Judgment of the Rotterdam District Court dated August 26, 2020

The petitioner has a teenage daughter. The father of the daughter is of Egyptian origin, and in Egypt, there is no distinction between first and last names, only a name sequence is used. It is customary to name a child after a parent, grandparent, etc., so that the lineage is reflected in the name sequence. As a result, the daughter was registered in the Dutch records with only first names; she does not have a surname on her passport in the Netherlands. Through a royal decree, the child’s surname was officially established, so she eventually had a surname.

The daughter experiences difficulties with her second and third first names. The reason for this is that these are predominantly male first names. In Egypt, this is common, but in the Netherlands, the daughter notices that these first names often raise eyebrows. Many people assume that these first names are only used by individuals of the male gender. This is confirmed by an excerpt from the Dutch first names database, which shows that the second and third first names are used over 8,000 times for males in the Netherlands and only around 400 times (as middle names) for females. On the other hand, the daughter’s first first name is only used for females. Because the minor feels embarrassed about her predominantly male first names, she wishes to distance herself from them now and in the future. She does not feel comfortable using these first names in her daily life and cannot identify with them. She also no longer wants to have to explain occasionally to others why her first names are predominantly male in nature.

Given the fact that the daughter experiences significant discomfort due to her names, the court rules that there is a sufficiently substantial interest in the request. The court grants the mother’s application as requested.