A British bloke thought it would be quite a laff to have his name legally changed from Kenny Kennard to Fu-Kennard several years ago. Unfortunately, the UK’s HM Passport Office didn’t find it funny and has denied him a passport.
Fu-Kennard appealed the decision three times to no avail.
“Now I’m skint with no passport, like a prisoner in my own country,” he told the New Zealand Herald. “On the one hand, I find the whole thing funny – as do all of my friends. But I’m also finding it hard to believe the name could be construed as anything but funny and slightly ridiculous. It’s just a joke.”
According to government guidelines, a passport can be denied due to “names that may cause outrage or offence” including “the use of swear words” and “this applies phonetic, as well as actual use of words comprising of part or the entire name.”
When he was 16, Fu-Kennard (then Kenny Kennard) changed his name to “Coco Kenny” but apparently “was forced to change it after he joined the army at age 19 because it was ‘immature.'”
