China today passed a law mandating parents to follow the convention of naming their children after their relatives from bloodlines, in an apparent move to discourage trends of adopting fashionable or unorthodox names.

A legislative interpretation passed by China's legislature the National People's Congress said citizens must use parents' surnames in principle, but can choose other surnames such as those of lineal relatives, those of foster-parents or other surnames for "rational reasons", state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

People from ethnic minorities can name themselves based on their own custom. The interpretation was based on two articles in the general principles of the Civil Law and the Marriage Law, which stipulate that all Chinese citizens have the right to name; a surname can be that of either parent, the report said.

However, there are many cases of people who do not follow the convention, resulting in disputes and refusal by police to register newborns.