Two international stories have made the headlines these past few days, both concerning names given to newly-born children.

The first was that, in London, the most popular name is Mohammed, confirming a trend that has been in the making for quite a few years now, and not only in England.

The second was that a judge in the United States has ordered that the name of a baby be changed from the one given to him by the parents. The baby had been named ‘Messiah’, and the judge ruled that such a name could put him “at odds” with other people. “The word ‘Messiah’ is a title, and it’s a title that has only been earned by one person and that one person is Jesus Christ,” the judge said. This triggered a response from atheists and agnostics who have contested the ruling and filed judicial proceedings against the judge.

The first story has great implications. The immigration phenomenon began to change the social fabric in bigger countries long before it began to affect Malta. What we are experiencing today is what other countries have experienced for decades. Who knows, maybe one day a name that is not traditionally used here will be the most popular name in Malta as well.

It is often said that London is no longer run by Englishmen but by other ethnic groups that initially went there in small numbers but gradually expanded to such an extent that, in many areas of England’s capital city, they are now predominant. The story to which I am referring confirms this.

The growing presence of “foreigners” – and I use the term for clarification, because considering that many have lived in London for decades and their children were born and bred there, “foreigners” is not the appropriate word – has no doubt altered life in London, and in other large cities, both in England and in other European countries.

In their great majority, these “foreigners” have integrated well with their surroundings, found jobs or opened up businesses and earned the respect of the “natives”, those who have been living in England for many generations. Nevertheless, incidents have taken place – some of them linked to race, others to simple misunderstandings that were, however, also labelled as “racist” – that have threatened peace and stability.

Self-preservation and the protection of territory are basic human instincts that often are the cause of trouble, particularly when it is believed that these are under threat. Just as it is natural for people to seek a better way of life, so it is natural for those already living that life to try to safeguard it, particularly when the newcomers try to impose their set of rules on the rest.

I can understand the preoccupation of those who are afraid of the change we are experiencing in our society because of the migration phenomenon. What I cannot condone is that some people go to the extreme of being inhuman towards them. At the same time, neither can I agree with those who apparently want to roll out the red carpet for them.

The second story to which I referred earlier is less complicated, but is also an eye-opener for many Maltese parents who seem to want to stretch the originality of their children’s names beyond reason.

As far as I know, no-one in Malta has dared to call a child “Messiah”; I am sure that the Church and civil authorities would have objected. But we have had children being given names that are downright silly and, I must say, might have their own consequences when these children start mixing with others.

I will not go into specifics to avoid identifying particular people. I am sure that you have come across children with unusual names and some of those children are now adults. These days, this trend has become more apparent, as some children are given names that are simply outrageously unsuitable as the parents desperately seek uniqueness.

A person’s name is something by which he or she will be identified for the rest of his or her life, and the decision taken by the parents should be a responsible one. The wrong choice could be the spark of bullying in the early or teen years, and at a time when this ugly phenomenon is high on the education authorities’ agenda, parents should not be the first to encourage such bad behaviour against their own children by giving them inappropriate names.

Now that I’ve mentioned bullying, allow me a few lines about a subject not connected with the title of this piece – and this is cyber-bullying.

Former Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando has come up with the idea of a campaign against cyber-bullying, and has launched a petition aimed at putting pressure on the lawmakers to enact legislation that will punish those who abuse.

I am sure that JPO means well, although I suspect that his intentions come from the heat he himself cannot take and which, as a person who enjoys being in the news, he should have learnt to accept.

Still, I expect the promoter of such a cause to be the first to set an example if he wants to be taken seriously. The posts he has had on Facebook in the past few days – ever since what has been by and large described as the cheesecake incident – are a form of cyber-bullying that he could have certainly avoided.

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