You may think your new baby girl is a little princess, but that doesn't mean you can officially call her that.
Following the release of the country's most popular names, the list of names declined for babies in 2019 has been revealed, and royal titles make up most of them.
Department of Internal Affairs Registrar-General Jeff Montgomery says no names are banned in New Zealand, but names will be declined if there is a chance they will cause offence, are not a reasonable length or "unjustifiably resemble an official title or rank".
Among those topping the list of those not allowed in 2019 was King, Princess, Lady and Empress. Others declined include Ford-Royal, Gunner, Royall, Queenmerry and Syre.
"There's no problem if you want to give your child a spelled-out number or even silly name, but remember your child has to live with it," Montgomery said.
Tips for making sure your baby's name is allowed include rethinking swear words and limiting the name to below 70 characters.
Any name that fails to meet the criteria can be reviewed by the Registrar-General. A family can present their reasons for a name, which may be accepted on a case-by-case basis.
There were 61,018 babies born in New Zealand in 2019, and fewer than 1 percent had their name considered by the Registrar-General. The most popular name for a boy last year was Oliver, while Amelia took out the top name for a girl.
List of declined baby names in 2019:
- Crown
- Empress
- Ford-Royal
- Gunner
- Justice
- Justyce
- King
- Kyng
- Lady
- Lord
- Majesti
- Major
- Pope
- Prince
- Princess
- Queenie
- Queenmerry
- Queeny
- Rogue
- Royal
- Royale
- Royall
- Saint
- Sur
- Syre
