Swedish couple is banned from calling their son Vladimir Putin by tax authorities

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A Swedish couple have been told that they cannot name their son Vladimir Putin, local media has reported.

The Swedish tax agency, Skatteverket, rejected the couple’s request to name their son Vladimir Putin - the name of the Russian president - according to SR, the country’s public radio broadcaster.

Swedish parents are required to report the names of their newborn children to Skatteverket within the first three months from them being born. This is due to law Naming Law, first enacted in 1982 and updated in 2017.

According to the rules, first names must not be offensive or risk causing discomfort or other problems for the bearer. They also aren’t allowed to clearly resemble surnames.

It also includes “names which for some obvious reason are not suitable as a first name”.

The law also applies for adults who wish to change their name.

The couple, who live in the town of Laholm, southern Sweden, are unsure which of these principles formed the basis of the tax agency’s decision.

Figures from Statistics Sweden show there is a total of 1,413 men named Vladimir in the country. Either fewer than two or none of whom bear the last name Putin (the database does not show specific data below two).

Other names rejected by the agency include Allah,Q, Ford and Pilzner. However, some names that have bypassed the law include Metallica and Google.

The parents must now make a second request for a different name for their newborn son.

According to website Routes North, a travel guide for Scandinavia, which used figures from Sweden’s official statistics bureau, the 10 most popular boy’s names in Sweden are Noah, William, Hugo, Lucas, Liam, Oscar, Oliver, Matteo, Elias and Adam.