单项选择题

Devil, V8, Anal, Christ: these are among the baby names 1 by New Zealand"s department of internal affairs, who recently 2 a 3 list of those disallowed by registrars in the past ten years.
Few decisions are more 4 than the naming of offspring. Yet laws 5 the choice of both first names and surnames are not 6 around the world. Denmark expects new parents to choose from a register of acceptable names; Portugal lists banned and approved ones. German registrars prohibit the use of most nouns and place-names, and also frown 7 any that do not clearly imply a gender: bad luck, Kim.
Governments argue that these rules prevent children being 8 with absurd names that may cause them problems in later life. They also aim to block names that might cause 9 to others. In 2009 a couple in New Jersey lost custody of a boy they had named Adolf Hitler.
10 concerns play a role, too. Government databases may struggle with long names: New Zealand allows 100 characters for all first names; the state of Massachusetts has a 11 of 40 for each. Chinese face a particular difficulty: their language has tens of thousands of characters, but a name that uses 12 or rare ones can mean computer problems.
Whether these decisions make any difference is another matter. A study in 2002 suggested that individuals may be influenced by their first names, without even being 13 of it. A disproportionate number of girls named Georgia live in the American state that 14 their name; boys named Dennis may be slightly 15 likely to become dentists than those called Walter (and Georges seem to have a 16 for geology). Academics with surnames in the 17 half of alphabet are more likely to get good university jobs (the authors of papers are listed alphabetically). Ballot papers that list politicians" names that way also show a 18 effect.
But reinvention beckons. Britain"s chancellor was born Gideon Osborne; aged 13, he became George. The UK Deed Poll Service, a legal firm, in 2011 helped 60,000 Britons rename themselves (fees start at ￡33, around $50); it was only 5,000 a decade before. American courts report similar trends. Some such applicants may wish to 19 their parents" expectations, while others may regret they were not given a more 20 name.