‘Messi’ has been outlawed in the city of his birth.
In Rosario, Argentina, the global superstar is a hero and Argentine people want to pay homage to Lionel Messi’s greatness by naming their children after him. Not so fast.
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According to this report from Spanish publication Marca, his home city of Rosario, giving the name “Messi” to newborns has been prohibited. The director of the Civil Register of the Santa Fe province, Gonzalo Carrillo, has stated that no child shall be given the first name “Messi” simply because, it is a last name and should be kept that way.
Apparently, calling your kid “Messi” is against the local law in Rosario but in the south of Argentina a fan of Messi, Hector Varela, recently named his son ‘Messi Daniel Varela.’ Varela had to get special permission to call his son Messi in the Rio Negro region, which was granted after two weeks.
So, in the city Messi has helped to put on the map, fans cannot name their children after him. This ruling seems rather silly and probably won’t stop a lot of people.
Ask yourself this question though, how may girls were named Spears in the U.S. after Britney Spears became popular in the 90s? How many kids in Argentina were called Maradona after Diego Maradona’s exploits back in the 80s? Hmm, maybe not. But there sure were a lot of Britney’s and Diego’s around.
If people want to idolize Messi and name their children after the Barcelona star, why not? The city of Rosario needs to take a step back, relax and let it happen.
Soon enough, there could be a whole team of ‘Messi’s’ out there for Argentina. Only their first names, though...