How to check Australian name registration rules before registering

If you are about to register a newborn’s name, change your own name, or change a child’s name, check the naming restrictions before you lodge the rules below come from the current naming-restrictions page published by the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria (BDM Victoria). That page was updated on 10 September 2026.

This guide is a verification aid, not a nationwide summary of every Australian registry and not legal advice. If your application is handled outside Victoria, use this article as a prompt to ask the responsible registry for its current naming rules rather than assuming the same rules apply.

Who decides and under what law

In Victoria, BDM decides whether a name can be registered. BDM Victoria says the vast majority of names chosen by parents for a child, or by people for themselves, can be registered. However, some names are classed as prohibited under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996. Where a name is determined to be prohibited, BDM says it will not register that name.

The Registrar or a delegate decides each case. BDM says it considers matters including cultural, family or community meaning, whether the name can be used in daily life and on official documents, how people in the community will understand the name, whether it could confuse, harm or offend people or conflict with laws, and human rights.

Names BDM says it will not usually register

BDM groups its concerns into three broad categories. It says it will not usually register a name that is:

• obscene or offensive;
• unable to be reasonably used in the community; or
• contrary to the public interest.

Obscene or offensive names

BDM says it will not usually register names that contain swear words or rude language, reference violent, lewd or sexual acts, or name or describe illegal substances, criminal activity or known criminal matters. It also lists names likely to insult, humiliate, offend or intimidate people based on race, culture, gender, sexuality, religion, disability or victims of crime.

Names that cannot reasonably be used

Some names are refused because they are impractical for daily use or on official documents. BDM says a name must be easy to use in conversation, on forms and on identity documents such as birth certificates, driver licences, passports and Medicare cards.

BDM publishes these limits:

BDM also says it will not usually register names containing numbers or symbols that do not form normal words. Its examples of disallowed elements include ordinals such as “1st”, “2nd” or “3rd”; Roman numerals such as “XVII”; numbers written into words such as “5myth”; and symbols such as ?, !, @, %, $, &, *, <, ® and ©.

There are exceptions. BDM says some symbols are allowed when they are commonly used in names, for example a hyphen used to hyphenate names such as Emily-Rose, or an apostrophe where phonetic, familiar or cultural significance applies, such as D’Andre.

Other reasons BDM may refuse

BDM may also refuse names that:

• use non-English characters or writing systems, which may include diacritical marks or accents;
• include acronyms, especially where they may refer to an organisation or appear to be an incomplete shortened name;
• form a statement or phrase, such as “May The Force Be With You”;
• form a sentence, such as “Jack Goes Surfing in Fiji”; or
• are greetings, such as “Nice To Meet You”.

Names that go against the public interest

BDM lists several public-interest concerns. A name may be refused where it may:

• mislead people, such as by containing an official title, position or rank;
• cause social disharmony, such as by using a religious title or figure’s name;
• be chosen for a fraudulent or improper purpose;
• conflict with other laws or registration regimes, such as trademarks, business name registration or copyright; BDM also gives a political slogan as an example;
• refer to official documents or processes, such as “Passport” or “Driver Licence”;
• cause harm, such as a perpetrator copying the name of the victim of their crime; or
• confuse people, such as “Not Stated”.

BDM gives examples of titles it does not allow as names, including judicial, military and civil law enforcement titles such as Judge, Commander, Commissioner, Sheriff, Colonel and Inspector; religious titles and categories such as God, Saint, Imam, Dalai Lama, Pope, Guru, Jesus Christ, Goddess, Father, Sister and Satan; royal titles such as Queen/King, Sultan, Maharaja, Chief and Emperor/Empress; political titles such as Premier, President, Prime Minister, Senator, Chairman, Caliph and Chancellor; and professional titles such as Elder, Professor, Doctor, Advocate, Engineer and Director.

Human rights factors BDM says it considers

BDM says its policy does not include every possible rule and that it aims to balance personal choice with fairness, inclusion and community standards. It identifies several human-rights matters relevant to naming decisions, including:

• recognition and equality before the law, section 8;
• privacy and reputation, section 13;
• freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief, section 14;
• freedom of expression, section 15;
• protection of families and children, section 17;
• cultural rights, section 19; and
• obligations on public authorities, section 38.

On cultural rights, BDM specifically says Aboriginal Victorians have distinct cultural rights to maintain identity, family ties, and connection to land and community. On freedom of expression, BDM says it respects a person’s right to express who they are, but may still refuse to register a name that is prohibited.

What happens if a name is refused

BDM says that if it determines not to register a name, it will explain why, listen to your reasons, and may try to help you find a new name that keeps the meaning but is not prohibited and can be registered. It also says it will tell you how to ask for a review if you disagree.

If a child’s name will not be registered and the parents do not give a new name, BDM says the Registrar may choose a name so the birth can be registered. If you apply to change your own name or your child’s name, BDM says it will not approve the change if the new name is not allowed, and the current name will stay the same. BDM also states that the Registrar has the legal right to refuse a name considered prohibited under the law.

Asking for a review

If you disagree with a BDM Victoria decision, the source points to its Feedback, Complaints and Review of Decisions process.

• Registrar review: you can write to ask the Registrar to review the decision, clearly explaining why you think it should be changed.
• External review: if you are not happy with the Registrar’s decision, BDM says you may make a complaint to the Victorian Ombudsman, or apply to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). It says you should usually try to resolve the issue with BDM first; the Ombudsman will usually look at a complaint only after BDM has had a fair chance to fix the problem.
• VCAT deadline: BDM states that a VCAT application must be made within 28 days after the Registrar’s decision and must follow the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998.

These review routes are described in the BDM Victoria source. This guide does not describe review routes for registries outside Victoria.

Questions to verify before you register

Use these questions as a pre-lodgement checklist:

• Which registry is responsible for my registration, and where does it publish its current naming restrictions?
• Is the proposed name obscene, offensive, misleading, harmful or otherwise against the public interest?
• Does it contain symbols, numbers, acronyms, accents or non-English characters?
• Is it a title, phrase, sentence, greeting, or a reference to an official document or process?
• If I am applying under BDM Victoria rules, does it fit the character, name-count and hyphenation limits?
• Could it conflict with trademarks, business name registration, copyright or other legal regimes?
• Can I explain the cultural, family or community meaning of the name if asked?
• If my registration is outside Victoria, have I asked the relevant registry what its current rules and review process are?

Practical next steps

1. Start with the BDM Victoria naming-restrictions page and the linked Prohibited Names Policy if you need the full policy.
2. Test the proposed name against the categories above, especially length, symbols, titles, statements, public-interest concerns and conflicts with other legal regimes.
3. If the name is borderline, ask BDM Victoria how the policy is applied before lodging, rather than assuming approval.
4. If the name is refused, ask for the reasons in writing and follow the Registrar review process.
5. If you remain unhappy, check the BDM Victoria source for the current external review options and time limits.
6. If your registration is handled outside Victoria, contact the responsible registry and ask where its current naming restrictions and review information are published.

This article is general information only. It is not legal advice and does not guarantee that any name will be registered. Registry rules can change, and BDM Victoria makes decisions case by case. Australian Name is not BDM Victoria, a registry, court, tribunal, government body, regulator, law firm, lender or broker. Always confirm the current official source before registering a name or applying to change one.