[lauritzsh]

I am from Denmark; I thought this was much more common in the world. Definitely way more than being part of the eight countries to have these strict laws apparently.

Always thought it was strange you could call your child McBurger if you wanted or apparently Number 16 Bus Shelter.

I know one who got Jazz rejected even though people still plus twenty years later call her Jazz.

[jaclaz]

There are some limitations in Italy too, though a little less restrictive than those in Denmark or Germany, JFYI, a rough English translation:

Art. 34 (Name Attribution Limits)

    1. It is forbidden to impose on the child the same name as the living father, of a living brother or sister, a surname as a name, names ridiculous or shameful.

    2. Alien names that are imposed on children who have the Italian citizenship must be expressed in letters of the Italian alphabet , with the extension to the letters: J, K, X, Y, W and where possible, using the diacritic marks proper to the alphabet of the name source language.

    3. Childrens of unknown parents may not have names or surnames that may represent a reference to their natural origin, or surnames of historical importance or belonging to families particularly well known in the place where the birth act is formed.

I believe that some limitations do exist in all or most countries, the mentioned article just enumerates 8 of them.

[stevekemp]

I suspect it is more common, that was just the first google-result which was somewhat interesting.

I'm in Finland and there are official name-lists here too, as I found out to my surprise when it came to naming our child.