A Swedish couple is battling the country’s tax board for the right to name their 6-month-old daughter “Metallica.”In addition to acting as the Swedish version of the Internal Revenue Service, the Swedish National Tax Board is in charge of the country’s population registry and issuing personal identification numbers, similar to the Social Security numbers used in the United States. As part of that process, the board also gets final approval over the names of children.
After informally checking with two other authorities, Michael and Karolina Tomaro told local newspapers that they didn’t think they would have a problem registering the name, especially since Sweden already has one other girl registered with the middle name Metallica.
The couple's appeal of the order was backed by a county court, but according to the Associated Press, the national tax board has appealed that decision to a higher court, contending that the name is “gross and unflattering,” as well as its being too closely related to the word "metal." The court has said that the previous registration inadvertantly got by them.
Meanwhile, the couple says that the name is partially derived from a combination of their own first names -- and is also fitting for their daughter.
“It suits her,” Karolina Tomaro, told the AP. “She’s decisive, and she knows what she wants.”
The case will now go to the Administrative Court of Appeal. Until the baby is named, the couple has had to postpone their trip to Germany to visit the baby’s grandparents -- because a passport can not be issued to a child without a registered first name.
