Blaer Bjarkardottir, 15, now can use her given name again, thanks to a court ruling in her native country of Iceland. Iceland, as do a handful of countries, restricts what babies born in its country can be named—presumably to protect the country’s language. A girl couldn’t be named Christy, for instance, because there is no “C” in Iceland’s alphabet. In this case, Blaer is an Icelandic word, meaning “light breeze.” It simply wasn’t on the government’s list of approved names for girls. If she were a boy, it might’ve been a different story: A panel judged the word to be a masculine name, unfit for a girl. Blaer and her mother took the matter to court, and the court overturned the government’s decision—thus opening the door for other parents who’d like to name their girls Blaer.”I’m very happy,” she said. “I’m glad this is over. Now I expect I’ll have to get new identity papers.” (ABC News)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife, Wendy, and two children. Follow him on Twitter.