Court changes girl’s name over ‘negative connotations’

AMMAN – The Sisterhood is Global Institute/Jordan (SIGI/J) on Thursday welcomed a decision by the Court of First Instance, which was upheld by the Court of Appeal, to change the name of a girl over its negative connotations.

The name of the child, who was born in 2011, was changed from “Ajayeb”, which has a negative meaning related to whatever is strange and weird, to “Rahmeh” (mercy) after her mother filed a lawsuit, according to a statement received by The Jordan Times on Thursday.

The father of the child was angry when the girl was born for being the fifth female baby born to the family, and he had wanted a boy.

“The name ‘Ajayeb’ is related to negative astonishment that makes it against religious and social values,” SIGI quoted the court as saying.

Since the child’s interest “surpasses any other interest, and because holding this name might subject her to ridicule and embarrassment, her name was changed to protect her psychological wellbeing”, said the ruling.

Quoting Mufti Hassan Abu Arqoub, the statement noted that it is “preferred in Islam that the parent choose a good name for the child”, citing a saying by Prophet Mohammad in which he called on parents to choose good names for their children.

Article 14 of the Civil Status Law stipulates that the mother or the father of a newborn is the one responsible for reporting the birth and naming him/her.