No way for a boy to be called Friday, Italy court rules

Oct 22, 2008, 13:59 GMT

Rome - Movie stars', footballers' and other celebrities' penchant for choosing colourful names for their children may be a thing of the past in Italy following a ruling Wednesday by the country's top appeals court.

The Rome-based Cassation upheld another court's order preventing a couple from calling their son Venerdi (Friday), the ANSA news agency reported.

The name Friday recalled the native servant in Daniel Defoe's book 'Robinson Crusoe,' a figure the judges said was 'characterized by his role of subjection and inferiority.'

Such names of 'a ridiculous nature' threaten to harm their holders in that they are 'susceptible to irony and scorn,' the Cassation judges said.

The couple from the north-western city of Genoa, had argued for the right to choose their son's name, citing AS Roma star midfielder Francesco Totti and his showgirl wife, Ilary Blasi whose daughter Chanel, recalls the brand name of a famous French perfume.

Another example the couple referred to was Oceano (Ocean) the son of auto giant Fiat industrialist, John Elkann.

The Cassation however, again upholding a previous ruling, ordered that the boy be known as Gregorio, a name chosen after the saint on whose feast day he was born.