October 3rd, 2016

You can register your child’s name in any language providing you use any Unicode character

As late as 2015, the rules in Northern Ireland regarding registering the birth of a baby [when the site asks, say you want the Mobile version] specify that “You can register your child’s name in any language providing you use any Unicode character.”

A friend of mine was tempted to see how far he could push that rule.

Could you really name your child U+2603 SNOWMAN or U+1F4A9 PILE OF POO or U+1D5EB MATHEMATICAL SANS-SERIF BOLD CAPITAL X?

And you thought Little Bobby Tables was confusing. Imagine the havoc you could create by naming your child U+200F RIGHT-TO-LEFT-MARK or U+FFFD REPLACEMENT CHARACTER or U+FEFF BYTE ORDER MARK!

This month marks the 25th birthday of Unicode.

The original link appears no longer to be valid. Were people naming their kid U+1F4A9 PILE OF POO? The current rules do not mention the “any Unicode character” part.

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Raymond has been involved in the evolution of Windows for more than 30 years. In 2003, he began a Web site known as The Old New Thing which has grown in popularity far beyond his wildest imagination, a development which still gives him the heebie-jeebies. The Web site spawned a book, coincidentally also titled The Old New Thing (Addison Wesley 2007). He occasionally appears on the Windows Dev Docs Twitter account to tell stories which convey no useful information.

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