SHOCKING! School changes girl's name because it was ‘too hard to pronounce’

In a shocking incident, a school changed the name of a five-year-old girl because they found the name of the girl “too hard” to pronounce. Mahinarangi Tautu, five, mother Paris did not like the nursery's decision to change her daughter's name to “Rangi”, reported News.com.au.

Paris said that her daughter's name is traditional of their Ngāti Raukawa heritage, a Maori tribe in New Zealand

“I am sad that in 2021, in Aotearoa, a 5-year-old girl has lost the pride that comes with her beautiful name,” the woman wrote in a Facebook post, The NZ Herald reported.

Paris added that Mahinarangi’s name is often mispronounced and her peers also mock her due to her name. She added that this mocking leaves her “embarrassed”.

“Can you imagine your child being too embarrassed to say their name because people won’t make a decent effort to pronounce it properly?” Paris said.

“It made me so angry, especially because they’d use te ao Māori resources in her classes,” she added.

Paris said that her ancestors had often faced similar 'harassment' and this made her determined to not let the same thing happen to her daughter.

“My ancestors changed their original name from Perepe-Perana to Phillips because of colonisation,” Tautu told the NZ Herald. “I will not let something similar happen with my daughter.”

Mahinarangi’s name translates to “moon in the sky”.