Mother Jailed in Norway for Giving Her Son an Unusual Name

In Norway, a mother of many children was sentenced to prison because of the unusual name she chose for her son. This was reported by RIA Novosti .

According to reports, Kirsti Larsen had a dream before the birth of her thirteenth child. She said that in the dream, a voice advised her to name her future son Brij (Bridge — translated from English as “bridge”). After that, the woman decided to choose the Hebrew equivalent of the word, the name Gesher .

However, Norwegian authorities did not allow the child to be given this name. According to them, the name was too “foreign” for the country and, under current legislation, could negatively affect the child’s future life.

The woman disagreed with the decision and tried to overturn it in court. However, the court rejected her claim and imposed a fine of approximately 1,600 kroner (168 US dollars). Kirsti Larsen refused to pay the fine.

“If we had paid the fine, we would have admitted that we were guilty,” the woman said.

Because the fine was not paid, the court replaced it with a two-day prison sentence.

For context, Norway’s laws on naming were adopted in the 19th century. They give state authorities the right to reject names considered potentially harmful to a child’s future or deemed inconvenient.