French couple banned from calling their baby Hades – the name of the Greek god of the dead
The couple have been banned from naming their baby Hades – the name of the Greek god of the dead and king of the underworld – by French officials
- Kristina Desgres and Rodrigo Velasquez welcomed their son last September
- They called him Hades Velasquez Desgres, which sounded “nice” to them
A couple in France are banned from naming their newborn baby Hades, the same name as the ancient Greek god of the dead and king of the underworld.
Kristina Desgres and Rodrigo Velasquez from the French port city of Saint-Malo, Brittany, welcomed their baby boy last September.
The parents say they innocently decided to give their child the same name as the Greek god of the underworld, the unseen and commander of the realm of the dead.
And that’s how Hades Velasquez Desgres was welcomed into the world, a name that sounded “beautiful” to them.
But after submitting the required papers, the Saint-Malo public prosecutor told them that the name had been denied.
Kristina Desgres and Rodrigo Velasquez from the French port city of Saint-Malo, Brittany, welcomed their baby boy last September. Sweet and innocent, the parents decided to give their child the same name as the Greek god of the underworld, the unseen and commander of the underworld (Photo: A representation of Hades in the underworld)
“We chose this name because we liked it.
“Hades Velasquez Desgres sounds good,” Ms Desgres told the local newspaper Le Pays Malouin.
She added that no one made the connection between her baby’s name and the Greek god of the dead: “It shocked no one. On the contrary, people like it.’
Like many Western countries, authorities in France can veto a name if it is not in the child’s best interests and require parents to change their baby’s name.
In the case of Hades, the prosecutor decided that the name’s negative connotation as the god of the underworld preventing the dead from leaving was inappropriate for a child.
The parents said they didn’t understand the decision because they didn’t name their son Lucifer or Satan.
The couple hired a lawyer in their fight to keep their baby’s name and have already identified other parents who had named their child Hades – 12 in 2020 – whose choice of name was accepted with no problem.
Ms. Desgres and Mr. Velasquez even contacted the parents of the other kids, named Hades, to prove that their babies weren’t being bullied because of their unusual first names.
The court’s ruling in the case is expected on April 4.