Enter taxman: ‘Metallica’ as baby name axed

updated 2:34 p.m. ET April 3, 2007

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Metallica may work as a name for a heavy metal band, but a Swedish couple is struggling to convince authorities it’s also suitable for a baby girl.

Sweden’s tax agency rejected Michael and Karolina Tomaro’s application to name their 6-month-old daughter after the legendary rock band, whose hits include “Enter Sandman.”

“It suits her,” Karolina Tomaro, 27, said Tuesday of the name. “She’s decisive, and she knows what she wants.”

Although little Metallica has already been baptized, the Swedish National Tax Board refused to register the name, saying it was associated with both the rock group and the word “metal.”

In Sweden, parents must get the names of their children approved by the tax authority, which is in charge of the population registry and issues personal identification numbers, similar to Social Security numbers in the United States.

Tomaro, who has appealed the decision, said the official handling the case also called the name ugly.

The couple was backed by the County Administrative Court in Goteborg, which ruled March 13 that there was no reason to block the name. It also noted there already is a woman in Sweden with Metallica as a middle name.

The tax agency appealed to a higher court, frustrating the family’s foreign travel plans.

“We’ve had to cancel trips and can’t get anywhere because we can’t get her a passport without an approved name,” Tomaro said.

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