In a landmark decision, a Kenyan court has ruled that both parents must jointly decide on their child’s name, affirming that no single parent has the exclusive right to name a child without the other’s input.
Justice Hilary Chemitei, who issued the ruling, underscored the importance of shared responsibility in child naming, especially within the context of today’s evolving family structures including inter-racial marriages, co-parenting arrangements, and single-parent households.
He cautioned that excluding one parent from the naming process could harm a child’s emotional and psychological well-being, either in the short or long term.
The court made the ruling in a case brought forward in August last year by a man identified in court as CKM. He accused his wife, SW, of naming their youngest daughter without consulting him, breaking both tradition and trust.
CKM and SW were married in December 2012 and have five children together. However, the naming of their fifth child sparked a legal dispute when SW registered the girl’s birth using names CKM had not agreed to.
In his ruling, Justice Chemitei sided with CKM, stating that the right to name a child belongs equally to both parents. He gave the couple 30 days to agree on a suitable name. If they fail to reach a consensus, the judge said the father would make the final decision, and the Registrar of Births and Deaths must implement it.
“The issue of names and naming is a right generally bestowed upon the parents,” Justice Chemitei stated. “It is a right which cannot be derogated or transferred to any third party unless otherwise shown.”
The judge further emphasized that even though the mother carried and gave birth to the child, that fact alone does not give her the unilateral authority to assign names without the father’s involvement.
Citing African cultural norms, Justice Chemitei reiterated that naming is traditionally a joint effort between both parents and should remain so unless such customs are proven to be harmful or discriminatory.
The disagreement began when SW chose a feminine Japanese name combined with two Kikuyu names for their daughter. CKM, however, favored a different naming style. He proposed a French feminine name, a saint’s name, and a third name to honor his father, an approach consistent with how the couple had named their other children.
CKM also informed the court that he had covered all medical expenses during the child’s birth in April 2023. He feared the official birth certificate would be issued without his father’s name, disrupting a cherished family tradition.
Feeling sidelined, CKM sought a court order compelling the Registrar of Births and Deaths to remove the names his wife submitted and replace them with names mutually agreed upon.
The ruling now sets a precedent, reaffirming that child naming in Kenya must be a mutual decision grounded in shared parental rights.
