Are they 4real?

Couple face a real battle to name their baby

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/6/story.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10447051

The father of a boy whose name the Births, Deaths, and Marriages department have refused to register says if he was in the public eye, no one would question his choice.

Pat Wheaton has been told he cannot name his son 4Real.

"The name has meaning for us, so why not?" he said, when contacted by the Herald today.

"If it was George Bush's child, or the Dalai Lama's, no one would care what it was called."

The Wheatons said they decided on the name after seeing an ultrasound scan of their baby and realising it was "for real".

They say they chose the spelling "4real" because it was the clearest and simplest way of writing it down.

He said those who expressed fears their child would be bullied were looking at the situation from the point-of-view of an adult.

"Children don't care about that sort of stuff. My nephews are 4 and 6 and they don't have a problem with it - they just know [4Real]'s name. It's more the older generation that have a problem with it."

Pat said he and his wife felt that any difficulties 4Real encountered would not occur until he was older - at which point he would be well equipped to deal with them.