Italian court: Boy cannot be named Friday

ROME, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- A court in Italy ruled Wednesday that a couple cannot name their son Venerdi, which means Friday.

Italy's supreme court, the Cassation Court, said the name Friday, which is taken from the famous Robinson Crusoe character, was ''ridiculous, susceptible to irony and mockery and liable to cause serious harm to the person who bears it,'' ANSA reported.

The high court said the Robinson Crusoe character is one characterized by "subservience and inferiority, who would never reach the condition of a civilized man,'' the Italian news service reported.

The judges ordered the couple to call the child Gregorio, after the saint's day he was born on.

The head of the Italian Association of Matrimonial Lawyers said Italian law mandates name changes ''when the child's name is likely to limit social interaction and create insecurity.''