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Mamerto, Tutelar, Gato, Pollo Rebollo, Pilincho, Optimus Prime or Sadistic Glory are some of the names that citizens of Paraguay carry and that the Civil Status Registry, the body that gives access to identity in the South American country, seeks to prevent them from continuing to be registered by considering them “ridiculous.”
For this, the entity dusted off this 2025 a law dating back to 1987 and that now applied with the “strong hand” that was lacking in the past and allowed the registration of these names and other unconventional ones, such as Gohan – inspired by the Dragon Ball manga and its animated series -, Zeus, Pasión or Pilsen, which is reminiscent of a local beer brand.
“These names should never have been registered,” said the general director of the Paraguayan Civil Status Registry, Maximiliano Ayala, in an interview with Efe. “But there was no heavy hand,” he added.
According to Ayala, none of the almost 78,000 children born until November of this year in Paraguay were registered with a strange name or “influenced by advertising and social networks.”
Not because the parents have not tried, but because the state agency hastened the step to avoid the registration of names that were “peculiar,” the official added.
“We are intensifying the work so that no name that could cause any type of problems for children be registered in the future,” he said.
old law
Almost 40 years ago, the Paraguayan Congress sanctioned under the nomenclature 1266/1987 the law that regulates the actions of the Civil Status Registry. In its article 56, the legal tool points out that the registration of names that are “ridiculous or that may mislead about sex” will not be permitted.
This is the rule that Ayala alleges to provide legal basis for his campaign for the registration of only traditional names in Paraguay. Additionally, his office is working to agree with registrars across the country when a name can be considered “ridiculous.”
“That is why we make known these types of names and the law that regulates registrations, we seek to raise awareness among parents so that they choose names that do not cause problems for their children tomorrow,” he noted.
In this sense, the official stated that some people with unusual names are victims of “teasing” that undermines their self-esteem.
In some cases, he stated, these people initiate processes to change their names, but the entity cannot specify for now how many citizens adhered to a procedure of this type this year or in the recent past.
Ayala also said that If a parent insists on registering their child with an unusual name, the registrar will proceed to explain, law in hand, the consequences. What could this have on the child’s life?
“We have hundreds of cases of parents who come to the Civil Status Registry with the intention of registering a name for their children, which for us constitutes a problem because they are ridiculous, they are not names that can be of use to them tomorrow,” he noted.
Paraguay, the country of María and Juan
In Paraguay, unusual names are not common, Ayala clarified to EFE.
In this section two biblical names are imposed: Mary for women and John for menaccording to historical data from the Civil Status Registry.
Other highly registered female names are Liz, Ana, Juana and Luz, while on the male side José, Carlos, Luis and Pedro stand out.
Also popular are some names of Guaraní origin, a name for one of the native peoples who inhabited Paraguayan territory in the pre-Hispanic era and whose culture merged with the Spanish in all regions of the country.
In this sense, the official pointed out that the registration of Guaraní names such as Yeruti – which translates Dove or Tortola and is popular among women – “has no drawbacks”, remembering that they are part of the rich mix of cultures of Paraguay.