State law requires that a baby must either take the surname of its mother or father, and a Department of Public Health lawyer arguing that this must legally prevent Bilal Walk and Elizabeth Handy from naming their daughter ZalyKha Graceful Lorraina Allah.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia sued on the couple’s behalf last month, and on Thursday said that after 23 months they were dropping the suit after the Health Department issued a birth certificate with the desired name to the child.
At the time the ACLU argued that not having a birth certificate would make it difficult for Walk and Handy to enroll their daughter in school, obtain food stamps or receive medical coverage.
The couple’s three-year-old son, Masterful Allah, was able to obtain a birth certificate with no difficulty.
In March, family attorney Michael Baumrind was quoted by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, saying, "The state has no business determining if a name is satisfactory. The parents get to decide the name of the child. Not the state. It is an easy case."
Walk said at the time, "We have to make sure that the state isn’t overstepping their boundaries … It is just plainly unfair and a violation of our rights."
After the certificate was issued, ACLU of Georgia Executive Director Andrea Young said in a news release, "This is an important vindication of parental rights and a long-overdue victory for Elizabeth and Bilal … No one wants to live in a world where the government can dictate what you can and cannot name your child. It goes against our values, the legislature's intent, and the plain language of the law."
Born on March 25, 2015, ZalyKha’s parents say her name was chosen because it was “noble,” and though Allah is the Arabic word for God, they say it has no religious connotation for them.
