Dad Fights to Change Daughter's Very Odd Name

An infant without a known parent or guardian is often given what the New York Times calls "a nonsensical placeholder name" that's quickly changed once a legal guardian is established. The name given to a baby girl born Nov. 5, 2022, at a home in Council Bluffs, Iowa, for instance, was Unakite Thirteen Hotel. But for Unakite, whom her father calls Caroline, the name has stuck. Biological father Jason Kilburn, who gained custody of the child from the state of Nebraska, where she'd been placed with a foster family, said he only then discovered his daughter had never been issued a Social Security number or a proper birth certificate. She had only an unofficial certificate of live birth, per NBC News.

It's unclear who dropped the ball. But without a usable birth certificate or Social Security number, Kilburn says it's been nearly impossible to get his daughter's name changed from the "computer-generated" one applied by the hospital, where the child had arrived without her biological mother, who was then experiencing drug abuse and homelessness. More concerning, he says he's been unable to obtain health insurance, child care, speech therapy, and other services for his daughter, as no one can verify her identity. "It's like she's a ghost," Kilburn, who isn't working due to a heart problem, tells NBC, noting he had to pay $700 out of pocket for a recent checkup for his daughter.

"It's been very, very taxing," he tells NBC. His lawyer, Joshua Livingston, says his client has been caught in "a circuitous, bureaucratic loop." Thankfully, recent media attention to the case has aided Kilburn's communication with government officials. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services says it's working with Livingston to resolve the issue, per the Times. The Social Security Administration also claimed Monday that it was "reaching out" to Kilburn, though he said he hadn't heard from them, per NBC. For now, at least, Caroline doesn't exist legally. But "I will keep working as hard as I can to get my daughter the documents she needs," Kilburn tells the Times. (More name change stories.)