Choosing a baby’s name is exciting. If you live in Denmark, it is also complicated.

Danish law requires that parents choose a child’s name from an approved government list. Any exceptions must be approved by appropriate authorities. The list of pre-approved names of 7,000 mostly West European and English names — 3,000 for boys, 4,000 for girls — is designed to prevent children from being burdened with an unusual or humiliating name for the rest of their lives.

Among the regulations are prohibitions against the child’s first name being the same as the last name. Bizarre names are permissible, as long as they are “common.”

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