Backlash after dad names newborn son 'Department of Statistical Information'

A father in Indonesia has raised eyebrows after naming his newborn son "Department of Statistical Communication".

Slamet "Yoga" Wahyudi, 38, had agreed with his then-pregnant wife that he would be allowed to chose their baby's name if it turned out to be a boy.

When his wife gave birth in December 2020, the civil servant gave his son a rather controversial name which didn't sit well with friends and family.

Wahyudi wanted to pay tribute to his beloved workplace by naming him "Dinas Komunikasi Informatika Statistik" (Department of Statistical Communication).

His wife, Ririn Linda Tunggal Sari, 33, was reportedly on board with the decision, with her husband telling local news site Kompas: "At first it sounded strange, but thank God my wife did not mind."

Not everyone was quite so accepting of the unorthodox name, however, with the couple's friends and family voicing their concerns - including their own parents.

Wahyudi apparently accepted their apprehension in good faith, before ultimately deciding on the 38-character mouthful as his son's name.

However, he has since compromised revealing he will be nicknamed and called "Dinko" in his day to day life.

Wahyudi has worked as a public servant for more than a decade.

He previously worked as a radio announcer but found his true passion in statistical communication.

In New Zealand, nearly a quarter of baby names declined by the Department of Internal Affairs in 2020 featured the word "Royal".

The Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages released the rejection list.

Roya Ltee, Royal, Royal-Blue, Royal-Reign, Royalty, Royalty-Rain, Royele-Blue, and Royell are among the 44 names shot down.

The guidelines make sure names don't cause offence, are a reasonable length, and don't resemble an official title or rank.

Nobody tried to call their newborn Covid-19 ... but it would've been rejected anyway, in case it causes offence.

Rejected names 2020

Bishop
Caius-Major
Commodore
Constable
Dukes
Justice
Justus
Kiing
King
Krown-Hayllar
Majesty-Faith
Major
Marley-King
Master
Messiah
Mistah
MyHonour
Nikita-Majesty
Padre
Prince
Princess
Prinz
Queen
Roya Ltee
Royal
Royal-Blue
Royal-Reign
Royalty
Royalty-Rain
Royele-Blue
Royell
Saint
Saint Cali
Sovereign

This article was first published by the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.