Marufuku kumpa mwanao jina la Linda, Alice,Maya, Amir

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, who has 38 children by many wives, is pictured with the Queen in London in 2007. His country has no problem with the name Elizabeth

Saudi Arabia has issued a list of 50 names new parents are banned from giving their children, including Linda, Lauren, Sandy and Amir.

The Arab nation's interior ministry justified the ban by saying the names either contradicted the culture or religion of the kingdom, or were foreign, or 'inappropriate'.

Among the others are Alice, Elaine and Maya and Binyamin, the Arabic name for Benjamin.

The names fit into at least three categories: those that offend perceived religious sensibilities, those that are affiliated to royalty and those that are of non-Arabic or non-Islamic origin

THE CHILDREN'S NAMES NOW BANNED IN SAUDI ARABIA

Malaak (angel) , Abdul Aati, Abdul Naser, Abdul Musleh, Nabi (prophet)

Nabiyya (female prophet), Amir (prince), Sumuw (highness), Al Mamlaka (the kingdom), Malika (queen), Mamlaka (kingdom), Tabarak (blessed)

Nardeen, Maya, Linda, Randa, Basmala (utterance of the name of God), Taline, Aram, Nareej, Rital, Alice, Sandy, Rama (Hindu god), Maline

Elaine, Inar, Maliktina, Lareen, Kibrial, Lauren, Binyamin (Arabic for Benjamin), Naris, Yara, Sitav, Loland, Tilaj, Barrah, Abdul Nabi, Abdul Rasool, Jibreel (angel Gabriel), Abdul Mu’een, Abrar, Iman, Bayan, Baseel, Wireelam.