Well, call me corrected.

I was under the impression that you could name your baby or yourself, for that matter, anything you wanted, but boy was I wrong.  New England parents need to know that these names are off the table.

Massachusetts

According to babynamequest.com, in Massachusetts, you can use any letters you like in your baby's name, but if they are not in the standard English keyboard, they are out.

I can't even tell you what the off-limit letters are because, well, I have a standard English keyboard.

New Hampshire

In New Hampshire, despite its 'Live Free or Die' mentality, you can't use more than 100 characters in your baby's name.  Who would do that anyway?

Can you imagine he/she in kindergarten trying to spell their name for the first time?

All the other kids are waiting around for them to finish because they have names like Adam and Josh.

Vermont

The Green Mountain State is a little more flexible when it comes to naming your baby, but they still have opinions.  Vermont says you MAY use trademarked names like "Bubble Wrap" or "Velcro" or "Weedwacker."

You can also use disease names like "Measles" or "Hepatitis B."

You can even name you babies obscenities, but the state has enough good sense to "highly recommend against it."

Rhode Island

For a small state, this one is complicated (meaning I had to look up what this means).  According to babynamequest.com, the state doesn't allow diacritical marks on a birth certificate.  Here's the definition, according to vocabulary.com:

Diacritical marks can be squiggles, lines, or dots, and they can hover above a letter or be attached to it.

Connecticut

Laws are pretty loose in the Constitution State when it comes to naming your baby.  They say you can choose any name you want as long as it's not fraudulent or being used for evil purposes.  You also have to use English characters.

Where's Maine?

Maybe Maine ought to adopt New Hampshire's state motto when it comes to livin' free, because there are no restrictions to naming your baby EXCEPT for the federal laws.

Here are some examples of what you can't name your baby no matter what state you live in, according to usbirthcertificates.com. 

  • King
  • Queen
  • Jesus Christ
  • III
  • Santa Claus
  • Majesty
  • Adolf Hitler
  • Messiah
  • @
  • 1069

One more note on illegal baby names.  Apparently, my name, Sarah, is illegal in Morocco.  Yup, according to Reader's Digest, if the name is spelled the Hebrew way (with an H), then it's off-limits.  If it does not have an H, it's all good.

LOOK: Baby names losing popularity in the 21st century

Stacker took a look at the names losing popularity in the 21st century, using data from the Social Security Administration.

Gallery Credit: Stacker

LOOK: Unique baby names from the year you were born

Stacker highlighted one of the least-used baby names from each year between 1950 and 2022, using data from the Social Security Administration.

Gallery Credit: Stacker