When Jason Kilburn searched for his toddler daughter’s birth certificate, he was shocked to find that because of an error, she was legally named “Unakite Thirteen Hotel.” To make matters worse, she had no social security number.
What stemmed from a mix of unfortunate circumstances and bureaucratic confusion has for Mr. Kilburn turned into a monthslong back-and-forth with government agencies to procure a simple identification document for his daughter, whom he calls Caroline.
Mr. Kilburn, 49, of Valley, Neb., learned over two years ago that a woman he dated had given birth to a daughter that may have been his. The baby was born at a home in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Nov. 5, 2022. The mother, who had struggled with homelessness and drug abuse, was not in a position to care for her baby and she did not join her baby when a friend arranged for the newborn to be taken to a nearby hospital, court records said.
The hospital gave her a temporary, nonsensical name that appeared to be generated by a computer, said Mr. Kilburn’s lawyer, Joshua Livingston. The name was Unakite Thirteen Hotel.
She remained with the state authorities until custody was granted to Mr. Kilburn, after he was confirmed as her biological father. He then began a long and frustrating battle that is yet to be resolved.
“This has been a long, difficult process,” Mr. Kilburn said in a text message forwarded by his lawyer on Tuesday. “I will keep working as hard as I can to get my daughter the documents she needs.”
The name mishap is only part of the problem that Mr. Kilburn is working to get resolved. She was also never issued a social security number and he cannot use her birth certificate because it was labeled “for government use only,” according to court records.
Without them, Mr. Kilburn is struggling to get his daughter health insurance, child care and other necessary services. It is as though Caroline — a rosy-cheeked toddler with wispy blond hair — does not exist.
How she was never given a proper birth certificate or social security number was not clear, Mr. Livingston said, and officials have not yet identified which authority made the mistake that led to this.
While the strange name has drawn media coverage, it is not uncommon for children who are born without a parent or guardian to get a nonsensical place-holder name. These names are typically swiftly changed once a parent or guardian has gained custody.
But in this case, Mr. Kilburn could not change the name, because he did not have a usable birth certificate or a social security number for Caroline — a rare mishap that Mr. Livingston said was caused by “bureaucratic chaos.”
A spokesman for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said in an email that the agency could not divulge specifics about the case but confirmed that the department was working with Mr. Kilburn’s attorney to resolve this issue. A spokesman for the Social Security Administration also declined to provide specifics but said the administration had reached out to Mr. Kilburn.
Mr. Kilburn said in a text message through his lawyer that he was optimistic that this issue would be resolved, adding that the media attention had increased his communication with the governmental departments.
Despite some of the difficulties that Caroline has faced in her early life and some of the problems caused by the bureaucratic lapse, her father said she is a regular, rambunctious toddler who can sing the “e-i-e-i-o” in “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” with the best of them.
“What they say about the terrible twos is true,” Mr. Kilburn said. “But I wouldn’t change a single day I have with her.”
Sheelagh McNeill contributed research.
