The Civil Court has upheld a woman's request to have the name on her birth certificate changed to Josette after she pleaded that her parents had chosen that name but her parish priest refused it because it was not the name of a saint. She had then been registered in the Public Registry as Josephine.

The woman, 62 next month, said that throughout her life she had always been known as Josette and she had never used the name Josephine.

She presented documents to show that her family had always called her Josette. Even the birth and marriage certificates of one of her daughters showed her as 'Josephine, known as Josette'.

The director of the Public Registry in his pleas said that the claims made by the woman were not attributable to actions by the Public Registry.

The court upheld the woman's request, saying that the evidence showed that she was always known as Josette.