Editor in chief at IamExpat Media
Since the Amazon voice assistant arrived on the market, the name “Alexa” has really fallen out of favour as a German girl name. But what about those who are already stuck with the name? According to one court in Germany, the annoyance is enough to warrant a name change.
Millions of people across Germany are now the owners of Alexa voice assistants - little gadgets that begin listening when you say, “Alexa!” Useful, for sure, but if you just so happen to be called Alexa, it’s more annoying - and can make your life downright unpleasant.
This was the case heard by a court in Germany recently, which ruled that a child should be allowed to change her name after enduring years of teasing at daycare, being ordered about on the playground, and even receiving unprompted commands from strangers on the street.
The little girl was born in Göttingen six years ago, and given her name when Alexa devices were just coming onto the market in Germany. When she was around four years old, according to a report in Bild, her parents applied to the city to have her name changed. The application was rejected on the grounds that there was no real reason for it.
The family appealed to the administrative court, which, after hearing details of how the girl’s life has been made difficult by her name, ruled that the girl was “emotionally burdened.” According to Berliner Zeitung, the court said, “The name is not only apt to form a pun, but rather invites the issuing of insulting and demeaning orders.”
The girl’s new name is not known, but we can presume that Siri, Cortana and Bixby are all off the list.
Since the Amazon voice assistant came to market in 2014, the name Alexa has fallen significantly in popularity in Germany. A survey from 2021 found that 79 percent of participants said they would probably not choose the name when registering their child’s birth.