady Like a great podcast.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: That's right. So Conquer points something out that I thought
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: was pretty smart that if you do leave the hospital
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: when you're baby unnamed, because it's going to be a
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: lot of pressure.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, if you don't have it done beforehand, you don't
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: want to just be thinking of it like right after
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: you give birth.
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yes, exactly, especially if you weren't aware you're pregnant
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: and this was a surprise birth. You need a little time, right. Yeah,
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: the hospital is still going to be like, we need
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: to be able to keep up with that baby so
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: that baby goes home with you, Right, So they might
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: name it something like baby Girl Smith if your name
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: is Jane Smith. But there was a study that was conducted,
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: probably the most obvious study I've ever heard, that was
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: like if you actually use something a little more specific,
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: like say this is Jane Smith's daughter. Uh, you would
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: name it Jane's girl Smith. Yeah, you're probably going to
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  Speaker 1: have fewer mix ups at the hospital, which is just
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: alarming that anybody even needs to study that because that
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: even happens.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure, if you do wait and you haven't
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: decided in the hospital and then you decide, like let's
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: say the state you live in, let's you like, wait
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: a few months or whatever. It depends on that state
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  Speaker 2: again on the procedure for adding that in, Like in California,
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  Speaker 2: as the one Kristen mentions, you have to fill out
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  Speaker 2: a supplemental name report with the health department and fill
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: that in and say all right, now we have our
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: baby's name, and they're like, great, now you can get
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: your birth certificate.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, what do you think. Do you think it's a
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: good name. It's a pretty good name.
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  Speaker 2: Pretty good name. And I think you have a year
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: in California, So again it varies.
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: Yes, I did not realize this, but the United Nations
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  Speaker 1: has a pretty stern stance on kids' names. In particular,
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: in the Convention on the Rights of a Child, they
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: said that all children have a right from birth to
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: a name. There's an asterisk next to that they said,
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: if you ever find yourself in a highly stressful bird
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: box type situation, you can just name your kid boy
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: or girl. But other than that, that kid deserves a name.
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: I didn't see that. That was the Sandra Bullock thing
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: that it's excellent, I call the world during COVID.
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: Right, Yes, it's really good.
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: Okay, I haven't seen it.
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: You should check it out, all right, I'll dust that
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: one off. Yes, so, Chuck, let's move on to a
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: little extra what we call a lane yap if we
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: wanted to sound really obnoxious on middle.
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: Names, Yeah, middle names haven't always been a thing. I
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: think the modern idea of a middle name started in
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: the Middle Ages, it seems like, but it was pretty
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: specific back then. They would just give the first name
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: on you know, whatever they wanted to personalize it. But
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: then the middle name would be a saints name and
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: then a surname. But then that eventually fell out of
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: favor over time to where non religious middle names became
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  Speaker 2: a thing.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, a lot of times it was the mother's maiden name,
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  Speaker 1: the family name. It could just be like the parents
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: were like I really like McGillicutty, so that your middle name. Yeah,
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: and it just kind of picked up by I think
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: World War One was the first time where the US
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: government at least officially recognized the existence of middle names,
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: when the enlistment forms for the military asked for a
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: middle name. Yeah, and within I don't know a couple
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: of decades, a handful of decades has computers started to
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: be used for documentation of individuals, like tracking people, big
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: brother type stuff. They were programmed for three names, first, middle, last,
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: and what would happen Chuck if you did not have
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: a middle name.
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: If you don't enter that, they would insert n M
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: I no middle initial because not everyone has a middle name,
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: and some people have many. I know that. My friend
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: Justin from England, he is one. He has three two
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: middle names, so something three names than a surname. No,
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: it's just I think it's more common in the UK
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: to do something like that. So he's Justin Neil Alexander Stewart,
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: so two middle names, one first name and his surname
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: very nice and his social Security number.
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: Is you got anything else?
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: I got nothing else?
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: I don't either, I guess I'm mean short. Stuff is out.
• 11:05
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• 11:08
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