Couple Name Baby 'Superman'
When Pat and Sheena Wheaton tried to register their son's name, officials rejected it because it contains a number. Not willing to settle with a John or James the New Zealand couple opted for their next choice - 'Superman'. Still unhappy about the non approval of the first name, they are considering legal action against their government's Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages to get the initial decision overturned. Even though his official name is Superman, they still call him 4real.
At the end of June I reported on a family that was fighting to name their baby 4real.
The Wheatons decided on the name after seeing the baby for the first time in an ultrasound scan and realising their baby was "for real".
They decided 4Real was the best way to write it, but the name was rejected because the registrar said a name had to be a sequence of letters, with no numbers.
The same rules are in place in most countries, including the UK.
They were told that it would be perfectly alright for them to name their son For Real, but the couple dismissed the idea, claiming it didn't have the same ring to it.
Mrs Wheaton said: "For most of us, when we try to figure out what our names mean, we have to look it up in a babies book and there's no direct link between the meaning and the name.
"With this name, everyone knows what it means."
Newspaper reports of their unusual wrangle sparked a flurry of comments on the internet, many of them mocking and criticising the couple.
But with their son now two months old, Mr Wheaton remains defiant.
He said: "No matter what, it's going to stay 4Real. I'm certainly not a quitter.
"I did go online and Google some of the stories but as tough as I am it does get to you.
"But there's no point getting upset, it could be a ten-year-old school girl making those comments."
We all know he is for real, he is here and breathing. There is no need to put it in his name to remind us. I think that this is now an issue of principle and press. This story has gotten so much press that I am sure that this couple felt like they needed to fight.
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