An Australian mom has caused an online frenzy after it was revealed that she used Roman numerals to spell her daughter’s “unique” name: KVIIIlyn.
In a magazine, the mom from Australia's Gold Coast admitted that she wanted to name her baby girl Kaitlyn, but hated the name’s popularity. As a result, her husband came up with a solution.
“My husband suggested we replace the ‘ait’ with the Roman numeral symbol for eight!” she wrote. “Now our daughter is truly unique.”
A photo of the magazine clipping was posted to Reddit on Thursday and has already racked up over 300 comments. In the thread, many users were quick to voice their disapproval of the parents’ name choice.
“Kreaytiv spelling at its finest, because every child should be yooneek in every way,” one Redditor sarcastically wrote.
Another said: “This is a joke right. Who puts Roman numerals in a name. Ah well I guess it’s better than K8lin.”
Despite this, one user argued that the mom’s unique spelling won’t really make a difference in the long run, since people tend to shorten given names. “I don't know if all schools do this, but I know a lot of them will use a simplified spelling or shortened form of the name for rolls if the name is really weird (so for example, with the name above, it'd be ‘Kate’ on the rolls),” the Redditor said.
"In Australia, parents have the freedom to choose any name they please, as long as it is not offensive."
Others also noted that the mom’s creative spelling was unnecessary considering how many variations of the name there already are. Kaitlin, Katelyn, Caitlin and Caitlyn are just a few.
In Australia, parents have the freedom to choose any name they please, as long as it is not offensive. The name also cannot make a phrase or statement, contain a title (such as King), or contain symbols, such as a question mark. This means that KVIIIlyn is an acceptable moniker.
Using Roman numerals in baby names is not a trend among parents. However, we have seen Beyoncé and Jay-Z think along similar lines when they named their daughter Blue Ivy. Following her birth in 2012, it was revealed that the couple chose Ivy as a play on the Roman numeral for four, IV, which is meaningful to them.
Depending on a country's baby name laws, Roman numerals may or may not be prohibited. In Canada, for instance, where parents have the freedom to choose any name, some provinces can use Roman numerals, such as Alberta, while others cannot, such as B.C.
Baby name laws vary around the world. Flip through the slideshow below to see which countries are the strictest.