A family with the surname Lauterbach have named their 11th-born child Karl in a quiet plea to be recognised by the federal government's Health Minister, Karl Lauterbach, the face of Germany’s cautious measures against coronavirus and engineer of the country’s new cannabis legalisation legislation.

Baby named after German Health Minister

Once it comes to the 11th child, what’s in a name? On March 10, 2023, Elise Lauterbach and her husband welcomed their 11th child into the world and seized an opportunity they had been too hesitant to take with their 10 previous newborns, they named their son Karl.

While the baby’s father wanted a German name, Elise thought ‘Karl’ was nice and would fit well. Now, in their home in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the cotton socks of little Karl Lauterbach can be heard pitter-pattering their way into some big shoes.

“The minister in Berlin can quietly take notice of us”, Elise Lauterbach told the Ostsee Zeitung, admitting that the decision was a bit of a provocation.

Karl Lauterbach is still waiting for his Kindergeld

Now the passing provocation is proving to have been a handy decision since the Lauterbach family is still waiting to receive Kindergeld (child benefits) for their youngest child, two months after he was born.

The mother of 0-year-old Karl says she would like to take her son on a trip to see 60-year-old Karl, to tell him about the delay in person. 

The Lauterbach family haven’t had it easy in the past few years. While Karl was born with some health conditions but is now well, the parents recently lost another daughter, Kathy, to sudden infant death syndrome.

Thumb image credit: Juergen Nowak / Shutterstock.com