Australian journalist shocked to discover she named her son ‘Methamphetamine Rules’

Naming a child is a massive task, as whatever a parent chooses will stay with them through their lives. So what happens when you name your child “Methamphetamine Rules”?

Australian ABC journalist Kirsten Drysdale was investigating a much-asked question for the viewers of the local WTFAQ program. One question that consistently came up was “What can I legally name my baby?” and Drysdale was eager to get to the bottom of it.

Pregnant with her third child at the time of her inquiry, the journalist was looking into whether the New South Wales, Australia Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages had a default name for a child if a name chosen by their parents was rejected. Think Jane/John Doe in the United States.

Drysdale wasn’t getting a satisfactory answer from the registrar’s media team and decided that the birth of her child would be the perfect way to figure out how the system works. Thus, she set out to pick the most offensive name she could muster, something so horrifying that it would surely set off every red flag in the system and be rejected immediately.

Something, perhaps, like “Methamphetamine Rules”.

“We thought, what is the most outrageous name we can think of that will definitely not be accepted?” the journalist explained to news.com.au. “Methamphetamine Rules we thought would surely get rejected, and then when it does, we can find out what name the Registrar chooses. It was really just a lighthearted, curious attempt to get an answer to this question.

Imagine her shock when the name was actually accepted “very quickly” and she received a birth certificate.

“I don’t know how it slipped through,” she said. “I’m not sure if someone was overworked, or if it was automated somewhere. Or possibly, maybe they thought Methamphetamine was a Greek name. They haven’t really given us a clear answer.”

Eventually, the oversight was recognized and corrected, but Drysdale isn’t giving out the real name of “Baby Meth” because she doesn’t want him to know what happened until he’s old enough.

“It’s a beautiful name and I can tell you has nothing to do with class A drugs,” she snarked. “We think it’ll be a very unique 21st birthday present to tell him this story.”

As for the NSW registry bureau, well they were forced to update and revamp their name approval process, though they assured the public that this is an incredibly rare situation.

“The Registry has since strengthened its processes in response to this highly unusual event,” their spokesperson explained. “The vast majority of parents do not choose a name for their newborn baby that is obscene, offensive or contrary to the public interest.”