Justin Bieber is changing his name.
The reason: His parents said they made a mistake when they named the boy.
Of course, it’s not the 22-year-old Canadian pop star who is seeking a name change.
It’s a 2-year-old in Omaha.
The boy’s parents, who are from Myanmar, formerly called Burma, requested a do-over, filing a formal petition for a name change this month in Douglas County District Court.
Interviewed by phone, a family friend, Htoo Wah, told The World-Herald that Bieber’s parents, who speak minimal English, had Bieber fever when they named their child while in a Burmese refugee camp in Thailand.
In fact, Wah said, scores of Asians in Myanmar and Thailand love the pop sensation.
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In their petition for a name change, Bieber’s parents said they fear that American kids won’t be as receptive to little Justin Bieber.
“We made a mistake when we named him in the refugee camp and now realize he doesn’t have a good name to live in America,” his mother wrote.
Justin Bieber wouldn’t be the first child to have his pop-culture-inspired name changed. A few years back, a young Omahan successfully changed the name his father had given him: Speedy Gonzales. The young man wrote that he had heard that Speedy Gonzales was once a popular cartoon character, but he didn’t dig it.
Once a judge approves Bieber’s name change — almost all judges do, as long as the request isn’t to dodge law enforcement or creditors — the child will retain the first name Justin.
But Bieber’s parents chose a more traditional last name for him: Ehlawsoe.
Wah said that Justin’s new name, in his parents’ language of Karen, means: Love forever.
Contact the writer: 402-444-1275, todd.cooper@owh.com
