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Parents Win Battle To Call Baby ‘Banned Name’ After Court Tried To Stop Them

Parents have won the battle to call their son a 'banned name' after the court tried to stop them. 
Credit: TV Globo & @danilloprimola/Instagram

Parents have won the battle to call their son a ‘banned name’ after the court tried to stop them. 

Danillo Prímola and his wife Catarina Prímola, from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, were told they must change the name of their newborn over fears it would lead to him being bullied.

The battle over the name delayed the baby’s required vaccines and also forced the couple to be late for the child’s screening, which detects any rare health conditions, reports MailOnline.

Although the couple were so sure of the name, the authorities were determined to stop them from going through with it.

Danillo and Catarina Prímola.
Danillo and Catarina Prímola were initially told to change their baby’s name. Credit: Metropoles

Many people have taken to social media and sided with the couple, saying there is nothing wrong with the name.

One person writes: “I feel like the parents should be the only people who have control of the kids name.”

Another adds: “I do not understand the issue with this name at all.”

Somebody else says: “The name they chose was not ridiculous.”

The courts initially sided with the registry office, prohibiting the name they believed ‘could expose their bearers to ridicule.’

The Minas Gerais Court of Justice said: “That is why the sound and spelling of the name were preponderant for the rejection since they would be capable of causing future embarrassment to the child.”

But for the child’s parents, this was not something they were concerned about.

Danillo and Catarina Prímola.
The couple was warned their child could be bullied over the name. Credit: @catarinaprimola/Instagram

Danillo said: “We know that bullying cannot be combated by prohibiting it, nor can oppression combat it.

“Bullying can be combated by studying and working on the ignorance of society as a whole.”

Danillo and Catarina reportedly lost a pregnancy in 2020 and learned earlier this year they were expecting again.

“It was euphoric. It was already planned, it was something we wanted,” Danillo said.

Camila was originally scheduled to go into labor on September 19 but welcomed their child on August 31, with the name already chosen.

Danillo and Catarina Prímola.
Danillo and Catarina Prímola were set on their son’s name. Credit: @danilloprímola/Instagram

The parents decided on their child’s name while working on choreography at the Acadêmicos de Venda Nova Samba School, having listened to the theme song for the 2023 carnival celebrations.

They named their newborn after an ancient king who ruled Egypt for 30 years and helped in founding the 25th dynasty.

He ruled from the city of Napata, nestled in Nupia, modern-day Sudan.

Danillo and Catarina Prímola.
Danillo and Catarina Prímola wanted to name their son after a historical figure. Credit: @danilloprimola/Instagram

Danillo recalled: “There was a word there that talked about the Black pharaoh.

“We went to research what it was like and we found the story of Piiê, who was a Nubian warrior who fought and conquered Egypt and became the first Black pharaoh.”

He added: “Recovering African names is a powerful way to give a new narrative to the history of Black people, we have the right to educate our children with this strength, this culture, and in a way that they have representation in their name.”

The courts ruled that the pronunciation of Piiê is too similar to the Portuguese word ‘plié,’ a ballet dance step, and initially blocked the name.

But in the end, a judge walked back on the ruling and allowed the parents to keep the name.

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Written by Kyra Hall

Kyra is a content editor at IGV who specializes in film, TV, and celebrity news. She has a degree in Broadcast Journalism and a master's in Documentary Production from Nottingham Trent University. Kyra previously worked as an intern at ITV Tonight and as a freelance filmmaker.