The family of Javierre Hernández is celebrating the birth of a son, who came to this world on July 12. However, they were upset to discover that the registrar of Fuenlabrada, a city in the Madrid Metropolitan Area, had obstinately refused to register the newborn under the auspicious name 'Lobo'.
"We are not going to change anything. He was Lobo even before his birth and always will be," the father said flatly, as quoted by Spanish media.
The registry office assured that such a name could harm the boy. However, the decision had been made by one employee, who did not give a clear justification for her refusal.
The family claimed that they had consulted psychologists regarding the matter. According to them, it was up to the parents to raise their son in such a way that he wouldn't be hurt by any schoolyard teasing his name would invite.
When the father turned to the registration body a second time, he was refused again. This time, officials justified their decision by pointing out that Lobo was a surname in Spain, and could not be used as a first name.
"They said if we do not change the name, one of their employees will do it," the couple added.
Despite the fact that 'Lobo' had been registered as a first name in countries such as Brazil, Germany, Scotland and even elsewhere in Spain —a 13-year-old boy named Lobo lives in Catalonia — the office refused to fulfill the request.
The desperate parents, determined not to give up, placed the request on the Internet and started to look for a court to decide whether "the Wolf" was an appropriate name for the boy.
The news reached the national level. Even Pablo Iglesias, the secretary-general of the left-wing Spanish political party Podemos, commented on the case on his Twitter.
"Lobo seems like a wonderful and respectable name to me. If you can be called Paloma (a pigeon) or León (a lion), then why can't you be called Lobo?"
Lobo me parece un nombre precioso y digno. Si te puedes llamar Paloma o León ¿Por qué no Lobo?
— Pablo Iglesias (@Pablo_Iglesias_) 2 августа 2016 г.
The newspaper El Mundo reported that the director-general of the civil registry office and the board of notaries had contacted the parents of little Lobo and announced his intention to compensate them for damage resulting from the mistakes and allow for newborns to be registered under the name "Lobo."
However, the boy's father remains skeptical. "Until I see it written on the paper, I won't believe it," he said.
