An Israeli couple hit a wall at the city hall in Brussels, Belgium, when attempting to register the name of their first-born daughter, Alma Jerusalem. Hagar and Alinadav Hyman have been living in Brussels for the last three years, but wanted to honor their beloved hometown with their child's name.
“We are both Jerusalemites, we grew up in Jerusalem, we met in Jerusalem and we very much miss the city, so we decided to call our first child 'Jerusalem,'” the Hymans told JSSNews.
However, "Jerusalem" is not on Belgium's list of approved baby names. The clerk at Brussels city hall suggested 'Bethlehem' as an alternative, as it does appear on the list of allowed names, but the couple demurred.
Officials told the new parents that they would issue a Belgian birth certificate for Alma Jerusalem if they obtained an official name from the Israeli embassy confirming that 'Jerusalem' is a valid name.
Hagar Hyman pointed out that the Finnish man in line next to him gave his child a moniker that was 25 letters long in his local tongue.
The Hymans aren't the only parents to face trouble from the authorities when choosing a name. Messiah DeShawn Martin's name was changed to Martin DeShawn McCullough by a Tennessee magistrate last week. She claimed, "The word messiah is a title, and it's a title has only been earned by one person, and that one person is Jesus Christ."
Incidentally, Alma Jerusalem is also a 3.5 star rated restaurant in Jerusalem which is renowned for its meat dishes, according to Trip Advisor.
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