Naming Children for Nazis Puts Spotlight on the Father – NYTimes.com

This is such an interesting case of man and his right to do whatever idiotic thing he wants to do and the state who tries to protect his kids against what amounts to abuse.

Heath Campbell invited the world to share his outrage when a nearby ShopRite supermarket refused to inscribe a cake with his son’s first and middle names — Adolf Hitler — for his third birthday last month.

Heath and Deborah Campbell with their son, Adolf Hitler Campbell. The boy, 3, and two younger siblings, also with Nazi-related names, have been removed from their parents’ custody. Officials say that was not done because of the name choices.
Instead, outrage at his choice of names for his three children — Adolf’s younger sisters are Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell, after Heinrich Himmler, and JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell — exploded on the Internet and in newspapers all over the world.

Mr. Campbell’s choices have prompted a debate over whether provocative names alone should be considered child abuse. The authorities removed the children from their parents’ care on Jan. 9., according to the local police. Kate Bernyk, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services, said confidentiality rules prevented her from commenting on the case, but that the state would not remove a child based on a name.

[From Naming Children for Nazis Puts Spotlight on the Father – NYTimes.com]

Didn’t this guy, who seems like the type, ever listen to Johnny Cash singing about being named “Sue.” I have to agree that the names that people choose can amount to abuse, or at least violating the most sacred idea behind parenting – you’re there to do everything you can to protect and nurture them. Choosing a rotten name is just saddling a child with an anchor he’ll have to try to shrug off all his life, or until he can change it at the courthouse.   

GreatDad.com has a bunch of tips and traps on baby naming if you’ve decide against naming your child Adolph or Godzilla.