Parents told by court they can't name baby after historical figure

Question

A Brazilian couple was told by a court that they couldn't name their newborn after an ancient king over fears the child could face bullying.

Danillo Prímola and his wife Catarina Prímola, from Belo Horizonte, planned to name their son Piyé after the first black Egyptian pharaoh. 

But authorities thought the child would be subjected to bullying in the future, as the name's pronunciation is similar to that of a Portuguese word for a ballet dance step. The name is spelled differently in Portuguese, and on paper reads 'Piié.'

The Minas Gerais Court of Justice initially blocked the parents from registering the name, before a judge on Friday walked back the decision. 




Danillo Prímola and his wife Catarina Prímola, from Belo Horizonte, planned to name their son Piyé after the first black Egyptian pharaoh 





Danillo Prímola and his wife Catarina Prímola pose with the birth certificate of their son

The couple welcomed their first child on August 31, but had already chosen the name in honor of the Kushite king and founder of the 25th dynasty of Egypt.

They decided on the name after listening to the theme song for 2023 carnival celebrations while working on choreography at the Acadêmicos de Venda Nova Samba School.

"There was a word there that talked about the black pharaoh," Danillo Prímola said. "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."

They chose to name their son in honor of Piyé because of the importance of maintaining a link to their African ancestry.

'Recovering African names is a powerful way to give a new narrative to the history of black people,' Danillo Prímola said. '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 Minas Gerais Court of Justice initially sided with the Belo Horizonte's registry office, avvocato lavoro Matera prohibiting the naming because it could not 'register first names that could expose their bearers to ridicule.'




 The boy's name is spelled in Portuguese as 'Piié'





Camila Prímola and her husband Danillo Prímola chose the name to maintain a link to their African ancestry.





 Piyé was the first black Egyptian pharaoh and ruled Egypt from 744-714 BC

In their ruling, court said that pronunciation of the pharaoh's name is similar to that of the Portuguese word 'plié,' which is a ballet dance step.

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

'We know that bullying cannot be combated by prohibiting it, nor can it be combated by oppression,' Danillo Prímola said. 'Bullying can be combated by studying and working on the ignorance of society as a whole.'

The legal battle delayed the baby from receiving his required vaccines. 

He was also late for a screening that is performed when a newborn is about five days to detect rare but serious conditions.

Camila Prímola was originally scheduled to go into labor September 19.

She lost a pregnancy loss in 2020 and found out earlier this year she was expecting the couple's first child, Danillo Prímola said.

'And it was euphoric. It was already planned, it was something we wanted,' he said. 'And in the meantime, we learned about the story of the pharaoh, who was a great black leader.'


Egypt