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Some may be familiar with a German law on nameing children.

The first name must clearly indicate the gender of the child. For instance, a boy in Germany could not be named Marilyn Manson.

The child's name can not be ridiculing....it would be illegal to name a daughter Imma Hogg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ima_Hogg). :D

Finally, the name can not be offensive - this is the most obvious example...
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/simpsons_hitler.jpg

Recently, there was a court case concering a couple that wanted to name their boy Osuma bin Laden (http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/09/05/germany.osama/index.html).


I have a new one.

In some of my Google searches, some people have the surname "Hummer".

Should this surname be banned in Germany?

Ich habe nein, Herr Delta Flyer.

Well, I guess that explains why German automakers use alphanumeric names like 318ti or A6 or E420, or nonsensical names that are claimed to be either extinct tribes or desert winds or the technical names for those little wires inside the toaster that keep your bagel from flopping over onto the heating element and burning your house down or the third eyelid on your cat that, as it's falling asleep, makes it appear as if it has a really bad case of Kitty Kataracts.

If Germany were to ban the name Hummer, though, we would want to respond by banning the name Routan, which sounds like an allergy relief medicine ("Ask your doctor if Routan is right for you. Side effects can include, nausea, difficulty swallowing, nasal drip, trade imbalance, and drop foot.") And no matter what, we should ban "Toureg" and "Tiguan", which sound like sub-species of crocodiles that are unusually prone to launching out of the creek near your house and eating your poodle in one gulp.

I wonder if the "other" meaning of "Hummer" is understood in Germany.

A couple of years ago a friend and I were in a restaurant and I was ranting about Hummers. The teenaged waitress came to take our order during the end of the rant. Oblivious to the "other" meaning, I explained to her that we were talking about Hummers. She gave me a very shocked glance. My friend explained things to me later.