Published: 20th October 2005 15:40 CET I name this baby “Google” When search engine expert Elias Kai and his wife Carol were thinking about what to call their new-born baby, they wanted to find a name with a difference – and unusually, they ended up naming him after an internet search engine.
Google Kai was born in the Swedish town of Kalmar on 12th September.
Elias Kai, who is Lebanese and a loyal reader of The Local, says that he’s a “great fan” of the search engine, but says the name means more to him than that.
“Googol means 1 followed by 100 zeros, and I want my son to have lots of friends – I want him to be social, so the name also symbolises this.”
“Besides, it’s original,” he adds.
“Carol knows how serious I am, and knows how much I love Google services,” Elias insists.
As befits his celebrity status, Google Kai even has his own website, complete with photos and a blog.
The search engine’s owners professed to be delighted at the news of the first Google baby.
“We wish him long life and good health, and hope his schoolmates aren't too hard on him,” the company’s in-house blogger wrote.
The Swedish tax authority, known for being sniffy about allowing unusual baby names, did not stand in the way of the Kais.
“They just thought it was funny,” Elias told The Local.
Perhaps fortunately for young Google, he will have a couple of other names to choose from if his parents’ chosen moniker doesn’t suit him – Elias and Carol have also given him the names Oliver Christian.
There aren’t any nicknames for baby Google yet, although Elias says he’s giving it some thought.
“Googlie might be nice,” he says.
As for names for Google’s potential future siblings, Elias and Carol say that Boogol, Giggol and Gaggol are all possibilities.
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News from Sweden in English
A Swedish Lebanese couple, Walid Elias and Carol Kai, has chosen to name their first born son Google, after the well-known search engine.

The Swedish tax authority, which normally frowns on unusal names, apparently had no objections.

The father, Walid Elias Kai, says he's a "great fan" of the search engine and wanted to honor the service by naming his son after it.  But Mr. Kai says he and his wife also chose the name because of the similar word googol. "Googol means 1 followed by 100 zeroes," stated Mr. Kai, "and I want my son to have lots of friends  – I want him to be social, so the name also symbolises this."

Upon hearing the news, authors of the Google weblog wrote, "We wish him long life and good health, and hope his schoolmates aren't too hard on him."

Google Kai already has his own website at  http://www.google-kai.com/