What's in a name?

Quite a lot if you're called Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii.

That's the unfortunate appellation a girl was given by her parents - but now a New Zealand judge has ordered that the nine-year-old, who is at the centre of a custody battle, should become a ward of court until she can choose a name she really likes.

Family Court Judge Rob Murfitt said: 'The court is profoundly concerned about the very poor judgment which this child's parents have shown in choosing this name. It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap, unnecessarily.'

Murfitt cited a list of unfortunate names that he said were embarrassing or made children seem foolish among their peers.

Some names, including Fish and Chips (twins), Yeah Detroit, Stallion, Twisty Poi, Keenan Got Lucy and Sex Fruit, were blocked by registration officials, he said.

But others were allowed, including Number 16 Bus Shelter, Midnight Chardonnay, Benson and Hedges (twins) 'and tragically, Violence,' the judge said.

Murfitt ordered that the court take custody of the girl until the name could be formally changed, which has since occurred and the custody dispute settled, Family Court Manager Midge Shaw said Thursday.

The new name was not made public to protect the girl's privacy.

The ruling was handed down in February in the city of New Plymouth on the North Island, but only came to light on Thursday when it was published in the New Zealand Law Reports.

Brian Clarke, the registrar general of Births, Deaths and Marriages, said New Zealand law does not allow names that would cause offense to a reasonable person, that are 100 characters or more long, that include titles or military rank or that include punctuation marks or numerals.

He said officials usually talked to parents who proposed unusual names to convince them about the potential for embarrassment.

'Often when we explain the situation to parents we can agree on an acceptable name to register,' he said.