New Zealand has been creating a list of baby names submitted for approval and declined by The Department of Internal Affairs. Unlike the official banned name lists maintained by other countries, New Zealand simply keeps a tally of names the department has declined in the past – and will decline again in the future. As of May 2013, the list contained 71 names – including single letters and punctuation marks.

Before getting more stringent on acceptable baby names, parents in New Zealand selected the following for their children:

• Benson and Hedges (brand of cigarettes), given to a pair of twins
• Violence
• Number 16 Bus Shelter
• Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii

For this round of the ‘Name Game’ (details can be found on my first Name Game posting), I have selected the name Lucifer from the New Zealand banned (rejected) names list. What follows is a list of 50 alternatives to the name Lucifer. These options range from the mundane to the unusual, but they all have some similarity in meaning – minus the association with Biblical fallen angels.

Banned Name: Lucifer

• Cultural meaning: A name attributed to Satan, devils and evil beings.
• Translated Meaning:  Shining one, morning star, bright one, Venus (the planet).
• Religious: Found in the Old Testament of the Bible and commonly interpreted to be the name of Satan before the fall of the Angels from heaven.

Part 1: Shining or Bright

• Light: Abner, Ignatius, Kiran, Lucian, Lux, Lucius, Raiden, Zohar
• Shining: Alucio, Chan, Dalbert, Kasi, Munir, Seabert, Uberto
• Bright: Akeno, Albert, Berwyn, Birch, Brighton, Colbert, Delvin, Morgan, Robert, Sherwin, Wilbert

Part 2: Star, planet or Venus

• Star: Merrit, Rigel, Sirius, Starr, Altair
• Planet: Cairo, Saturnin, Ares, Marcus, Mark, Martin, Joven, Atlas, Astro

Part 3: Angel, trickster (clever or wise)

• Angel: Angel, Cael, Michael, Raphael, Racheil
• Clever: Pratt, Wylie, Rasmus
• Wise: Conrad, Sage

(C) Adora Myers 2014