Here in Finland there is no list but if you try to give a name that has not been given before it goes to a board to be checked that it is appropriate.<p>Basically done to protect the child from names that they would be bullied for.
Icelandic spelling is subtle.<p>e.g.<p>Rejected: Amelia [1]<p>Accepted: Amelía [1]<p>Honestly, it seems as though this list's purpose is to standardize spelling as much as it is to bar weird names.<p>[1]<a href="https://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Amelia" rel="nofollow">https://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Amelia</a>
[2]<a href="https://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Amel%C3%ADa" rel="nofollow">https://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Amel%C3%ADa</a>
I’m curious about the “Eventually Approved Names”. Some of them were rejected 4 times or more before being accepted!<p>I would love to know more; what’s the bar for “overturning” a previous denial? Do you have to present new evidence or present a novel argument? Or is it just a matter of public tastes evolving over time?<p>There are summaries posts of the recent decisions that has some hints but it doesn’t really go into much detail.
Note: you can request names outside this list if f.ex. one or both parents are citizens with a foreign background. I know this from first hand experience and it was a relatively easy process.
Many (most?) countries have naming restrictions. This Wikipedia article mentions the laws by country and there are some really odd restrictions: <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naming_law" rel="nofollow">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naming_law</a><p>I find the entry for my country New Zealand to be pretty funny - although presumably less funny for the parents. I especially like that * is a banned name (for technical reasons: I think because it means NULL in the DIA for people with only one name - not because it interferes with search - I would also guess Asterisk as a word is allowed).
I'm kind of surprised that Mohammed can't be found on either list. The most common first name in the world probably, and neither it hasn't been approved or rejected, meaning that nobody has even tried in Iceland. That's how small of a county it is I suppose.
Naming humans is odd. It has significant implications every day for the person, but they don’t really get a say in the matter.<p>I really respect parents who don’t see it as a form of accessorization. Your kid doesn’t need to be Duke Leto II. Paul will suffice.
Funny how Caesar is on the approved list. In fact so is Hannibal! Napoleon is the only world famous conqueror who doesn’t make the cut that I could find in a brief search.
I see that Michael is allowed, but Mike is not accepted or rejected. Can you be called whatever you want as long as you never formally use a variation?
> The Name Finding Guide is fun, easy to use and extremely effective<p>From <a href="https://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Finding_The_Perfect_Name" rel="nofollow">https://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Finding_The_Perfect_Name</a><p>I find this ... funny.<p>I'm happy to live in a country where we are free to choose our offspring's names (though I do think Elon Musk could have done better. I Checked and "Elon" is approved.)