Judgement of the District Court of Central Netherlands dated February 24, 2021

Petitioners have a son. At the time of his birth registration, they hesitated between two names but ultimately chose name A.

Soon after, petitioners regretted their choice of name A. The reason for this is that petitioners have an international background, and they are concerned that others in foreign countries might not pronounce their son’s name correctly. For example, one petitioner is of Dutch origin, and the other is Italian, and their child was born in Spain, illustrating their international orientation.

Now, petitioners want to give their son a second first name. The name they have in mind, name B, was originally considered for the child. Thus, their son will have two names. Petitioners believe that this would be in their son’s best interest because the second name is more internationally common. It would allow their son to decide later on whether to use the second first name if he encounters any issues with the first name while abroad, such as its pronunciation. This is particularly important to petitioners because one of them has family living in Italy, where the family is expected to visit frequently. Additionally, petitioners anticipate traveling and residing abroad regularly for work and residence.

Petitioners believe they have a sufficiently weighty reason for their request. They feel it is in their son’s best interest to receive a second first name. As their son was born in Spain, the municipality of The Hague must register the birth certificate. The civil registrar will then make a note of the name change on the Dutch birth certificate.

The court grants the request and orders the civil registrar to register the birth certificate. This way, petitioners do not have to register the birth certificate with the municipality of The Hague themselves, although they have the option to do so. Consequently, their child will have two first names from now on.