And let his name be called in Israel — or Jordan

The Atlantic revisits the case of a Muslim Jordanian child whose parents named him Yitzhak Rabin in 1996, though not without a fight:

The state registrar initially refused to give the infant a Jewish name, but changed its position after the Interior Minister said the request was legal.

[The boy’s father, Rajai] Saeed reportedly lost his job on a farm when he tried to name his son after Rabin.

 Lest we be quick to rag on Jordanian naming restrictions, Israel has also found itself in a curious position over baby names.

After a brief dispute in 2003, the Interior Ministry branch in Hadera allowed an Israeli Arab couple to name their child Saddam Hussein.

Of course, not every unique baby naming in Israel — or in honor of Israeli officials — has been met with controversy:

In 1938, a baby girl born on an Egged Bus in Palestine was given a free lifetime pass on Egged busses. Her name: Eggedah.

A Togolese baby named Moshe? Yup. The 1968 headline says it all: “Prominent Citizens of Togo name their children after personalities in Israel

Adam Soclof is JTA’s Associate Director of Outreach and Partnerships and coordinates presentations and advertising/marketing opportunities for the news agency. A digital archives enthusiast, Adam has authored more than 300 blog posts for The JTA Archive Blog and was responsible for its social media presence and weekly newsletter, This Week in Jewish History. Adam has presented at several conferences in the form of game shows, interactive social media campaigns and Powerpoint presentations. Follow him on Twitter: @hypersem