Python "invalid node name" when trying to use variable as name

[Latimerias]

I have a tuple that I'm looping over like this: 'for name in tuple:'. Inside the loop I say something like createNode('group', name) but I get the error "invalid node name". Please help I am not sure why this is as it returns a string properly elsewhere! I also tried the .setName but got the same result.

[Atom]

Perhaps your name is invalid?

I run all my names through this function before attempting to use them as node names.

import re
def returnValidHoudiniNodeName(passedItem):
    # Thanks to Graham on OdForce for this function!
    # Replace any illegal characters for node names here.
    return re.sub("[^0-9a-zA-Z\.]+", "_", passedItem)

 

Edited January 21, 2022 by Atom

[Latimerias]

Ah yes there was a weird name i found, clumsy mistake. Thanks for the function as well works perfectly!